Santander Mortgages Launches New Large Loan Option to Beat Stamp Duty Increase

LONDON, February 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- From Friday 4 February, Santander, the 'Home of UK Mortgages (http://products.santander.co.uk/mortgages.html)' is launching a new large loan option for customers seeking to beat the new 5 per cent Stamp Duty rate (up from 4%) on properties that exceed GBP1m which is effective from 6th April 2011. The option, which is suitable for GBP1m to GBP2m loans, is available on Santander's new two year fixed Homebuyer at 70per cent LTV with a 3.49 per cent rate and GBP1,995 fee.

In addition, Santander is also reducing rates by up to 0.4 per cent on selected two year fixed products at 80 per cent LTV:

    
    - Two year fixed Homebuyer at 80 per cent LTV reduced by 0.40 per cent to
      3.98 per cent with a GBP995 fee
    - Two year fixed Remortgage at 80 per cent LTV reduced by 0.20 per cent
      to 4.18 per cent with a GBP995 fee

All the above come with either our Homebuyer or Remortgage Solution. The Homebuyer Solution offers borrowers the added benefits of a free basic mortgage valuation and GBP250 cash-back on completion, while the Remortgage Solution offers a free basic mortgage valuation, and either free legals or GBP250 cash-back on completion.

Phil Cliff, Director of Santander Mortgages said: "As the 'Home of UK Mortgages' Santander provides competitive deals for our new and existing customers. Whether they are looking for a large - or small - loan we have great value-for-money deals available to suit all homeowners.

"Our new two year fixed Homebuyer at 70per cent LTV with a 3.49 per cent rate and GBP1,995 fee has been especially created for buyers who require large loans and wish to beat the 5% stamp duty increase at the start of April. While the reduced rates on our two year fixed 80 per cent LTV products are aimed at those customers looking for smaller loans. Whether you're property is worth over GBP1m or not, prospective buyers and those remortgaging need to ensure they get a fair deal on their house and mortgage."

The information contained in our press releases is intended solely for journalists and should not be used by consumers to make financial decisions.

Notes to Editors:

About Us

Banco Santander (SAN.MC, STD.N, BNC.LN) is a retail and commercial bank, based in Spain, with presence in 10 main markets. Services include personal bank accounts ( http://products.santander.co.uk/bankaccounts.html ), insurance (http://products.santander.co.uk/insurance.html) and loans. At the close of June 2010, Santander was the largest bank in the euro zone by market capitalization and, at the end of 2009, fourth in the world by profit. Founded in 1857, Santander had EUR 1,365 billion in managed funds. Santander has more than 90 million customers, 13,671 branches - more than any other international bank - and 170,000 employees. It is the largest financial group in Spain and Latin America, with leading positions in the United Kingdom and Portugal and a broad presence in Europe through its Santander Consumer Finance arm. In the first half of 2010, Santander registered EUR4,445 million in net attributable profit.

In the UK, Santander was formed out of the Abbey, Bradford & Bingley and Alliance & Leicester retail networks. It has over 1400 branches, around 4,500 cash machines and provides a full range of retail and corporate banking services to 25 million customers.