More Buy to Let Mortgages to Be Offered in UK

UK buy to let mortgage market meets a new lender – the State Bank of India, which is 59%-owned by the Indian government.

It has recently been reported that the State Bank of India (SBI) is set to enter the British market of buy to let mortgages. The move of SBI comes as the bank plans to increase the size of its retail division.

At the moment, the bank, which is mostly owned by the Indian government, offers buy to let mortgages to landlords; however, it plans a full-scale public launch during the winter months.

Currently, landlords can apply for buy to let mortgage of £50,000-£1.5 million. Loans, with the maximum LTV ratio of 60%, are offered for 5-25 years.

Commenting on the bank's entrance to the UK market, Deepak Ahuja, SBI head of consumer banking and wealth, said that "We see housing as a bellwether of the UK economy and it is going to come back. I expect buy-to-let mortgage customers to be roughly evenly split between property investors and people who simply want to rent out a second home."