Santander for Intermediaries will launch two remortgage deals and make cuts of up to 20 basis points on selected residential products across its new business and product transfer mortgage ranges tomorrow (9 September). 

While the Dudley Building Society says it has “thrown open” its mortgage range to self-employed workers with one year of accounts.

The high street bank will debut two new 60% loan-to-value remortgage products with £749 fees. 

It adds it will cut selected purchase and remortgage rates by up to 0.20% across all LTVs and reduce product fees by £250 on selected remortgage products at 75% LTV. 

Its new remortgage products are a 60% LTV two-year fixed rate at 0.84% with a £749 fee, and a 60% LTV five-year fixed rate at 0.99% with a £749 fee.

Santander for Intermediaries will introduce a range of cuts. Highlights include:

A 75% LTV two-year fixed rate at 0.99%, with a £749 fee – remortgage – fee reduced by £250.

A 90% LTV two-year fixed rate at 2.04%, with £999 fee – purchase – rate reduced by 0.20%  

A 95% LTV two-year fixed mortgage guarantee rate at 3.20%, with no fee – purchase – rate reduced by 0.20%.

A 95% LTV five-year fixed mortgage guarantee rate at 3.45%, with no fee – purchase – rate reduced by 0.15%.

And a 90% LTV five-year fixed rate at 2.72% with a £999 fee – purchase – rate reduced by 0.18%.

The bank adds that it is reducing selected residential fixed rates, up to 75% LTV, by between 0.05% and 0.20% and making some fee reductions of £250. 

Meanwhile, the Dudley Building Society it has has “thrown open the whole of its residential product range for self-employed applicants with only one year’s accounts”.

The mutual says the move will help to reduce “the gulf” in the treatment for home loans between employees and the self-employed.

Dudley Building Society chief executive Jeremy Wood says: “The society believes that self-employment should not be a barrier to homeownership. 

“Our move to open up our products to those who only have a year’s accounts is designed to remove some of the barriers to homeownership which self-employed applicants face.

“As a lender, we take our role as facilitator for would-be homeowners very seriously and it is up to us to respond positively to a world that is constantly changing. 

“The world of work is no exception. It is estimated that there are over 4.5 million self-employed people in the UK, roughly 15% of the working population and those numbers are growing. 

“At the same time, the world of employment, far from offering the same security to workers as it once did, is having to adapt to an economy where the cycles of upsizing and downsizing for firms are happening more frequently. 

“So, although employment still retains the cachet of ‘security’ and lenders are happy with the way mortgages to the employed perform, there is no reason why we shouldn’t constantly re-evaluate the risks surrounding self-employment.”