Danske Bankmarkets‘Helping Hand’offerfor mortgage switchers

Danske Bank has launched a ‘Helping Hand’ offer for customers who remortgage from another lender, giving free standard legals, a free valuation, £250 cashback and reduced rates on thebank’s standard fixed rates.

Danske Bankmarkets‘Helping Hand’offerfor mortgage switchers

Danske Bank has launched a ‘Helping Hand’ offer for customers who remortgage from another lender, giving free standard legals, a free valuation, £250 cashback and reduced rates on thebank’s standard fixed rates.

The bank said it would offer another competitive option for borrowers in Northern Ireland.

Dan White, managing director at White Financial Services, said: “It works well for borrowers that may be looking to refinance away.

“For a lot of clients, remortgage products maybe have arrangement fee and cashback that doesn’t pay for all the legal costs, so this opens up opportunities for clients to move away.

“It may also have a knock on effect of encouraging existing lenders to look after clients better, offering them reasons to stay, for example, looking at product transfer rates to retain these customers.”

However Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, thought that this offer wasn’t anything special.

He said: “It seems like a standard remortgage. Most lenders offer free valuations or legals on a remortgage anyway so it doesn’t sound particularly inspiring.

“Helping Hand is clearly a marketing phrase. Broker would expect free valuation or legals on some products anyway. The majority of deals have a free valuation and, or a cashback.”

Richard Caldwell, managing director of personal banking and small business at Danske Bank, said: “Despite the Bank of England interest rise towards the end of last year, UK Finance figures indicated strong and sustained growth in Northern Ireland’s remortgage market in the last quarter of 2017.

“In our own figures, we saw a 35% uplift in new mortgage lending in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period last year.

“Our new ‘Helping Hand’ incentive will further strengthen our mortgage proposition and offer another competitive option for home owners in Northern Ireland who are considering switching their mortgage lender.”