"As well as working on our product offering we have also made several enhancements to our processing capability and we have increased capacity within our operational teams."
Available from Monday 30th November, a two-year fixed rate at 90% LTV is available at 3.74% and a five-year fix starts from 3.79%.
Platform is also launching a range of two and five-year products at 80% and 85% LTV. At 80% LTV, a two-year fixed rate starts at 2.49% and a five-year rate at 2.54%. At 85% LTV, rates are available at 3.09% fixed for two years and 3.14% for five years.
All products are fee-free and come with £1,000 cashback.
Platform is also making a criteria change from next week that will improve access to its mortgages for first-time buyers. The current criteria requires first-time buyers to have been employed for a minimum of six months prior to application and does not allow gifted deposits where the loan amount exceeds £500,000.
However, from Monday both these criteria aspects are being removed and applicants will now just need to meet the standard criteria, i.e. first-time buyers just need to be in permanent employment.
Carolyne Gregory, director of retail lending at The Co-operative Bank, said: “We have been really keen to offer as many mortgage options as we can to potential customers and now we are not only reintroducing more products but also making some of our mortgages available with a £1,000 cashback option, the highest cashback amount we’ve offered in recent years. £1,000 back in the pockets of borrowers could be put towards the cost of moving, or for some it’s a chance to splash out on something they really want to buy for their new home. We know it’s a tough economic climate out there and this cashback could be a much needed boost for our borrowers, and unlike the Black Friday and Cyber Monday promotions up for grabs over the next few days, our offer will be around to support customers for a much longer term.
“This latest launch is the most competitively priced product change we’ve made this year and we want to support as many customers as we can to find an affordable mortgage product to help them realise their aspirations of owning their own home. This is also why we have made a fundamental change to our mortgage application criteria for first time buyers to make our range of mortgages even more accessible to them.”
Fred Sharp, head of intermediary business, added: “The Platform mortgage product launch today is one we’re excited to share with our broker partners and we’re looking forward to working with them to arrange affordable and great value mortgage products for their clients.
“I’m also really glad to see the criteria change we’re making come into force from Monday, a change we’ve made based on broker feedback. This is a really good example of how we are committed to listening to what our broker partners are telling us, and how we can work together to improve the experience of their clients, and in this case specifically, first time buyers in the market who now have better access to our competitive mortgage range.
“As well as working on our product offering we have also made several enhancements to our processing capability and we have increased capacity within our operational teams. This enables us to confidently provide both brokers and their clients with a high level of service. We are now assessing new applications on the day of receipt and to help us support this level of service, brokers can find our packaging requirements and our latest service level information on our website for review before submitting an application.”
