Atom bank reduces commercial rates
Atom bank, the UK’s first app-based bank, has announced it is reducing the interest rates charged on its range of commercial mortgages by up to 0.61%.
The changes will see variable rates start at 2.04% over base rate, while fixed rates start at 6.25% for loans with a maximum loan-to-value of 45%.
Atom bank’s range of commercial products include Business Banking Secured Loans (BBLS) and Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) products. Atom bank will be closing for new RLS applications from midnight Tuesday 28 May.
The rate cuts, which see a noticeable decrease in RLS pricing specifically, are on a temporary basis, so will only apply until this date.
Easier and faster to deal with
The Atom bank broker portal allows intermediaries to quickly create an indicative quote for their commercial customers, with bespoke pricing provided to brokers upon application.
There is also the option to instruct valuations at any point up to the issuing of the approval in principle (AIP), providing the opportunity to reduce the time from offer to completion by a matter of weeks.
These flexible options, alongside continued improvements to its commercial broker portal, mean the digital lender has reduced application-to-AIP time significantly, currently averaging just one working day.
The bank has also made transformative changes to its commercial underwriting process, including changes to lending policy, internal and external systems and ways of working to increase origination capacity and has reduced application-to-offer time by, on average, 42%. This means Atom is currently able to issue an offer in 14 working days on average.
Tom Renwick, head of business lending at Atom bank commented: “We know how crucial price is for commercial customers at the moment, which is why we are delighted to be able to make further reductions to our commercial mortgage rates. With the RLS coming to an end next month, in particular we want to ensure that businesses are able to take advantage at the best possible rates on this product.
“Atom bank is passionate about combining our efficient digital model with fair, bespoke pricing in order to deliver the support that SMEs across the country need. This temporary price cut is just the first in a series of propositional changes we are making which will ensure we continue to stand out from the crowd in delivering for the wide range of commercial borrowers who are currently underserved by high street banks.”