The lender, which offers both residential and BTL products, was created to support people from Africa and other foreign nationals with a valid UK work visa who struggle to gain access to mainstream lenders.
Afin’s research found that almost nine out of 10 Africans (87%) in the UK had been turned down for a mortgage.
Out of this cohort, 41% believed it was due to their visa status with 30% attributing this to a lack of UK credit history.
As a result, Afin’s products are designed with people from the African diaspora communities in mind.
Applications will be accepted from clients originating anywhere in the world, with minimum UK residency of just six months being considered.
The lender will also deploy flexible criteria about accepting deposits from overseas, subject to anti-money laundering checks, and capital raising will be allowed for debt consolidation, property investment, business purposes and tax bills.“Afin Bank will treat its customers as people who need help overcoming obstacles, whether it’s their visa status because they come from overseas, or the fact they are self-employed,” said Alan Davison, chief commercial officer at Afin Bank.
“The feedback from brokers and customers as we have been building Afin Bank has been fantastic, so I am delighted that we have received our full approval in less than nine months and we can now start lending, helping people to move home, get the mortgage deal they deserve or get on the housing ladder for the first time.”
James Briggs, intermediary sales director at Afin Bank, added: “There are millions of borrowers who can find it hard to get a mortgage from a mainstream lender, perhaps because they’re self-employed and their current income does not reflect their previous years’ accounts or they have multiple income streams, or because they don’t have an established UK credit history.
“But they have important jobs with great income potential or are creating businesses; the kind of people the UK economy needs now, so they deserve to be supported.
“The human touch is at the heart of Afin Bank.”
Afin Bank’s mortgages will be available for properties in England and Wales.
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