New loan product from Alpha Bank

IN A bid to gain a foothold in the housing loans’ market, Alpha Bank yesterday unveiled a new product offering prospective clients a housing loan of up to £200,000 paid through a current account.

The current account operates like one with an overdraft facility, where the borrower deposits his/her salary and uses a chequebook drawn against the account. Money kept in the account will be treated as payment against the loan, therefore reducing interest and the time needed to repay the loan.

Interest on the new loan package is a favourable seven per cent instead of the going rate of eight per cent.

The only obligation on the customer is to make the loan payments, while the total interest accrued will be reduced in accordance with the balance in the account.

Addressing a news conference held to publicise the product, Alpha Bank’s Managing-director Eleftherios Ioannou said: “This is a very important product in view of a freeing of interest rates and the first time such a housing loan has a limit of £200,000.

“We are maintaining our competitiveness by offering a wide range of products to our customers and meeting the demands of a wider public. It is an exceptional product which benefits the customer, and the crucial difference with other loans is its link to a current account, which enables customers to pay off the loan sooner,” he said.

The new product is available to businesses, couples or individuals, and covers 75 per cent of the value of a ready-made house or one that is under construction. A loan can also be obtained for house repairs, business relocation or the purchase of offices, flats and holiday homes.

The loan comes with free one-year fire insurance.

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