Nearly nine in ten Africans say they have been turned down for a mortgage

Nine in ten (87%) of Africans living and working in the UK have been turned down for a mortgage because of circumstances relating to the fact that they are a foreign national, according to research of 500 UK-based African diaspora by specialist lender Afin Bank.

The research found that almost half (48%) said they were turned down because of their visa status. Two out of five (41%) said they were declined because of their nationality.

Just under a third (30%) said they were rejected due to a lack of credit history in the UK, whilst 28% said the lender would not accept their passport.

A further 28% said the lender would not accept their proof of funds.

Africans living and working in the UK have been put off applying for a mortgage, citing reasons such as concerns about their visa status (28%); nationality (24%); or lack of UK credit history (20%). A quarter said they had already been told by the bank that they had their current account with that they would not be considered for a mortgage.

Even among those who had successfully applied for a mortgage, a quarter (25%) said they had found the application process difficult. Nine out of ten (92%) respondents told Afin Bank that they felt African Nationals are underserved when it comes to mortgages and financial services in the UK.

Alan Davison, Chief Commercial Officer for Afin Bank, said “There are more than 1.5 million African nationals living in the UK, contributing to our economy, running businesses and building vibrant communities. Yet most of them are struggling to put down roots in this country and buy their own home because mainstream lenders are not able to support their needs.

“Afin Bank was created out of the experiences of Africans unable to get support from UK financial services providers and our research shows that this is still very much the case. We understand the circumstances of African nationals and other foreign diaspora in the UK, so our proposition will take into consideration factors such as credit history and visa status to be able to help families get the mortgages they need.”