Industry News

Singapore bank suspends loans for London properties after Brexit

Publish Date: 21 July 2016

By Beth Fox

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Further reading

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A top Singapore bank said Thursday it has suspended loans to anyone wanting to buy property in London, citing uncertainty from Britain's vote to quit the EU but dealing a blow to investors looking to make the most of the weak pound.

30 June 2016 - msn.com/news

EIG commented:

"The decision made by UOB is a noticeable sign of the uncertainty and volatility seen across global financial markets since the UK made the historic, unprecedented decision to leave the EU. Whilst we might expect to see investment in prime London stock ease off, at least in the short-term, I think it is unlikely to have much influence on the UK’s property auction market which continues to offer a fast, transparent and straightforward means of buying and selling property."    

(Tom Sheppard, EIG)

United Overseas Bank (UOB), one of the city-state's three homegrown lenders, said it was monitoring the market closely to determine when the loans would resume.
"We will temporarily stop receiving foreign property loan applications for London properties," it said in a statement. "As the aftermath of the UK referendum is still unfolding and given the uncertainties, we need to ensure our customers are cautious with their London property investments," it added. "We are monitoring the market environment closely and will assess regularly to determine when we will re-instate our London property loan offering."

(Source - msn.com)