Lender withdraws mortgage pre-approval process

“To ensure we are dedicating our resources towards assessing live transactions, Citi is no longer accepting pre-approval applications,” the bank told The Adviser.

“This decision will help us to better support our business partners and clients within a more efficient time frame.”

The bank noted that it will continue to process pre-approval applications submitted prior to 6 November.

Citi is the latest lender to suspend pre-approval applications, after Auswide Bank announced earlier this week that it would also cease accepting applications until further notice.

Like Citi, Auswide stated that the decision was made to prioritise the assessment of applications from borrowers that have committed to a property purchase.

“Auswide Bank is extremely committed to help everyday Australians achieve home ownership. We do understand the importance and value for a customer to be able to enter into the property market with the confidence our fully assessed pre-approved loans provide,” the lender told brokers.

“However, we are also conscious of our obligation to our brokers that place their confidence in us to deliver the right customer experience to their clients who have committed to purchases and/or need to refinance their current facilities to achieve their financial objectives.”

As well as suspending pre-approval applications, Citi has also announced that it will be increasing the minimum loan amount to $350,000 nationally, while also adding a 25 bps rate loading to current carded rates for all loans with an LVR of more than 80 per cent plus LMI.

[Related: Auswide suspends mortgage pre-approvals]