Banks reserve their best mortgages for their online subsidiaries

Although it may seem strange, the best mortgages of 2018 are not in the windows of banks, but in the catalogs of their online subsidiaries. And is that according to a study by the financial comparator HelpMyCash.com, many banking groups choose to offer slightly more attractive mortgage loans through their virtual entities. Among those who follow this policy we find UCI (Hipotecas.com), Banco Sabadell (ActivoBank), Banco Popular (Oficinadirecta.com), Banco Santander (Openbank) and Bankinter (Coinc).

Similar interest, but with less additional expenses

That does not mean, however, that the mortgages with the head brand of the group are much worse than those of the online subsidiary. In fact, in many cases they have a very similar interest and the differences are basically in the small print of the product. Thus, while the main entity's mortgage loans incorporate commissions and several linked products, those of the virtual bank hardly include additional expenses.

One of the most obvious cases is the UCI. The variable mortgage of this entity has a Euribor interest plus 1.59% (1.99% fixed for the first 24 months), an opening fee of 0.5%, another for early amortization of 0.5% (0, 25% from the sixth year) and a linked home insurance. On the other hand, that of Hipotecas.com, its online subsidiary, has an identical interest, but does not include commissions or associated products.

Something similar happens with the mortgage loans that the Banco Sabadell Group markets in its header brand and in ActivaBank, its virtual entity. The Hipotecaria Expansión of Banco Sabadell and the Fixed Mortgage of AssetBank have the same interest (3.45%), an identical opening fee (1.5% with a minimum of 750 euros) and the same requirements for liaison (payroll and insurance of home and life). However, Banco Sabadell's life insurance is a single premium financed, while that of ActivoBank can be paid monthly and, therefore, cheaper in the long run.

Source: Finanzas.com