CaixaBank begins to compete massively in the mixed mortgage business

2023-11-24 07:17:16

CaixaBank begins to compete with other large banks such as Sabadell or Bankinter in the mixed mortgage market. The entity has recently put theirs on display, which sells through Imagin, its digital brand, just like Santander does through Openbank. Mixed mortgages have been on the rise since the Euribor began to rise in 2022. After the rapid and strong rise in rates in the last year and a half, more and more people do not want to opt for a fixed or variable mortgage. And this product, which mixes both, becomes the best solution.

Some platforms dedicated to the sale of mortgages, such as iAhorro or Trioteca, reveal that in recent months, mixed mortgages have skyrocketed and they represent 70% and 55% (respectively) of the total mortgage loans that are signed. From the financial comparator Kelisto, they indicate that, given the high demand, up to 5 new mixed mortgages have been launched on the market since the fall began. Abanca, Cajamar, Cajasiete, Caixa Popular and CaixaBank, They have been some of the entities to launch new offers.

So, this month of November, 34 mixed mortgage offers have been reached, when in January there were just under 20, they add; CaixaBank has been offering some clients, individually, this product, as the CEO revealed a few months ago. But now it has started selling it massively. through Imagin, where it has more than 4.2 million clients.

The interest on your mixed mortgage during the first five years is fixed, of 3.50% TIN and 5.2% APR (without rebate) and during the rest of the life of the loan (the maximum repayment period is 30 years) said interest is variable, Euribor at 1 year + 1.50%.

In order for the client to benefit from a discount of up to 1%, they must open an account with Imagin, direct deposit their payroll or pension (of 1,200 euros or more), take out Life insurance with VidaCaixa and home insurance with SegurCaixa. In line with the requirements requested by other banks to reward their clients.

One of Imagin’s advantages over its competitors is the high financing it grants, sometimes up to 80% of the total of the future home. Another is that the bank returns the cost of appraising the home (valued at 255 euros) to the client if they finally take out the imaginBank mortgage. And it also works in its favor that, although the mortgage is requested from the Imagin app, Then a manager accompanies the client to process the mortgage without having to go to an office.

CaixaBank’s online bank debuted in the mortgage market approximately a year ago, in the second half of 2022, coinciding with its accession to the ‘My First Home’ program of the Community of Madrid. Through which it offers up to 90% financing to those under 35 years of age who take out a mortgage for the first time. But to date it only sold a fixed mortgage, which, as is the case in most digital banks, is one of the most competitive on the market.

But now it has also launched its first mixed mortgage, following other digital native banks such as Openbank (Santander), Evo Banco (Bankinter) and ING, which already offered it. In addition to Sabadell and Abanca, which have launched theirs this year (the first in summer and the second in October) and Bankinter, Unicaja and Ibercaja, who have also been in this business for a while.

Demand for mixed mortgages soars

“Mixed mortgages have already been the most contracted product since September,” says Trioteca. The same thing happens in Kelisto. Last year, 75% of the total mortgages they sold were fixed, almost 14% mixed and 11% variable. But in these almost eleven months of 2023, mixed mortgages already represent almost 45% of the totalahead of fixed (41%) and variable (15%).

From the comparator they explain that mixed mortgages allow access to a more advantageous fixed interest than that of 100% fixed offers, although this only applies for some years. For this reason, they warn, “the more years they are, the higher the fixed rate applied by the bank will be.” After this first stage, once again, the mortgage would once again be variable and, therefore, the user would once again be exposed to the fluctuations of the Euribor.

These types of offers, therefore, “They would only be recommended for those who believe they can save during the first years of the mortgage”, since, once the variable tranche has arrived, they could amortize debt early in order to reduce the years that they would be exposed to the Euribor.