NatWest boosts lending goal for social housing sector to £7.5bn

The demand has been partly driven by higher gilt yields, which has made raising bonds far more costly, Paul Eyre, head of residential and housing finance at NatWest, told Inside Housing.

He said: “Because of where gilts have gone to, the pricing for bonds in the debt capital markets is elevated.

“It’s just too expensive for [housing associations]. I think the reason we’ve had particular success is we are one of the few lenders that do 10-year, 15-year, sometimes 20-year term loans.”

NatWest said the extra £2.5bn will take its new lending to the UK housing association sector between 1 January 2020 and 31 December 2026 to over £13.5bn.

Robert Begbie, chief executive – commercial and institutional at NatWest Group, said: “NatWest continues to be a leading lender to the UK social housing sector, and we are pleased at being able to increase our lending to the sector as demand continues to grow.

“The sector continues to be a key priority as we aim to help more people and families have access to housing. By further increasing our ambition to provide £7.5bn in funding by the end of next year, we will continue to drive growth in this important sector, supporting those who need it most.”

Last month, Eildon Housing Association announced a £18.7m funding injection from the Royal Bank of Scotland, part of NatWest Group.

Earlier this month, Wakefield and District Housing secured a £30m deal with NatWest to help fund retrofit and green energy works.