Updated | HSBC U-turns after doubling home loan down payments

HSBC Malta has back-tracked on its decision to double the minimum down payment for first-time buyers, and will keep the rate at 10% “subject to internal lending criteria:.

Earlier on Friday, HSBC Malta quietly doubled the down payment requirement from 10% to 20% and increased the interest rate to 3.1%.

But later in the day, the bank issued a statement saying that it will “continue to offer home loans in line with its proposition up to a maximum of 90% loan-to-value”.

Shortly after the statement was issued, the HSBC website still showed that the Classic Home Loan product would be subject to a maximum loan-to-value of 80%, meaning the customer would have to put down a 20% down payment.

Later in the evening, this was changed to 90%.

The original screenshot showing the 80% LTV, versus the updated one showing 90%

The European Central Bank has restricted credit in the past year due to skyrocketing interest rates, leading many European banks to raise interest rates.

But banks in Malta were not expected to follow suit since they almost entirely financed through customer banks, as opposed to other banks in Europe who depend on loans from the ECB.