Lenders, panel and loan offer
Why one bank refuses and another does not, for the same application
Approval here, refusal there, same application: the three real causes of the gap, the one that is not up to you, and how to submit accordingly.
Because the maximum repayment capacity limit is the same everywhere, but the rest is not. Each bank has a quarterly lending budget for exceptions which it consumes at its own pace; each freely sets the required minimum living expenses, the reassessment of income and the valuation of the property; and two applications said to be identical often differ in their bank statements, their funding plan, their security or their presentation.
By Sandy MASCART, mandataire d'intermédiaire en opérations de banque et en services de paiement ORIAS 26000541 sous le mandat de CDV PATRIMOINE & ASSURANCE (ORIAS 14005573)
Key points
- Two identical applications can receive opposite responses: the discrepancy often lies in the quarterly lending budget for exceptions of the institution.
- The maximum repayment capacity criterion is the same everywhere: a bank cannot be more flexible on it, it can only derogate within a measured limit.
- The lending budget for exceptions is replenished each civil quarter and reserves the majority for primary residences and first-time buyers.
- The required minimum living expenses, the reassessment of income and the valuation of the property are not set by any regulation and vary from one lender to another.
- Two applications said to be identical are almost never so: bank statements, funding plan, security, insurance or presentation are enough to change everything.
Same file, same month: an approval here, a refusal there. The difference stems from each bank’s derogation budget, the level at which decisions are made, and files that are less identical than they appear. Each of these factors gives you leverage. The complete file: lenders, panel and loan offer.
Why does the same file receive two opposite responses?
The decision also depends on the remaining space in the bank’s derogation budget for the quarter. For an identical file, the response changes depending on the institution and the date.
You can choose where to submit, when, and what to request after a refusal.
The maximum repayment amount is the same everywhere
Critère d'octroi cumulatif imposé à tous les établissements de crédit et sociétés de financement. Le mot « assurance » ne figure pas dans la définition : les primes imposées entrent dans l'assiette par renvoi au coût total du crédit.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 1er — Légifrance
A bank is not “more flexible”: it derogates, or it does not. A file significantly above the limit must be redone: the High Council’s rule.
Cause No. 1 — The derogation budget, and the right moment in the quarter
Each bank can derogate for a portion of its quarterly production, in terms of amount. No one knows how much remains.
Assiette : la production de nouveaux crédits immobiliers du trimestre civil, en montant et non en nombre de dossiers.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Décision D-HCSF-2021-7, art. 2 — Légifrance
- The calendar: the budget resets to zero each quarter.
- The size: two large transactions consume more than five small ones.
- The allocation: the majority goes to primary residences (70,00 % ()), with a minimum for first-time buyers (30,00 % ()).
Seule poche accessible à une opération qui n'est ni une résidence principale, ni un premier achat : investissement locatif, résidence secondaire.
- En vigueur depuis le
- Source
- Légifrance
Hence the wall for the investor, where a first-time buyer passes with the same difference.
Cause No. 2 — Three criteria that each lender sets freely
Outside the standard grid, the file moves up a level, and the levels differ (the families of lenders). Each lender sets freely:
- the required residual income;
- the treatment of variable income or self-employed income;
- the assessment of an atypical property.
Cause No. 3 — Two "identical" files that are not
The most frequent cause, and it depends on you:
- bank statements from different periods;
- a financing plan that has changed;
- a different guarantee (surety or mortgage);
- a different insurance or share;
- an existing loan overlooked;
- a weakness explained on one side, discovered on the other;
- other counter-considerations (the domiciliation of income).
What depends on you, what depends on the quarter
| Element of the decision | Who controls it | What you can do about it |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum effort criterion | No one: it is a text | Respect it, or construct a motivated request for derogation |
| Remaining space in the lending budget | The institution, and the calendar | Choose the date and order of submissions |
| Applicable pocket of the lending budget | The nature of the transaction | Know which one concerns you before submitting |
| Arbitration level | The lender's organisation | Request it, and prepare a defensible file without you |
| Required residual income | The lender, without a public scale | Document it: residual savings, actual charges |
| Reassessment of income | The lender | Choose a lender who knows how to read your income |
| Consistency of documents | You | Submit the same file everywhere, on the same date |
| Presentation of the weakness | You | Write it down, rather than leaving it to be found |
How to make a refusal reveal what held you back
Not with 'why?', but with a closed question about the stage: credit analysis, insurance or guarantee.
- 'Which specific element failed, and would a corrected file be reconsidered?'
- 'Does this refusal stem from the file, or from your current policy?'
Reasons, files, ongoing promise: refused mortgage, what to do.
The refusal that is not one
A reduced amount, a shortened term, additional equity, a counter-consideration: each counter-proposal names the weak point. Correct it before the next submission. Only an entry on a default file blocks you everywhere: it must be regularised.
Four rules for submitting at the right time
- The same file everywhere, on the same date.
- Not the end of the quarter for a borderline file, if you have the choice.
- Three or four submissions at most, each tailored to its bank.
- Keep a cartridge: a bank that has refused is hard to reopen within the quarter.
'The regulation forbids it' almost always hides a policy or an exhausted lending budget. Even the rate is a matter of timing: reading a bank's rate table. Prepare the documents and the purchase costs.
A refusal in hand? Create your file or schedule the date of your next submissions.
Sources
Read next
- Banks in Lyon: 54 mortgage lenders
- Mortgage refused: the 12 real reasons and the 15-day action plan Mortgage refused: identify the true reason among the 12 most common, correct it with evidence and resubmit in the right order within fifteen days.
- Types of banks for a mortgage: who lends, and who really decides on your application National, mutual, regional, online or specialist: what decides an application is not the brand but the level at which it is examined. How to read this.
- Bank rate scale: why the displayed rate is not yours, and how to aim for the best line Grid by term, discounts, counterparties, insurance: read a bank rate scale as the bank does and identify what brings you closer to the best line.
- Debt-to-income ratio: the HCSF rule, its derogation margin and how the bank applies it Calculate your debt-to-income ratio as an analyst would: retained charges, residual income, HCSF derogation, and the levers to get back under the cap.
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