From next year not only will M&S (LON:MKS) provide you with meal deals, clothing and furniture but are introducing a range of mortgages.
M&S bank announced on Friday that its new mortgages will be “competitive rates across a range of terms”. Deals will be targeted for first-time buyers and home movers.
“Many of our customers have shopped with M&S their whole lives, feeling the comfort of the brand at every key life event … We’re now in a position to support our customers with the biggest financial decision they’ll ever make – their home,” said the bank’s chief executive, Sue Fox.
M&S Bank is owned by HSBC (LON:HSBA) but part of a joint venture with the retailer. The bank has been in operation since 2012, after gaining a license from UK watchdogs.
The decision to move into the banking business was not an easy one. The former chief Sir Stuart Rose was worried that it could damage the reputable brand.
M&S is not the first retailer to expand into banking. Tesco (LON:TSCO) has been on the market since 2012, with successful results. Sainsbury’s (LON:SBRY) followed suit in April this year.
David Hollingworth at broker firm London & Country said: “There’s nothing to suggest they won’t come in with a well-priced range of mortgage deals.”
There are 29 in-store M&S Bank branches in the UK. The group has four million customers and already offers current accounts, loans, credit cards, savings accounts, general insurance products and travel money.
The bank’s number of current account customers has grown by an impressive 60 percent over the past two years.
The retailers said that the move into mortgages will represent the “final step in its transition from a financial services provider to a full-service bank”.
There have been no full details on the bank’s plan, but M&S has said the changes will be introduced early in 2018.