How we decide your loan rate
When you apply for a loan with us, we do a credit assessment to decide your loan interest rate. Your credit assessment, which will appear on your credit file, will look at:
- the credit information and the last 6 years of credit activity held by the credit reference agencies: Experian, TransUnion and Equifax
- the value of secured and unsecured debt that you already have
- the monthly income you have available to repay your new personal loan
- the loan amount and term you've requested
- the way you've managed any other accounts with Santander.
Get an idea of your loan repayments
The loan rate you see advertised is called a 'representative rate' as it's the rate we offer to the majority of people we offer loans of this size to. The rate you receive can be affected by the outcome of the credit assessment and may be higher than the representative rate.
To find out exactly what we can offer, you need to apply for a Personal Loan so we can carry out the credit assessment. You’re under no obligation to take the loan following the credit assessment.
To get an idea how much your loan repayments will be, try using our loan calculator
Any credit searches showing on your credit file will be visible to any other lenders that look at your credit report, they can also see if you were accepted for the credit or not.
Too many credit searches in a short period of time or any applications that have been declined can have a negative impact on your report. 1-2 searches a month is a sensible guide if you’re concerned about applying and the impact on your credit score.