Banks ‘prejudiced’ against low cost housing

The National Housing Federation says banks are turning away £1 billion of business because of prejudice against low cost housing. The banks are refusing to lend to people on modest incomes – first-time buyers and key workers – because they mistakenly view the shared ownership deals as unsound. The NHF estimates that the banks lack of interest in 2008/09 resulted in 9,000 low cost homes remaining unsold, and has called for the state owned banks to make lending on shared ownership schemes a priority.