Mbank mortgages in London

Mbank, the internet-banking arm of BRE Bank, has announced that it will begin offering mortgage loans for Polish properties to Poles residing in the UK at the beginning of next month. The bank will open a new Financial Center in London, where Poles employed via a permanent work contract will be eligible to apply for the loans. The market has significant potential as, according to market-research firm ARC Rynek i Opinia, around 73 percent of the estimated one million Poles working in the UK and Ireland have a permanent work contract.

"After analysis of the scale of demand for mortgage products from Poles working in the UK, we decided to open a Financial Center in London," said Piotr Gawron, director of Mbank. "We are at the stage of final acceptance of the project. Our employees are ready to begin work abroad," he added.

The London location will facilitate what is an otherwise complicated process. "Our Financial Center will help Poles working in the UK and Ireland buy property in Poland. After choosing the property back in Poland, people do not need to come back again as all formalities can be managed on the spot in London," said Magdalena Ossowska, Mbank's spokesperson.

According to ARC Rynek i Opinia, some 60 percent of Poles working in the UK and Ireland make over £1,000 (zł.5,427) per month and around half of Poles living in the UK and Ireland expect to return to Poland within four years.

Banks such as PKO BP, BZ WBK, Kredyt Bank, Nordea Bank and ING Bank Ślàski also have plans to offer mortgages to Poles through their subsidiaries in the UK and Ireland. As the banks move abroad, so too are financial advisories such as Open Finance, which will soon open a subsidiary in Dublin.