Atom enhances SME offering with reduced rates and expanded panel

Atom Bank has announced a series of rate reductions on its Recovery Loan Scheme (RLS) and standard secured loan range to support more SMEs. The digital bank has cut its variable product rates by up to 0.50% and its fixed product rates by up to 0.45%.

The changes mean that on variable rate products in the standard secured loan range, Atom is offering an average rate of 2.61% over base rate for a five-year term. On fixed rate products in the standard secured loan range, the bank is offering an average rate of 7.41% for a five-year term.

For a limited time only - until 30th September - the bank is also increasing its procuration fee for business lending from 1.25% to 1.5% (subject to broker agreement). This is mirrored in the application fee, which has also increased to 1.5%.

The price reductions come as Atom announces the further expansion of its commercial broking panel. The bank has also made over 120 changes to its online broker portal and back office origination platform in the last two months, reducing the time to underwrite a case by around 50%.

David Castling, head of intermediary distribution at Atom Bank, commented: “We’re delighted we have been able to cut rates across our RLS and standard secured loan range as we also expand our broker panel. Faced with economic uncertainty and rising interest rates, it’s vital that small business owners are able to get a quick financing decision through their broker, and crucially, at a competitive rate.

“We quickly took action to protect service levels by announcing a stop to new business applications in March. It was essential to take a considered approach with our return to market and we have been re-engaging with brokers on our panel through multiple phases since April. I am absolutely delighted with the level of activity and support we have seen so far and I'm excited to announce the next phase of 50 firms being reintroduced to our panel.

“We took time while off-sale to innovate and improve our processes, to make applying for a loan faster and easier for our brokers. We believe the changes we have made to our underwriting process recently will be transformative, drastically reducing the time it takes to review cases.”