Why Do Bank APR's Differ so Greatly ?

Ebe_Scrooge

As others have said, the biggest single difference is likely to be the lender's target audience. Bank A may prefer married middle-aged people with a salary in excess of £50k. If you fall into that category, you'll get offered a favourable rate. Bank B may prefer people in their mid-20s with a "professional" career.

Just like car insurance. Real-world example : I've been with Direct line for several years, they've always knocked spots off the competition. I'm a middle-aged guy with a clean history and an "ordinary" car. Went to add my son as a learner - whoosh, the premium they wanted went from £120 per year to over £1000. I though that a bit odd, as by definition my son would be supervised at all times. But I hear on the grapevine that Direct Line simply don't "like" learners ( no idea if that's true or not ). But shopped around, and got insurance for £300. Similarly, there are insurers who specialise in over-50's, those who specialise in young drivers, those who specialise in high-performance cars, etc. etc.

So, to the original question - all other things being equal, it's likely to be down to the lender's preferred target audience.

mcpitman

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

So, to the original question - all other things being equal, it's likely to be down to the lender's preferred target audience.

Agree entirely with this quote.