UK’s Nationwide Won’t Lend to Some Homes Over Flood Risk
- Nationwide uses mapping technology to avoid vulnerable homes
- Average mortgage lasts longer than government’s flood backstop
Floodwaters in Wraysbury, UK, in January.
Photographer: Daniel Leal/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
The UK’s second biggest mortgage provider has stopped making loans on some homes at risk of flooding, over fears they may become uninsurable — and therefore, unsellable — over the coming years.
Nationwide Building Society uses mapping technology to identify which individual homes are vulnerable to flooding, Nationwide Head of Property Risk Rob Stevens said in an interview. The company will decline to make a loan to purchase some properties it deems to be at high risk.