Compare Mortgage Rates from ICICI Bank Against the Market starting at 2.2%

About ICICI Bank UK

Established in the UK in 2003, the bank's primary mission is to serve the Indian diaspora and businesses with trade or investment links between the UK and India.

For UK property finance, they position themselves as a specialist commercial and corporate lender. They do not use automated "computer says no" credit scoring. Instead, they rely on Relationship Managers and manual underwriting to assess complex investment cases, such as Limited Company Buy-to-Lets or large commercial portfolios.

Mortgage & Finance Products

Their lending products are split into two clear geographic focuses.

1. UK Property Finance (Investors Only)

These products are for properties located in England, Wales, and Scotland.

• Buy-to-Let (BTL):

  • Professional Landlords: Designed for investors with portfolios.

  • Limited Companies (SPVs): They are experts in lending to Special Purpose Vehicles (limited companies set up to hold property).

  • HMOs & MUFBs: Finance available for Houses in Multiple Occupation and Multi-Unit Freehold Blocks.

• Commercial Real Estate:

  • Loans (typically from £1 million to £20 million) for investors buying offices, hotels, student accommodation, or mixed-use assets.

2. India Home Loans (NRI Loans)

This is their unique selling point. They offer mortgages to Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) living in the UK who want to buy residential property in India.

• Purchase & Construction: Loans to buy a completed home, an under-construction property, or to build on a plot of land in India.

• Loan Against Property (in India): You can unlock equity from a property you already own in India to use for personal or business needs.

• Online Management: You can apply and manage the loan from the UK without needing to travel to India.

Pros and Cons of ICICI Bank UK

Here is a balanced overview of choosing this lender.

Pros:

• The India Connection: If you are a UK resident wanting to buy a family home or investment in Mumbai, Delhi, or Bangalore, they are the market leader. They make the cross-border process much simpler than dealing with a bank solely based in India.

• Manual Underwriting (UK BTL): For UK investors, they offer bespoke decisions. If you have complex income or a complicated corporate structure, a Relationship Manager will assess the deal personally.

• Commercial Scale: They are comfortable with large loan sizes (up to £20m), making them a serious option for institutional-grade investors.

Cons:

• No UK Residential Mortgages: If you want to buy a house to live in in London or Birmingham, ICICI Bank UK is likely not for you. They focus on investment finance.

• High Minimums: Their UK commercial and BTL loans often have high minimum loan sizes (often £250k+ or £1m+ for commercial), ruling out smaller investors.

• Intermediary Driven: For UK lending, you typically cannot walk into a branch to apply; you need to go through a professional broker.

• Customer Service: Online reviews (Trustpilot) for their general banking services often cite frustrations with the mobile app and call centre delays.

Customer Service and Reviews

ICICI Bank UK has a mixed reputation.

• Banking App: Users often report that the UK app is less functional than the apps of modern UK fintechs or high-street giants.

• Niche Service: However, for NRI services (money transfers to India and India home loans), they are often praised for convenience, as few other UK banks offer these specific services at all.

How to Apply

The application route depends entirely on where the property is:

1. For UK Buy-to-Let / Commercial: You generally need to apply via a Commercial Mortgage Broker. ICICI Bank UK works with a panel of intermediaries who package the complex information required for these loans.

2. For India Home Loans: You can apply directly via the ICICI Bank UK website or by visiting one of their UK branches (located in areas with large Indian communities like Wembley, East Ham, Southall, Birmingham, and Manchester).

Get started here to book a free, no-obligation chat with a mortgage broker who specialises in ICICI Bank’s mortgage products, can compare them against the market for you for free, and offer independent advice about whether they are the ideal lender for you.