There's a new twist to the story about how tough it is for first time buyers to get a mortgage - it turns out it may be harder to borrow money from someone of the opposite sex.
Research shows that those borrowing for the first time often get smaller loans or have tougher restrictions imposed if they deal with staff of the opposite sex.
A 10-year study conducted through London's Cass Business School analysing 5,000 loans granted through one overseas bank suggests the process is worsened when the application is online or by telephone, because little may be known about the individual borrower apart from the obvious fact of their gender.
For consumers, this has negative repercussions in the form of higher interest rates, smaller loans and lower demand. For credit providers, it means lower profits in the long-run due to fewer returning customers says a Cass spokesman.
The authors established that gender bias was strongest when the competition from other lending institutions was weaker or where the branch size was smaller.
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