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If you are hunting for a new refinancing package for your home loan, listen up. That’s because there is a SCB TDSR waiver subjected to some conditions. Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) is offering relaxed TDSR rules for those who are refinancing. Here’s what SCB is doing for those who want to refinance with SCB home loan.
Check out our best SCB home loan guide for property purchase or refinance.
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SCB TDSR Waiver: How does Relaxed TDSR Rules work?
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So, how has SCB relaxed its Total Debt Servicing Ratio (TDSR) rules for those who want to refinance with SCB?
Under usual circumstances, the TDSR rule states that you can only borrow up to 60% of your gross monthly income. However, because of the Covid-19 virus, the whole situation has changed and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is loosening its grip on the debt servicing ratio. SCB is one of the banks making that first move to relax the TDSR rules for those who want to refinance with SCB.
Under the relaxed TDSR rules, those of you who have home loans with SCB will be able to refinance at TDSR of 100%. For example, if you and your spouse’s gross monthly income is $10,000, you will now be able to borrow up to $2.1 million on your home loan.
| TDSR @ 60% | TDSR @ 100% | |
| Gross monthly income | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Maximum monthly repayment allowed | $6,000 | $10,000 |
| Total loan amount @ SCB home loan with 1.33% interest rate for 20 years | $1.263 million | $2.106 million |
Table 1 – Refinance with SCB under the new relaxed TDSR
SCB TDSR Waiver: What If Yours Is A Home Equity Withdrawal Loan?
For those of you who are not on a pure home loan with SCB (i.e. home equity withdrawal loan), you will still be eligible to refinance with SCB under the relaxed TDSR rules. However, depending on your loan-to-valuation (LTV) ratio, the TDSR that applies will be different.
| LTV above 50% | LTV below 50% | |
| Gross monthly income | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| TDSR | 80% | 100% |
| Maximum monthly repayment allowed | $8,000 | $10,000 |
| Total loan amount @ SCB home loan with 1.33% interest rate for 20 years | $1.685 million | $2.106 million |
Table 2 – Refinance with SCB TDSR Waiver/Relaxation if you are on a home equity loan
SCB TDSR Waiver: Is There A Difference Between Owner-Occupied Property And Investment Property?
Sometimes, you do find that home loans come at different interest rate for owner-occupied (own stay) properties and investment (2nd onwards) property. However, when you want to refinance with SCB, it doesn’t matter. They treat both owner-occupied property and investment property in the same manner. Thus, both gets to enjoy the relaxed TDSR rules when you refinance with SCB as long as you meet the eligibility criteria.
What Are The Criteria To Be Eligible For Refinance With SCB Using The Relaxed TDSR Rules?
In order to refinance with SCB using its new relaxed TDSR rules, there are a few criteria that you need to fulfil.
Firstly, it only applies for home loans on private properties. So, if you are an HDB owner looking to refinance with SCB, you won’t be eligible for this new relaxed TDSR rules. After all, you will be subjected to the mortgage servicing ratio (MSR) instead of the TDSR. If you are looking to refinance your HDB home loan, you can check out what’s the cheapest home loan for HDB here.
Secondly, you need to have a good track record of mortgage repayment. According to SCB, you will need to show prompt payment for your home loan for the last 12 months before you can refinance with SCB under the relaxed TDSR.
Where And How Can You Refinance With SCB TDSR Waiver?
Overall, the new relaxed TDSR rules is good news for home owners because it can help those who have taken a pay cut or been retrenched in recent months to continue to afford their home.
If you are considering to refinance with SCB to under the new relaxed TDSR rules, you can either reach out directly to SCB or you can do it through iCompareLoan. The advantage of refinancing through iCompareLoan is that we will help you compare and find the best home loan deal for you to suit your needs. If there’s a better home loan than the ones at SCB, we will give you a heads up so that you can get more savings from your home loan.
Do you think that refinance with SCB is the best option right now? Or are you aware of any other promotional home loans that our readers should know about? Share with us your thoughts on iCompareLoan’s facebook page or Connect with our founder, Paul Ho in Linkedin.
