mortgage, the first time a term of that length has been offered by a Bermudian bank.

The new mortgage is designed to make home ownership easier and more accessible for first-time buyers, and will also be offered to new borrowers or those with mortgages elsewhere who wish to refinance, the bank said in press release.

At the same time the Bank of Butterfield unveiled a new pricing structure for two, four, and five-year fixed mortgages, replacing its one and three-year mortgages and reducing its fixed rate on the new line.

The bank's new two-year mortgage will carry an interest rate of 8 percent while its four year mortgage weighs in at 8.5 percent. Meanwhile, the bank has reduced by 1 of one percent its five-year lending rate, now pegged at 8.75 percent.

There is no fixing premium on these new products and fixed rate mortgages are amortised over a period not exceeding 20 years.

Up until this spring, Somers Mortgage and Finance was the only other financial institution to offer a mortgage that matured after 25 years.