Nimrod,
I too got a Professional Studies loan with HSBC to help with the costs. From my expereince with them and reading other posts on the subject, it's fair to say that how successful you are, and how much you get, depends to a great extent on which branch of HSBC you make your application. There still appears to be confusion amongst the braches concerning the pre-requisites and the amount of loan that can be given. So it may be wise to shop around so to speak.
For the amount of money that you're looking for it would certainly be wise to have a plan. The plan should include, at the very least, all the costs involved and the time frame. It may also be a good idea to give a brief introduction on how to fly commercially to put all the information into perspective-remember that you may know the system inside out, but some branch members may not know an IR from a CPL. Contrary to what others may say, don't be under the illusion that you have to turn up in a suit with a fancy plan full of charts and graphs. The plan is there primarliy to show to the bank that you've considered all the financial risks involved and have some sort of mitigation plans should they materialise. Banks will lend you money if they have reasonable assurances that they will get their money back. It's as simple as that.
The amount of money that they will lend without security will be at their discretion but expect to have to offer security for large amounts, just as you would with any other loan. This is also one of those points that seem to depend greatly on which branch you visit.
As superfly said, the Professional Studies Loan is a variable rate loan, 2% above base. When you visit the bank and they quote you the monthly repayment amount, bear in mind that interest rates are very low at the moment and make sure you can handle the repayments for when they rise again. The money can be paid to you as and when you need it in order to reduce interest charges. You also have a grace period of six months after finishing training before you have to start re-paying the loan.
As far as I'm aware HSBC are the only bank that are lending money for pilot training that will cover the entire costs. Barclay's, Co-op and another bank offer a Career Development Loan which can be used for pilot training but that has an upper limit of £8000. Their interest rates vary so check with them.
Good luck,
No. 2