Lenders make it harder to secure a mortgage deal

Two of Britain's biggest mortgage lenders have changed their lending criteria to make it even harder for customers to secure a home loan.

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is 70 per cent owned by the taxpayer, has tightened the rules on what new applicants can consider as their annual income.

From now on it will only consider 25 per cent of annual performance-related bonus payments, which has to be an average over two years.

Bonus payments made up of shares rather than cash will also be excluded. The crackdown on bonuses payments follows similar moves by other lenders, including Nationwide Building Society and First Direct.

Meanwhile, Abbey, the second largest lender in UK which is owned by Santander, is clamping down on erroneous applications which have come via mortgages brokers. It has ruled out reviewing any applications from customers who were rejected for a new loan because of errors or spaces on the form.

A spokeswoman for Abbey said: "We are getting a high volume of applications through mortgage brokers which are incomplete or contain incorrect information. Consumers should work closely with their financial adviser to ensure that all relevant details and information required to submit a complete application are available to their broker."

Melanie Bien, director of Savills Private Finance, the broker, said: "Despite talk of 'green shoots' of recovery, lenders continue to demonstrate a reluctance to lend by tightening criteria further still.

"When it is some of the bigger lenders who are adopting this approach, borrowers may wonder where they are supposed to go to get accepted for a mortgage.

"While market conditions may be improving and the bottom of the market seems to be in sight, lenders still haven't regained their appetite for lending. If this situation does not change, it will hamper recovery."

Yesterday, Halifax, Britain's biggest lender, pushed up the cost of mortgage deals for existing customers by up to 0.75 percentage points, following a similar move affecting loans for new customers last week.

A five-year fixed-rate deal for homeowners borrowing up to 90 per cent of a property's value was raised from 5.24 per cent to 5.99 per cent, although the fee was cut from £1,249 to £999.

An RBS spokeswoman said: "We continue to consider bonus payments in the assessment of income. We constantly review our internal guidelines to ensure the amount of previous discretionary bonuses eligible for consideration is appropriate to the current economic outlook, recognising our duty as a responsible lender and our customers needs."