The lender has announced that it is extending its support for mortgage prisoners with the introduction of new products up to 85% LTV, providing the most comprehensive options to help these borrowers in the current market.
According to the society, the new products will enable more mortgage prisoners to access mortgage deals in line with current market rates and will support borrowers with 15% equity in their homes compared to 25% equity that has been required up until now.
The move follows a recent call from the West Brom to the industry to do more to help these borrowers that are stuck paying higher rates. The Society, which was the first lender to implement modified affordability rules in September 2020, has seen a steady stream of applications from borrowers but says that more needs to be done to support mortgage prisoners.
Jonathan Westhoff, the West Brom’s Chief Executive, said: “The introduction of these new products and lower loan to value requirements marks the next step in our approach to supporting mortgage prisoners. We’re hoping that by adding more products to the range, more borrowers can qualify to switch and access competitive mortgage rates in line with the current market. We’ve seen some borrowers saving up to £700 on their monthly payments, so there are significant savings to be had by switching.
“Whilst we’re pleased with the borrowers we’ve helped so far, we’ve always acknowledged that as a mid-sized lender we can only do so much, and we have called on other lenders for further support. Irrespective of the response, we still feel that far too few of these borrowers have been alerted to the opportunity to reduce their monthly mortgage payments.”
