Nationwide, the UK's second biggest mortgage lender, has increased the deposit needed by new borrowers to a minimum of ten per cent on all except two of its products.

The building society followed in the footsteps of other lenders by tightening lending criteria and increasing the amount required for a deposit as a result of the slowdown in the housing market and economic turmoil.

Except for Nationwide's three-year fixed-rate mortgage and its three-year tracker, all products for new borrowers have had the maximum loan to value ratio (LTV) reduced to 90 per cent, according to the Press Association.

"These changes will allow us to maintain control of the volume of business the society is attracting, while enabling us to continue offering our full range of mortgages to our existing members in a controlled and prudent way," Matthew Carter, Nationwide's divisional director for mortgages, told the BBC.

New customers will have their borrowing amount capped at £500,000 and those interested in the base mortgage rate will now have to provide a deposit of at least 25 per cent.

Posted on: [ April 30, 2008 ]                     

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