Three of the big six high street lenders have no plans to follow Halifax and Barclays in withdrawing mortgages with high tier loan to values (LTVs), Mortgage Solutions understands.

Barclays announced it would only accept applications on products of up to 60 per cent LTV and a day later, Halifax removed all mortgages higher than 60 per cent LTV, except for product transfers and advances.

Nationwide, HSBC and Santander all confirmed to Mortgage Solutions there were no plans to withdraw higher LTV products but said they would keep reviewing market conditions.

According to their intermediary websites, all three are still offering mortgages up to 95 per cent LTV.

Although NatWest did not respond to Mortgage Solutions, its latest product update on 26 March includes deals up to 95 per cent LTV.

Nationwide Building Society said it would continue to support the market within the constraints of the current environment.

The society does not plan to pull any mortgage products at this time, but admitted that some applications would take longer to progress.

HSBC said it would not change its approach to lending and was monitoring service levels.

Santander is monitoring the situation and its impact on the mortgage market.

The bank said it would continue to review products and ways to support mortgage customers, including the processing of mortgage payment holidays.

A spokesperson for Santander said: “Any changes we make to our product offering will always be communicated clearly to our customers and the brokers who we work so closely with.”

Since this response the government has published its guidance on home moves and a note on the Santander website said it is reviewing its product range.

“We ask that you contact your dedicated Santander for Intermediaries (SFI) contact to discuss any new cases before you submit them,” it said.

Source: https://www.mortgagesolutions.co.uk/news/2020/03/27/major-lenders-pledge-to-continue-high-ltv-mortgages/