The bank came back into the 90 per cent LTV space in December with a five-year fix before adding more options this year. 

The two, five, seven and ten-year fixes are no longer restricted to first-time buyers and the maximum property value Virgin will lend on has increased to £500,000. 

Additionally, maximum mortgage terms at this tier have been extended from 25 to 30 years. Virgin Money will not lend to flats, maisonettes or new-build properties at 90 per cent LTV.

LTI tightens

Virgin Money has also made significant changes to its affordability criteria.

The lender has tightened its loan to income (LTI) cap for all lending above 80 per cent LTV, reducing it to 4.49 times income.

However, this excludes remortgage applications with no additional lending, and its existing loan-to-income cap of 4.49 times income where the LTV is more than 85 per cent remains in place.

At the same time, it will increase the maximum LTI for all interest-only and part-and-part applications to 4.49x.
And in addition to basic pay, 100 per cent of pension and allowable benefit income will be used in the LTI calculation.

The changes come into effect on 4 March and follow revisions of Clydesdale Bank’s loan to income cap on self-employed applicants.