Alliance & Leicester increase lending flexibility on mortgages

Alliance & Leicester has announced it will increase its lending flexibility on mortgages, by moving away from the income multiples traditionally used to assess how much customers can borrow.

The bank hopes that this will allow more people to purchase a home, and first time buyers and those with higher disposable incomes are certain to benefit from the new rules.

Mehrdad Yousefi, head of intermediary mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, said: "Our new affordability calculator recognises that every individual has different financial circumstances."

Furthermore, brokers have 24 hour access to the amount that Alliance & Leicester is willing to lend to any given individual specific to their circumstances, giving customers a better all around service.

And finally, customers can avail of the new service either by visiting their local branch or over the phone, giving them a variety of options when contacting the bank about a mortgage.