The network said this means a reduced use of credit-scoring and more involvement of underwriters.
Martyn Smith, head of mortgage products at Legal & General, said: “Underwriting and risk assessment can take many forms but there has perhaps been an over-reliance and tightening on credit-scoring by large lenders.
“Our recent launch of a mortgage with no credit-score with the Hanley Economic Building Society showed that there is another way.
"We are also seeing a more flexible and refreshing approach from some of the new lenders coming to the market.”
Intermediary lender Aldermore has recently been vocal about its use of underwriters investigating borrowers’ individual circumstances before an application is declined or approved.
Smith added: “Expert underwriters can conduct more accurate assessments of affordability than any automated process ever can.
"There is scope for a back-to-basics approach which would facilitate a greater likelihood of more mortgages for self-employed and complex prime borrowers to become available.”
Legal & General say a borrower’s track record on servicing debt is crucial to assessing future ability to repay, however minor ‘blips’ do not necessarily mean that a borrower should be downgraded in terms of credit-worthiness.
Smith says underwriters can look at the bigger picture and put these blips (isolated cases of missed payments or minor CCJs, for example) into context to ascertain their true impact. However, using expert underwriters is costly and not for mainstream, high-volume mortgage lending.
Smith added: “The difference between credit scoring and underwriters is a bit like comparing an off-the-peg versus a bespoke suit.”
