At the time of going to press, Alliance & Leicester, Coventry Building Society, Godiva Mortgages and Abbey had all pulled their 125 per cent LTV products.
As a result, only Northern Rock and BM Solutions continued to offer the solution, aimed primarily at FTBs, although a spokesperson for BM Solutions confirmed that ‘it was constantly reviewing its product range’.
Commenting on the decision to pull its PlusMortgage offering, Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, said: “Alliance & Leicester is a prudent and responsible lender with PlusMortgage successfully targeting high quality applicants.
"However, we keep our range under constant review and given current market conditions, we will be withdrawing our PlusMortgage products at this time.”
Discussing Godiva’s withdrawal, Colin Franklin, managing director of Godiva Mortgages, said: “MOREgage applications have reduced to a negligible level and it is no longer cost-effective to maintain the additional underwriting processes for these loans.”
Peter O’Donovan, mortgage manager at Bestinvest, said: “It is a shame because it is the main way that many FTBs can get onto the market. If the product is properly advised then there should be minimal risks.
"Northern Rock’s product is too uncompetitive to offer and the loss of 120 per cent deals will mean that it will take out a large percentage of aspiring buyers.”
