The move was welcomed by Solent Mortgage Services which has Melton Mowbray on its lending panel.
Solent said that the Melton Mowbray’s decision to extend the range demonstrated the important role the mutual sector plays in driving innovation in the market.
Ian Balfour, chief executive officer of SMS, said: “We have been particularly heartened to see the re-emergence of the mutual sector which has provided brokers with so much more variety of product offerings to those offered by the bigger players.
“Their hands-on approach to underwriting and the understanding of the cases they take on has, in the case of Melton Mowbray, led to this decision to open up their lending at 95% to the widest range of purchase borrowers.”
Balfour added: “We have always believed that the residential market would have completely stagnated by now were it not for the arrival of new lenders and the new found confidence of the mutual sector.
“They have shown that it is possible to understand today’s lending risk and produce attractive products which clients need, without resorting to computer modelling and points scoring.”
