The West Brom Building Society has launched two products aimed at mortgage prisoners.

The products take advantage of the new modified affordability assessment rules implemented by the FCA in October 2019.

They consist of a 60 per cent LTV interest-only mortgage and a 75 per cent LTV capital repayment mortgage.

The lender says that availability is subject to tranche limits “to manage demand and operational capacity.”

Initially, it adds, the products will only be available through West Brom’s director mortgage advisers and its intermediary partner Mortgage Force.

The products will then be rolled out to intermediaries who have signed up to the Money and Pensions Service portal, which is due to launch next week.

To access a loan, borrowers must be able to prove that their current mortgage is held in a closed book or by an inactive lender and be eligible for the modified affordability assessment rules.

West Brom chief executive Jonathan Westhoff comments: “Mortgage prisoners, or people trapped on their current mortgage product, have been a growing issue that has rightly received much greater focus as mortgage rates have continued their downward trend over the last decade.

“We know that some of these borrowers have been unable to access significantly better deals for many years, some since the financial crash in 2008, and the support lenders have now received from the regulator has paved the way for change.

“We recognise that this is just the beginning and there is a lot more work that needs to be done by both lenders and intermediary firms, to help those people who have been stuck on a mortgage product for a number of years already.

“The West Brom can only make a small difference, but we hope that we can at least start the process of helping by creating a more active market, supported by more affordable products.”