Barclays has lowered its loan to income multiples to a maximum of 4.49 times income.

This applies to all LTVs, loan sizes and income scenarios except for where an LTV is greater than 90 per cent and joint income of the household is equal to or below £50,000, and where the debt to income ratio is equal to or above 20 per cent.

In these two cases the income multiple has been lowered to 4 times salary.

In a note to brokers, Barclays says that these changes apply to any new application from today (4 September) as well as any application that has been created but not submitted.

It will also apply to submitted cases that are yet to receive an offer

In mid-July this year, Barclays announced that it would, in some cases, lend up to 5.50 times income.