Hanley Economic Building Society has made several changes to its lending criteria after an ‘extensive review’ of its product range.

The lender undertook a 12-week project to review all lending procedures “in a bid to simplify and clarify” its lending policy and criteria for intermediary partners and their clients.

As a result of the review a minimum property value of £50,000 will apply across all products, all mortgage offers are now valid for six months and pending pay rises due within the next three months are now acceptable, subject to employer confirmation.

The society will now consider a second job for self-employed applicants and employed applicants across all mortgage types and applicants on maternity/paternity leave will now be considered for near prime as well as mainstream residential.

Applications will now be considered from discharged IVAs subject to the applicant being discharged for a minimum of three years, applicable across all mortgage types. This was only previously acceptable if applicants had been discharged for six years.

Hanley head of marketing and business development David Lownds says: “Like all lenders, the lockdown period has caused us to re-evaluate our products, criteria, policy, technology, procedures and processes. When it comes to criteria, feedback from our intermediary partners focused on clarity and simplicity, especially within such a transitional marketplace.

“In the past we’ve had many criteria particulars across different product ranges. While some of these remain necessary for regulatory and responsible lending purposes, we have tried to standardise others where possible.

“We still pride ourselves on our flexibility – and each case will continue to be assessed on an individual basis by the in-house underwriting team – but it’s vital that we, as a progressive lender, are constantly evolving to make life as easy as possible for intermediaries and their clients.”