Government ministers will meet with high-street banks tomorrow and call on them to make first-time buyers their “top priority” as Labour focuses on boosting homeownership.  

Housing minister Matthew Pennycook and new economic secretary Lucy Rigby (pictured) will host a roundtable with senior bankers at the Treasury to press the case for an expansion of high loan-to-value lending and other measures to lift FTB homebuying. 

The two ministers will “call on lenders to make first-time buyers their top priority, taking advantage of the Leeds Reforms announced by the Chancellor in July to help more people with small deposits and low incomes get a mortgage,” the government says.    

Bankers from Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest, Santander and lobby group UK Finance will attend. 

Rachel Reeves’ package of Leeds Reforms, aimed at growing the finance sector, included a move by the Financial Policy Committee, which saw it allow large and smaller lenders to underwrite more loans at over 4.5 times a buyer’s income.  

The Financial Policy Committee said in July that large lenders will be able to lend over 15% of overall new home loans at high loan-to-income levels, as long as the aggregate flow of this high loan-to-income lending remains under 15% among large banks overall.  

Previously, no large bank could top the 15% rule. This left a situation where some banks threatened to breach this level, while others were comfortably under this mark. 

Reeves said the move would lead to 36,000 extra FTBs buying their own home in the first full year of the relaxations. 

Rigby says: “Helping FTBs onto the housing ladder is central to our plan for change.   

“That’s why I’m bringing lenders together to make mortgages more accessible and highlight new options for first-time buyers so more people can finally own their own home.” 

Santander UK chief executive Mike Regnier adds: “We welcome the opportunity to engage with the economic secretary and the housing minister on the future of home ownership, building on the work that has already been done to enable lenders to support more homeowners and FTBs realise their homebuying aspirations.” 

The meeting follows discussions with building societies last Wednesday, where mutuals explained how some of their products could help people with small deposits and strong credit ratings get onto the housing ladder. 

Senior representatives from Skipton, Yorkshire, Cambridge, Leeds, Bath and Coventry Building Societies, as well as lobby group the Building Societies Association, were at that roundtable. 

Building Societies Association chief executive Robin Fieth says: “We welcome the government’s efforts to support first-time buyers and are pleased to see engagement with building societies and other lenders on how to better support people who can demonstrate affordability but have been excluded by outdated regulations.  

“Building societies have always led the way in developing innovative solutions to help people into homeownership, and we are ready to do more.” 

The meetings are in line with the government’s target to build 1.5 million homes by the next Parliament.