Ipswich Building Society has started stress testing applicants at 5.5 times loan-to-income for those earning at least £75,000, up from 4.5.
However the society is not limiting its maximum income multiples to professionals, such as doctors, lawyers, accountants, architects and vets.
Richard Norrington, chief executive of Ipswich Building Society said: “We’re really pleased to get 2021 off to a positive start by enhancing our income multiples for high earners. We feel this is an important step given the recent upwards movements in house prices and predictions of further growth this year.
“Whilst it’s likely that many higher multiple applicants will be professionals, it’s important to us to be inclusive and that’s why we’ve taken the step to allow anyone with a higher income to apply, so that we don’t exclude individuals who have made a financial success of their career in other fields or industries.”
The society has made some other changes.
Non-dependents in the household can now be excluded for affordability, regular shift pay allowance has been increased from 50% to 100%, borrowers can use 100% of buy-to-let rental profits, while income can be accepted from retired company directors who continue to receive money from their business.
