Nationwide caps mortgages at 4.75 times income

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-28429082

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Nationwide is capping all new mortgages at 4.75 times the borrower's income and imposing a tougher affordability test.

The move, which takes immediate effect, comes as concerns grow about mortgage lending fuelling a house price bubble.

RBS and Lloyds have set a cap of four times income on loans above £500,000.

And the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee said that mortgage lenders should not have more than 15% of their mortgage lending at income multiples above 4.5 times.

But Nationwide's new restriction applies to all residential lending.

In addition, the building society will test whether applicants can afford a mortgage interest rate of 6.99%.

It would not reveal the previous figure, but confirmed that the new "stress" test was tighter than before, in line with Bank of England recommendations.