Atom bank has increased its loan-to-income limits on Prime and Near Prime mortgages at up to 90% loan-to-value.

The lender said the change would improve affordability for borrowers with household incomes of between £45,000 and £60,000, potentially increasing their maximum loan by between £23,000 and £31,000.

Atom’s Prime range is available to applicants who have recorded no defaults during the past 36 months and no more than one default between 37 and 72 months ago. Any unsatisfied defaults must have a combined value of no more than £500 per applicant.

The Near Prime range is intended for borrowers with a limited adverse credit history or thin credit files. Applicants must have had no county court judgments during the past 36 months and no more than one between 37 and 72 months ago, while any unsatisfied judgment must be worth no more than £500.

Borrowers must also have had no mortgage arrears during the past 12 months and no more than two months of arrears between 13 and 24 months ago.

Richard Harrison (pictured), head of mortgages at Atom bank, said: “Affordability remains an issue for many borrowers and following feedback from brokers, we have made this improvement to enable applicants to borrow more across all our product ranges.

“This new criteria aims to remove more barriers to home ownership, ensuring more borrowers can get onto, or move up, the housing ladder even if they have lower income and an imperfect credit history.”

“Coupled with our industry leading speed to offer times, we are well placed to give your clients certainty quickly on the success of their mortgage application.”