Gen H has reduced rates across its 85% and 90% loan-to-value (LTV) mortgage ranges, bucking the wider trend as many lenders continue to push prices upwards.

The lender confirmed that all two, three and five-year products at these LTV levels are now 10 basis points cheaper, with the new rates immediately available to more than 22,000 brokers on its panel.

The move comes shortly after Gen H introduced a series of changes to its loan-to-income (LTI) ratio criteria over the summer. Self-employed applicants and borrowers taking out mortgages above 85% LTV can now access up to 5.5 times their income.

At the same time, the gross income threshold for the 4.49x LTI cap was reduced from £50,000 to £40,000. Income booster cases remain capped at 4.49x to safeguard affordability.

Since the changes, Gen H has reported a 25% rise in application volumes, which it said reflects strong demand for higher LTI lending.

Pete Dockar, chief commercial officer at Gen H, said: “Every week, we dedicate time to answer one question: can we price down? If there are any reductions we can responsibly make, we will always do so.

“I think this reduction – which comes as most other lenders are pricing up – demonstrates that.

“But we do this because even 10 basis points, especially at high LTVs, will make a difference for those incremental homeowners – for those just on the precipice. Those are the people we’ll always try to help.”