The Hanley Economic Building Society has undergone a widespread criteria review across its entire product range.

This was part of a 12-week project to review all areas of the Society’s lending procedures in a bid to simplify and clarify its lending policy and criteria for intermediary partners and their clients.

Changes include:

• A minimum property value of £50,000 has been implemented across all product types.
• All mortgage offers are now valid for six months as standard.
• Pending pay rises due within the next three months are now acceptable across all mortgage types – subject to written confirmation from the employer.
• The Society will now consider a second job for self-employed applicants and employed applicants across all mortgage types.
• Applicants on maternity/paternity leave will now be considered for near prime as well as mainstream residential cases – written confirmation from the current employer confirming a return to work date and salary will be required.
• Applications will now be considered from discharged IVAs subject to the applicant being discharged for a minimum of three years, applicable across all mortgage types. This was only previously acceptable if applicants had been discharged for six years.

Hanley has also recently restructured its customer service team to be able to answer enquiries as quickly as possible, and its broker helpdesk remains fully staffed to support intermediary partners.

David Lownds (pictured), head of marketing & business development at the Hanley Economic Building Society, commented: “Like all lenders, the lockdown period has caused us to re-evaluate our products, criteria, policy, technology, procedures and processes. When it comes to criteria, feedback from our intermediary partners focused on clarity and simplicity, especially within such a transitional marketplace.

“In the past we’ve had many criteria particulars across different product ranges. While some of these remain necessary for regulatory and responsible lending purposes, we have tried to standardise others where possible.

“We still pride ourselves on our flexibility – and each case will continue to be assessed on an individual basis by the in-house underwriting team – but it’s vital that we, as a progressive lender, are constantly evolving to make life as easy as possible for intermediaries and their clients.”