Mortgage lending above 90% loan-to-value reaches 8.4% of advances, its highest share since 2008

Bank of England figures published on 8 September show that 8.4% of gross mortgage advances in the second quarter of 2026 went above 90% loan-to-value, up 0.4 percentage points on the quarter and the highest share since the second quarter of 2008, while lending above 75% LTV reached 47.5%, the highest since late 2007. Gross advances rose 11.1% on the quarter to £77.4bn, which points to lenders easing at the high loan-to-value end rather than a small group of borrowers stretching further on their own. For buyers holding a 5% or 10% deposit, more of the market is open to them than at any point since before the financial crisis; for sellers of flats and smaller houses, that widens the pool of people able to bid. The data covers April to June, so it says nothing about this week's rate rises, and with arrears steady at 1.1% of outstanding balances there is no sign yet that the loosening has strained repayment.