The news looks set to reverse the recent trend of tightening mortgage criteria, as the competitive deals make the popular fixed rate mortgage more accessible.

Commenting on the move, Nici Audhlam-Gardiner, Abbey mortgages director, said: “To help those looking to purchase or move home, we have increased the LTVs on all our fixed rate mortgages that were previously available at 60 per cent LTV to 70 per cent LTV, enabling more borrowers to benefit from our most competitive rates on offer.”

The move comes as the Bank of England put a dampener on any hopes that the recession will soon be over, as Governor Mervyn King warned that the recovery in the economy will be slow, and that interest rates look set to remain low for at least another year.

Meanwhile, Alliance & Leicester – which is owned by Santander, the same group as Abbey – has launched a first time buyer friendly mortgage.

The new first time buyer mortgage deal comes with an LTV of 85 per cent, no fees and an interest rate of 5.99 per cent, fixed for three years.

Commenting, Ms Audhlam-Gardiner said: “It’s hard enough for struggling first time buyers to get onto the property ladder at the moment. That’s why we’ve launched this best-buy deal and, as every penny counts, with no fees, first time buyers have one less thing to worry about.”

According to Alliance & Leicester mortgages there are 1.8 million would-be first time buyers with a deposit who are waiting to buy, all of whom “can take advantage of this great rate whilst rates are low and guarantee certainty of their monthly payments.”

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