Alliance & Leicester tightens up

Alliance & Leicester is withdrawing its PlusMortgage products - which offered a mortgage and combined personal loan - as it tightens up on lending in the wake of turbulence in the credit markets.

PlusMortgage was launched in April 2007 and offered exclusively through brokers to high-quality applicants.

The product offered a mortgage of up to 95 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) with an additional unsecured loan.

Stephen Leonard, director of mortgages at Alliance & Leicester, said: "Alliance & Leicester is a prudent and responsible lender with PlusMortgage successfully targeting high quality applicants.

"However, we keep our product range under constant review and given current market conditions, we will be withdrawing our PlusMortgage products at this time."

With an expectation of a housing slowdown this year and uncertain conditions in the financial markets, lenders are reducing their exposure to risk.

Financial website Moneyfacts.co.uk has found during December and January, 11 mortgage lenders reduced the maximum LTV they offer on some or all of their mortgage range.

Alliance & Leicester is due to reveal its results for 2007 tomorrow.