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The lender has announced a number of changes to its home lending policy, which include a softening of its expense requirements for lower-risk borrowers.
Virgin Money Home Loans has informed brokers that it has made a number of changes to its credit policy.
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The BOQ subsidiary will now accept one month of transactional statements for the purposes of living expense verification where:
- All applicants are PAYG
- The loan-to-value ratio (LVR) is equal to or less than 80 per cent
- No lenders mortgage insurance (LMI)
- No adverse credit history (as stated by the customer)
Further, Virgin Money has announced that it would be implementing changes designed to “simplify” aspects of its expense verification process, to ensure it is “focusing on areas with greater risk”.
As part of the move, Virgin Money has asked brokers to provide further information about customer transactions relating to the following:
- Liabilities in the statement that are not shown on the application
- Any concerns with account conduct (e.g. overdrawn or dishonours)
- Details on the reason for any cash withdrawals or account transfers of more than $1,000
- Any differences between declared school/childcare expenses and what is on the statement
- Any HECS/HELP debt that is not shown in the application
- Any child support that is being paid that is not declared in the application
- Any medical or nursing expenses that are not declared in the living expenses
In such instances, brokers are required to ensure they record the reason for the expenses, whether they have been declared on the application, and whether the item is recurring in nature.
Moreover, Virgin Money has announced that it has reduced the minimum visa period from five years to four years from the date the visa was issued, which would allow Temporary Skill Shortage Visa (482) applications.
Finally, Virgin Money has eased its requirement for guarantors to obtain independent financial advice from “mandatory” to “recommendation only”.
The bank’s changes are effective for new applications lodged on or after 23 September.
[Related: Major bank drops serviceability floor rate]
