Bridging lender Selina Finance has made a number of criteria improvements around bonus, commission and overtime income, maximum loan to income (LTI) and adverse credit.
Selina Finance can consider up to 100% of bonus, commission or overtime income in affordability assessments as long as regular payments are proven.
Employed applicants now only need to be in their role for one month, which the lender said will ensure those who have recently changed jobs can access the product range.
The maximum LTI has been increased to six-and-a-half times income for Selina’s Status 0 plan. The maximum LTI will stay at six times income for Status 1.
The firm has also removed its minimum income requirements.
Applicants with adverse credit can be considered on Status 0 if they have up to two missed payments across multiple unsecured items of credit and there is no requirement for unsecured items of credit to be up to date where consolidated for Status 0 products.
On its Status 1 plan, the lender can ignore any unsecured item of credit as long as it is being consolidated or brought up to date at the time of application.
Selina Finance said that the criteria improvements were part of its “broader strategy to enhance its services”.
Stacey Woods, head of intermediaries at Selina Finance, said: “These policy enhancements mark a significant change for Selina in terms of our risk appetite and really widen the scope of what we will accept.
“Our brokers will certainly find that previous declines would fly through now! The changes allow more customers to access our products and experience our hassle-free digital journey. This is the first of many product enhancements that we have planned for the year, so watch this space.”
Earlier this year, Selina Finance secured two new funding lines with Vanquis Bank and Waterfall Asset Management (WAM).
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
