The lender said the Helping Hand minimum income requirement for joint borrowers will stay the same at £55,000.
The Helping Hand deal allows borrowing of up to six times incoming when taking a five- or 10-year fixed rate up to 95% loan to value (LTV).
Nationwide said this can give potential first-time buyers a third more borrowing power compared to its standard lending at four-and-a-half times income.
First-time buyers can also receive around £500 cashback when they complete their mortgage and can secure an additional £500 cashback if they buy an energy-efficient property through Nationwide’s green reward.
Nationwide explained that the current regulations limit the amount of high-loan-to-income (LTI) lending that banks and building societies can do to no more than 15% of qualifying loans.
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The firm said it has to “manage its lending relative to that limit”, adding that it was even more important since it extended borrowing up to six times income through Helping Hand.
The bank said it has had to increase minimum income requirements “in order to stay within that limit”. However, the latest cut would help more first-time buyers, but the minimum income levels were still above last year’s threshold of £30,000 for sole applicants and £50,000 for joint applicants.
Nationwide said it was “necessary to ensure Nationwide’s lending complies with regulation amid high demand”.
Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s director of home, said: “We continue to do all we can to put first-time buyers first and aim to set our Helping Hand minimum income requirements at levels that give it the widest appeal.
“Helping Hand has proven extremely popular with prospective homeowners, especially since we extended it to six times income, and we continue to provide as much support as possible, whilst remaining within the high-loan-to-income lending regulations.
“While we are pleased to be able to reduce the minimum income requirement for sole applicants again, we want to do more and that’s why we continue to call for a review of the 15% limit.”
