The number of mortgage deals available to first-time buyers has reached its highest level since May 2019 as lenders brush off warnings from the Bank of England warning that they should not be lending to the riskiest customers. Figures published by Moneyfacts, the financial analyst, showed there are now 405 mortgage deals available to first-time borrowers. This is the highest monthly total since Sam Woods, head of the Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), warned mortgage companies they were being watched like a “hawk” after some started taking on increasingly risky customers.