Regulator is reviewing how lenders assess joint RIO applications
LiveMore has raised £212 million through a securitisation that includes retirement interest-only (RIO) mortgages, a product the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing to make easier to offer to joint borrowers.
The transaction, Exmoor Funding 2026-1, is the third residential mortgage-backed securitisation (RMBS) from the specialist lender for people aged over 40.
LiveMore is believed to be the only UK issuer securitising RIO loans, with proceeds funding lending to older homeowners.
A small product under regulatory review
UK Finance figures show 323 RIO mortgages were advanced in Q2 2026, up 5.9% year on year, with lending value up 24% to £31 million.
FCA data puts 2025 RIO sales at around 3,000, against roughly 27,000 lifetime mortgages. The regulator’s later life market study, which covers the role of intermediaries, is due a progress update by year end.
FCA figures cited by its director of retail banking show lifetime and RIO loans made up 9% of the almost 330,000 mortgages advanced to over-55s in 2025.
In its June consultation paper CP26/18, the FCA proposes removing guidance requiring lenders to assess whether a surviving borrower could afford a RIO loan alone after a joint borrower dies. Joint RIO applications would instead be assessed more like standard joint mortgages.
Lenders told the regulator the guidance was too restrictive, and the FCA put RIO arrears at under 1% of accounts. It said the change would reduce lifetime mortgage take-up.
The paper also proposes listing RIO and lifetime mortgages as credible repayment strategies for standard interest-only loans. Final rules are expected in the second half of 2026.
Repayment tied to life events
RIO mortgages have no fixed maturity date and are repaid when the property is sold or following certain life events, which LiveMore said gives older borrowers flexibility.
The lender described RIOs as an increasingly important product, with more people working longer and relying on property wealth to fund retirement.
Inside Exmoor Funding 2026-1
S&P and Moody’s rated the transaction, which was designated a Simple, Transparent and Standardised (STS) securitisation under EU and UK regulation. It was also assessed for the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) and the Liquidity Coverage Ratio Regulation (LCR).
The share of RIO loans in the pool was not disclosed. LiveMore’s first deal, Exmoor Funding 2024-1, totalled £208.1 million across 1,226 mortgages and was described by Moody’s as the first UK RMBS to include RIO loans.
Its second transaction, Exmoor Funding 2025-1, raised £215 million in 2025.
Elsewhere, specialist lender Shawbrook completed a £799 million RMBS in May, and Together raised, refinanced or increased £3 billion through nine securitisations in the 12 months to June 30, 2026.
The social bond structure
The deal sits under LiveMore’s Social Bond Framework, fully aligned with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Social Bond Principles.
The lender said this lets investors back a transaction delivering financial returns alongside measurable social impact, which it called rare in the UK mortgage space.
Simon Webb, managing director of finance and capital markets at LiveMore, said, “This is more than a transaction - it’s a signal of what capital can and should do.”
He said the firm was “proud to be one of the very few UK mortgage lenders offering ICMA-aligned social bonds”, which he described as helping to tackle a major societal challenge around access to fair and flexible finance in later life.
Ahead of the issuance, an ISS ESG Second Party Opinion (SPO) confirmed LiveMore’s lending to underserved borrowers qualifies as a social project category under the ICMA framework.
The qualifying areas include homeownership access for a segment often excluded from mainstream credit, financial inclusion and stability in retirement, and UN Sustainable Development Goal 10 on reduced inequalities.
The issuance supports LiveMore’s mission of widening mortgage access for underserved customers aged 40 plus.
“We’re aligning who we lend to with how we fund ourselves, proving that responsible lending and responsible investing can go hand in hand,” Webb added.
LiveMore’s place in later life lending
Founded in 2020, LiveMore is a regulated non-bank lender working through intermediaries. It supports more than 6,000 customers, works with over 3,700 registered broker firms and holds approximately 14% market share.
It offers more than 3,000 products for people aged 40 to 90 plus, including standard capital repayment, interest-only and part and part mortgages. LiveMore said it is the only lender with an integrated range of capital and interest, term interest-only, RIO and lifetime (equity release) solutions for borrowers aged 40 and over.
In recent years it has widened its funding base and product range while upgrading its technology and adviser support. Its LiveMore Mortgage Matcher calculates maximum borrowing from a client’s income and expenditure and is paired with inclusive underwriting.
