Kensington was a pioneer of transparent sub-prime lending

The specialist lender will withdraw its entire "adverse" range at the close of business on Friday.

Sub-prime or adverse loans are offered to homebuyers with poor credit records or unpredictable incomes.

Kensington, which was a pioneer in the sector, had already acted in September by cutting the proportion of a home's value it was prepared to lend to 75%.

It will also be re-pricing its range of prime mortgages and removing some of its other products such as a self-certified buy-to-let mortgage for first-time buyers.

It said that the problem was a lack of appetite among investors for portfolios of adverse debt.

Kensington Mortgages became part of the South African investment bank Investec in August.