< p>Research issued recently by a financial information service highlighted what many of us have suspected for some time: the Funding for Lending Scheme is not working properly. The Moneyfacts research showed that the number of 80 per cent and 90 per cent LTV loans at the beginning of November was roughly the same as at the beginning of October. In short, the mortgages available to first time buyers and those with smaller deposits remain few and far between. Or to put it another way, the Funding for Lending Scheme has failed to encourage the banks to take on riskier loans despite the fact that money is cheaper for them to borrow. And while Moneyfacts noted that some rates at higher LTVs have come down, what it also observed is that the criteria remain as tough as ever: the instinct among the banks continues to be not to lend rather than lend. This latest research into the Funding for Lending Scheme confirmed a trend Moneyfacts has been monitoring for some time, which it highlighted in a separate analysis. It showed that, over the five years to October 2012, the number of 60 per cent LTV mortgages on the market has grown by over 2000 per cent, from 21 to 476. But during the same time period, the number of 90 per cent loans has fallen by 67 per cent, from 894 to 292. What this drives home is the deep-seated risk aversion on the high street, and the banks' fondness for 'riskless' products and borrowers. Among the high street lenders, it is very much a case of 'no business as usual'; until this ends, expect the broader property market to remain in its current limbo.