Mortgage Strategy
1 June 2009

  • 40% Of Just Retirement customers use equity release to reduce debt

    1 Jun 2009

    More than 40% of the money Just Retirement lent through equity release last year was used to pay off mortgages and debt.

  • 60 Seconds With... Alan Cleary

    1 Jun 2009

    What is exact?

  • A&L revises four-year fixed rates

    2 Jun 2009

    Alliance & Leicester for intermediaries is changing the rates on some of its four-year fixed rate deals.

  • Abbey and A&L reassure advisers

    1 Jun 2009

    Abbey and Alliance & Leicester have reassured brokers they will not suffer as a result of parent group Santander ditching high street brands while maintaining intermediary ones.

  • Abbey sees demand for variable products halve

    2 Jun 2009

    Demand for variable mortgage products has almost halved since the start of the year shows research from Abbey Mortgages.

  • Act now to comply with financial sanctions regime

    1 Jun 2009

    Small and medium-sized firms have been warned to act immediately to ensure they are not inadvertently doing business with or- ganisations or individuals blacklisted by the government.

  • Alan Dring launches the MAD Approach

    4 Jun 2009

    Alan Dring has launched consultancy company the MAD Approach.

  • AMI paper sparks debate about trail commission

    1 Jun 2009

    A discussion paper from the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has ignited a debate over whether brokers should be paid trail commission on longer term fixed rate deals.

  • AMI too busy to defend members against criticism

    1 Jun 2009

    I had to catch my breath when I read the comment by Association of Mortgage Intermediaries' director Robert Sinclair that the trade body was working on more important issues (Mortgage Strategy May 25).

  • Annual house price fall remains static

    1 Jun 2009

    The average house price fell by 0.3% in April, compared to a 0.4% drop in March, with the annual rate of decline remaining at 16.2%, shows the latest figures from the Land Registry.

  • Average prices see 1.2% hike in May

    1 Jun 2009

    Average house prices rose 1.2% in May, with the pace of annual price decline easing.

  • Bank holds rates at 0.5%

    4 Jun 2009

    The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has decided to hold the base rate at 0.5% for the third month in a row.

  • Banks and Labour share equal blame for crunch

    5 Jun 2009

    A consumer poll has found that while 83% of the public blame the banks for the credit crunch, 82% put equal blame on Labour, the Bank of England and the Financial Services Authority for the downturn.

  • Banks are profiteering on SVRs, claims Moneyextra.com

    4 Jun 2009

    Banks have been accused of profiteering by Moneyextra.com as its data reveals the average SVR is priced at a massive 4.66% above base rate.

  • Broker products drop 14% in May

    5 Jun 2009

    The steady increase in product availability was stopped short in May as the number of mortgage products available to brokers fell 14% during the month.

  • Brokers ask lenders to come clean on strategy

    1 Jun 2009

    Lenders are being urged to come clean about their intentions towards the intermediary market as brokers continue to struggle to place cases.

  • Brokers must use appropriate loan sourcing systems

    1 Jun 2009

    With more sourcing systems coming onto the market claiming to offer all things to all men I would like to register my concern that brokers may be putting themselves and their clients at risk by using loan sourcing systems not built specifically with loans in mind.

  • Brokers sign up to Beaumont's rent-back service

    1 Jun 2009

    More than 200 brokers have registered with Residential Property Solutions since its launch in early May.

  • Brokers urged not to give up on potential of cross-selling cover

    1 Jun 2009

    Some mortgage brokers have given up on protection products and are not seizing the opportunity to cross-sell, claims British Insurance.

  • Building societies vulnerable as watchdogs and hyenas howl

    1 Jun 2009

    Aldous Huxley's novels haven't quite stood the test of time possibly because, overshadowed by his famous grandfather TH Huxley, he simply tried too hard.

  • Building society lending stabilises

    2 Jun 2009

    Gross mortgage lending by building societies was £1,551m in April 2009, compared to £1,571m in March, and £3,921m in April 2008, show figures from the Building Societies Association.

  • Building society lending stabilises

    2 Jun 2009

    Gross mortgage lending by building societies was £1,551m in April 2009, compared to £1,571m in March, and £3,921m in April 2008, show figures from the Building Societies Association.

  • Business Lending warns against sourcing systems

    3 Jun 2009

    Kevin Cooke, sales and marketing director at Business Lending, says brokers that place a heavy reliance on sourcing systems to accurately source commercial mortgages will be disappointed if they rely solely on the results.

  • Calling on IT to help clients

    1 Jun 2009

    Lenders must focus on technology and people skills to boost their arrears and repossessions performance, says Paul Fenn, managing director of special servicing at HML, which sponsored Lending Strategy's round table

  • Carpe diem when it comes to fixed rates

    1 Jun 2009

    It was interesting to read the results of a recent Mortgage Strategy straw poll which concluded that a whopping 76% of readers say they would recommend their clients take out long-term fixed rate mortgages.

  • Celtic tiger wakes up with €150bn mortgage hangover

    1 Jun 2009

    House prices may be in freefall in Ireland but the level of mortgage debt, a hangover from the halcyon days of the Celtic tiger economy and the property boom, now stands at a record €150bn, according to the Central Bank & Financial Services Authority of Ireland.

  • Complaints against self-cert brokers are increasing, says Ombudsman

    1 Jun 2009

    The Financial Ombudsman Service says it is seeing a rise in the number of complaints against brokers who allegedly encourage clients to inflate their income when applying for self-cert mortgages.

  • Crunch bites

    1 Jun 2009

    House prices may have bottomed out but it seems the price of teeth is still in freefall. According to the annual Tooth Fairy Index from the Children's Mutual, the average cost of a child's tooth has fallen 6% from £1.22 to £1.15.

  • Disclosure message must be reinforced

    1 Jun 2009

    Our industry has suffered from the negative press generated by the non-payment of claims.

  • Diversity

    3 Jun 2009

    Like millions of people, and after proclaiming my hatred for all reality shows, I could not help watch Britains Got Talent and getting carried away by some great performances. While Stavros Flatley had me crying with laughter at their innocent high jinks, and young Aiden had me proclaiming the next great star, I thought it was apt, and more than justified, that the brilliant Diversity won.

  • Don't hold your breath waiting for AMI to fight for you

    1 Jun 2009

    The industry regulator failed to pick up on the liquidity problems of financial institutions, along with its fellow experts at ratings agencies that also did a marvellous job of being wrong with their rating processes.

  • Dual pricing drove my client to deal directly with RBS

    1 Jun 2009

    My colleague recently tried to help a first-time buyer who wanted to buy a new-build flat for £100,000.

  • eMoneyfacts offers help to Network Data ARs

    2 Jun 2009

    Appointed representatives of Network Data Limited and Mortgage Broking Solutions Limited who have been left without a sourcing system have been offered help by eMoneyfacts.

  • Evaluate appoints lender relationship manager

    4 Jun 2009

    Evaluate Technologies has appointed Jim Barrowman as lender relationship manager.

  • Fighting back against fraud

    1 Jun 2009

    One of the dismal consequences of the recession has been an increase in fraud and the regulator has mortgage lenders and brokers in its sights as it tries to clamp down, says Robyn Hall

  • Firms can reach out for help

    1 Jun 2009

    Many companies are not aware of the local and national initiatives that exist to help them trade through the downturn, says Julien Holmes, managing director of Crown Mortgage Management

  • First Action teams up with Assurant Intermediary

    3 Jun 2009

    First Action Finance has entered into a partnership with Assurant Intermediary and will offer its GI products.

  • Focus must be on FTBs and movers

    1 Jun 2009

    It seems there are factions in the mortgage industry that are hell bent on destroying the broker sector.

  • FSA bans broker for failing to pay FOS charge

    2 Jun 2009

    The Financial Services Authority has cancelled the permissions of a Kent-based mortgage broker after he failed to pay out for a complaint against him upheld by the Financial Ombudsman Service.

  • FSA broker fees to rise by only 2.7%

    2 Jun 2009

    The amount that brokers have to pay in regulatory fees is to go up by 2.7% for 2009/2010, rather than the 21.2% rise proposed initially.

  • FSA claims Network Data ARs were owed over £2m

    2 Jun 2009

    The Financial Services Authority has published a document which claims that Network Data Limited owed its appointed representatives over £2m.

  • FSA is to blame for dearth of lending

    1 Jun 2009

    The Financial Services Authority is a joke but it's no laughing matter - that was the view in the bars of Harrogate last week as executives drowned their sorrows during the Building Societies Association's annual conference.

  • FSA proposes extension of short selling disclosure regime

    2 Jun 2009

    The Financial Services Authority is proposing to extend the current disclosure regime for significant net short positions in the stocks of UK financial sector companies, due to expire on 30 June 2009.

  • FSA proposes to extend short selling disclosure regime

    1 Jun 2009

    The Financial Services Authority is proposing to extend the current disclosure regime for significant net short positions in the stocks of UK financial sector companies, due to expire on 30 June 2009.

  • FSA to look at societies' risk

    5 Jun 2009

    The Financial Services Authority is to consult on additional guidance to ensure building societies have the adequate risk management systems and skills to diversify safely.

  • FSA wants to fix something that ain't broke

    1 Jun 2009

    There is an old adage that says if it ain't broke don't fix it - something that is lost on the regulator, particularly with the latest comments surrounding the Retail Distribution Review.

  • FSCS levy bites chunk out of Nationwide profits

    1 Jun 2009

    Nationwide's annual pre-tax profits fell 69% to £212m after the building society was hit by a £241m levy for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

  • FSCS levy hits pre-tax profits at Nationwide

    1 Jun 2009

    Pre-tax profits at Nationwide fell 69% to £212m after the building society was hit with a £241m levy for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

  • George Osborne calls for more details on stress tests

    1 Jun 2009

    George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, has called on the Financial Services Authority to reveal more detail about the stress tests being carried out on UK banks.

  • George Osborne calls on FSA to be clear on stress tests

    2 Jun 2009

    George Osborne, the shadow chancellor, has called on the Financial Services Authority to reveal more detail about the stress tests being carried out on UK banks.

  • HML builds special servicing panel

    1 Jun 2009

    HML has appointed Property Service Partnership and Debt Management Services as part of its special servicing panel.

  • House prices rise 2.6% in May

    4 Jun 2009

    House prices rose 2.6% in May but remain 16.3% down on the same time last year, according to the latest Halifax house price index.

  • House prices stay level in May, says Hometrack

    1 Jun 2009

    House prices remained unchanged in May, making it the first time in 20 months that a monthly fall in prices has not been recorded.

  • House purchase approvals continue to climb

    2 Jun 2009

    The number of house purchase approvals in April hit 43,201, an increase on both March’s figure and the previous six-month average.

  • Housing confidence starts to return

    2 Jun 2009

    Public confidence in the housing market is higher than at any point since September 2007 and the Northern Rock bail out, shows propertyfinder.com’s May survey of confidence in the housing market.

  • Housing market confidence returns

    1 Jun 2009

    Public confidence in the housing market is higher than at any point since September 2007 and the Northern Rock bail out, shows propertyfinder.com’s May survey of confidence in the housing market.

  • If the industry does not want brokers, just tell us

    1 Jun 2009

    As a former appointed representative of Network Data I am writing out of anger and frustration at the debacle surrounding the network and Mortgage Broking Solutions Limited.

  • IFAs introducing a third of equity release business

    3 Jun 2009

    Hodge Lifetime's quarterly customer questionnaire has shown that a third of all equity release business is being introduced through advisers.

  • I'm worried my firm won't pay for my birthday

    1 Jun 2009

    I must confess to writing this column in a bit of a rush. The morning I had set aside to prepare it was instead taken up by a four-hour meeting with our group financial controller.

  • IMLA predicts first-time buyer pick-up

    3 Jun 2009

    Brokers expect to handle slightly more business for first-time buyers and home movers over the next two months, shows a survey from the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association.

  • John Charcol cuts basic salary

    4 Jun 2009

    Mortgage brokerage John Charcol is to chop the basic salary of its sales force but will increase commission payments.

  • Jonathan Cornell joins First Action Finance

    1 Jun 2009

    Jonathan Cornell, former managing director of Hampton Mortgages, has joined London-based mortgage broker and IFA firm First Action Finance as head of communications.

  • L&G in deal with Knight Frank

    1 Jun 2009

    Legal & General has teamed up with Knight Frank to provide protection products to its clients.

  • L&G Mortgage Club offers exclusives with Platform

    1 Jun 2009

    Legal & General Mortgage Club is launching two exclusive three-year fixed rates through Platform.

  • Largemortgageloans.com offers five-year trackers

    1 Jun 2009

    Largemortgageloans.com has launched two five-year trackers to cater for loans between £500,000 and £1m.

  • Legal hold-ups may paralyse Ireland's bad bank

    1 Jun 2009

    There may be trouble ahead for the bad bank proposed for the Irish Republic - that's the view of one of its principal architects, finance minister Brian Lenihan.

  • Lend a Hand needs some sweeteners

    1 Jun 2009

    Looking at the many column inches on the launch of Lloyds TSB's Lend a Hand mortgage, a part of me couldn't help feeling that a better name for the product might have been Cover our Back.

  • Let's not lose a generation of first-time buyers

    1 Jun 2009

    When forecasting an economic recovery, as when valuing assets, mistakes can be made if blanket measures are applied and the details of various risk groups neglected.

  • Life offices move in on equity release

    1 Jun 2009

    I was going to write about Specialist Advisers For Equity Release this week but as nobody knows if the trade association is still operating I will leave it until we know more.

  • Lloyds Banking Group says sorry to shareholders

    5 Jun 2009

    Lloyds Banking Group has apologised to investors who have lost money as a result of value being knocked from the lender’s share price.

  • Lloyds tries to have its cake and eat it too

    1 Jun 2009

    Whether Lloyds TSB's Lend a Hand deal will deliver the first-time buyer support that the headlines claim is debatable.

  • Lots of F-words

    2 Jun 2009

    The Freedom of Information Act has not only opened a window on how our political lords and masters fiddle their expenses and in some cases seemingly committing fraud, but it has also shone the torch of truth on how the Financial Services Authority squanders our readers’ money.

  • Marketwatch 010609

    1 Jun 2009

    Swaps increased slightly last week but it didn't seem to have a significant effect on rates. Three-month LIBOR is now down to 1.27%.1-year money is up 0.05% at 1.27%2-year money is up 0.06% at 1.94%3-year money is up 0.06% at 2.53%5-year money is up 0.08% at 3.26%

  • Meet the x-men

    1 Jun 2009

    What does it take to run a successful data management specialist in the present market? Mortgage Strategy grills the men charged with taking xit2 onwards and upwards

  • Most ex-Network Data ARs won't join First Affinity

    1 Jun 2009

    Having read KISS Financial Services' David Tarry's recent endorsement of First Affinity I can only assume that, as a former Network Data appointed representative, he is not owed a substantial sum of money (Mortgage Strategy May 18).

  • Movers and shakers

    1 Jun 2009

    Alison Beech joins Spicerhaart Financial Services

  • MSN managing director leaves

    1 Jun 2009

    Jason Graham, managing director of Mortgage Support Network, has left the company with immediate effect.

  • Mydeposits launches claim service

    1 Jun 2009

    Mydeposits.co.uk, a non-custodial tenancy deposit protection scheme, has launched a service which allows tenants to raise a deposit dispute at the end of their tenancy.

  • Net lending drops to eight-year low

    1 Jun 2009

    Net mortgage lending by high street banks hit an eight-year low in April, falling to 2.7bn from an average of 3.4bn in the previous six months.

  • Nikki Haworth joins Ingard

    3 Jun 2009

    Nikki Haworth, former head of Mortgage 2000 has joined the mortgage network Ingard.

  • No easy answers to questions on interest rates

    1 Jun 2009

    If I had a pound for every time I've been asked what's going to happen to interest rates during my career I'd be a rich woman indeed.

  • Non-executive directors appointed to FSCS board

    1 Jun 2009

    The Financial Services Authority has appointed two non-executive directors to the board of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

  • Peers call for changes to Bank powers

    2 Jun 2009

    Peers have called for overall supervision of the banking system to be handed back to the Bank of England rather being divided between the tripartite authority.

  • Personal services

    1 Jun 2009

    Mole was intrigued last week to note that one financial institution is taking diversification to the extreme.

  • Place names can illuminate our forgotten history

    1 Jun 2009

    It has always been fascinating to me how London's environs and suburbs have attracted names that seem to have no immediate relevance until you dig deeper.

  • Playing generation game will pay off

    1 Jun 2009

    The launch of Lloyds TSB's Lend a Hand product took me back to my early days at Nationwide in Liverpool, when it was common for parents to act as guarantors and place funds on deposit to make it possible for their offspring to get on the property ladder.

  • Poor guys

    1 Jun 2009

    And it's not just the tooth fairy who's feeling the credit crunch's fury. A survey by the Centre for Economics and Business Research shows that the number of millionaires in the UK has more than halved since the crunch took hold.

  • Prepare for more change

    1 Jun 2009

    Brokers have been forced to act as the ultimate Transformers in recent times, with many morphing into almost unrecognisable businesses compared with a couple of years ago.

  • Principality has a refreshingly efficient approach

    1 Jun 2009

    I thought I should write about my experience with a lender that has a refreshing approach to lending - Principality.

  • Property Spotlight

    1 Jun 2009

    A round-up of house price activity across the UK

  • Return of HSBC Rate Matcher

    3 Jun 2009

    HSBC has dealt brokers a further blow today by reintroducing its Rate Matcher Mortgage, offering to match or beat existing mortgage rates as low as 2.49%, and fix them for up to five years.

  • RMBS arrears continue to rise

    2 Jun 2009

    The level of arrears relating to residential mortgage-backed securities continues to escalate as Moody's Investor Services charts a quarterly increase in arrears since 2007.

  • S&P to pay ARs trail commission despite falling off network panels

    1 Jun 2009

    Select & Protect has pledged that it will continue to pay appointed representatives trail commission despite it no longer being on some networks' panels.

  • Sale-and-rent-back rules finalised

    3 Jun 2009

    The Financial Services Authority has published the details of the regime it aims to introduce on 1 July to tackle problems in the sale-and-rent-back market.

  • Scottish Widows says yes to claims

    1 Jun 2009

    Scottish Widows has revealed that it only had to decline 2% of all critical illness claims between 2007 and October 2008 due to non-disclosure.

  • Shape the future with AMI

    1 Jun 2009

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has launched a consultation paper on the future of mortgage regulation following the Financial Services Authority's mortgage sector conference last month.

  • Shared ownership is the new black

    1 Jun 2009

    With the fall in house prices and the shortage of first-time buyer deals on the market, shared ownership is this season's new black and is shrugging off its sub-prime stigma to become a real force in the market.

  • Sharpe shapes up for the long haulSharpe shapes up for the long haul

    1 Jun 2009

    Last autumn Robert Sharpe came out of retirement to assume control of West Bromwich Building Society as chief executive in a surprise move that sent the industry rumour machine into overdrive. Even as we go to press speculation is rife about the society's future

  • Show mortgage fraud the red card

    1 Jun 2009

    No-one likes to admit to a blunder and it's no different for lenders and mortgage fraud.

  • Shunning PPI could expose clients to risk

    1 Jun 2009

    Paymentcare is warning that a distorted image of the payment protection insurance market is causing some consumers to miss out on accident and sickness cover.

  • Smoke, fire and West Brom

    1 Jun 2009

    What's going on at West Bromwich? Last October chief executive Stephen Karle and finance director Gary Cowdrill both suddenly left.

  • Societies reel as ratings and regulatory assaults continue

    1 Jun 2009

    Fitch Ratings has downgraded five building societies as the ambush on mutuals continues.

  • Stay cool and think ahead

    1 Jun 2009

    The industry needs reflection and debate rather than heated confrontations between lenders and brokers, says Peter Williams, executive director of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association

  • Tap rising demand for debt solutions

    1 Jun 2009

    The Insolvency Service’s statistics for Q1 2009 showed there were 29,774 individual insolvencies in England and Wales, up 19% on the same period a year ago.

  • Tell AMI the fights you want it to pick

    1 Jun 2009

    If the economic problems facing our customers wasn't enough, the lack of decent LTV mortgages is giving brokers a headache.

  • The FSA accepts AMI's argument over fees

    3 Jun 2009

    The campaign by The Association of Independent Financial Advisers and the Association of Mortgage Advisers against the swingeing increase in regulatory fees originally proposed by FSA on its members was a major factor in the huge number of responses - 533 - to the consultation.

  • The long road to recovery

    1 Jun 2009

    As in the 1930s, poorly considered regulation could delay economic recovery rather than facilitate it, says Gary Styles, strategy, risk and economics director at Hometrack

  • The month at a glance

    1 Jun 2009

    The news agenda in May was once again dominated by money but this time the media took a break from reporting on the credit crunch to focus on the expense claims of the men and women we trust to run our country

  • The party must end for brokers

    1 Jun 2009

    It's high time the regulator gave lenders a break and instead focussed on forcing mortgage brokers to comply with the highest standards, says Philip Tebbatt

  • The Real Nationwide House Price Index rises 1.4% in May

    1 Jun 2009

    As suggested in my comment on Nationwide’s April house price index the difference between the doctored, or to use the technical term, “seasonally adjusted” figure and the real, unadjusted, figure is small in May. It is also likely to be small for the next two months.

  • This month's decision: Hold

    1 Jun 2009

    With quantitive easing still working its way through the economy and unemployment on the rise, this month the GE Money Home Lending Shadow Monetary Policy Committee votes to hold the base rate

  • Through the policy maze

    1 Jun 2009

    Lending Strategy recently invited Professor Steve Wilcox, a leading expert on housing policy, to speak at an informal lunch with a group of senior executives. John Murray puts it to him that, thanks to a plethora of government initiatives, arrears and repossessions are surely things of the past

  • Tiuta makes secured loan debut

    1 Jun 2009

    The secured loans sector is starting to show signs of revival with bridging lender Tiuta launching into it through packager Savills Lending Solutions.

  • TrigoldCrystal places 16 staff into consultation

    1 Jun 2009

    TrigoldCrystal has placed 16 of its 109 staff into consultation as a result of Trigold's merger with Crystal Software Solutions in April.

  • US SEC charges Countrywide Financial boss with fraud

    5 Jun 2009

    Angelo Mozilo, CEO of Countrywide Financial, has been charged along with two other directors at the firm with fraud by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

  • Valuation reports are getting longer

    1 Jun 2009

    Property growth is cyclical, or at least we all hope this remains the underlying truth. It's interesting to note how lenders' valuation requirements reflect this cycle.

  • We should be careful what we wish for

    1 Jun 2009

    With all the furore surrounding MPs' expenses in the past three weeks and SuBo - Susan Boyle from Britain's Got Talent - grabbing the headlines you could be forgiven for thinking that the worse of the credit crunch is behind us. And maybe it is, depending on who you listen to.

  • What a blast

    1 Jun 2009

    Mole was tickled by the latest crunch joke doing the rounds, poking fun at the doom-mongering tactics employed by some PRs. Take a look at the spoof press release below:

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