Mortgage Strategy
10 September 2007

  • B2L confidence hits record high

    10 Sep 2007

    Landlords' confidence in the buy-to-let sector is at the highest level on record, with average yields increasing and landlords planning to add to their portfolios, a Paragon Mortgages survey has found.

  • GHL teams up with Moneyway

    10 Sep 2007

    GHL Group has appointed Moneyway as a packager partner. Moneyway built its reputation with its OneBill bill management system.

  • 1st appoints business development consultant

    13 Sep 2007

    1st, a Vertex company and supplier of integrated technology solutions for financial advisers, has made Gary Williams its new business development consultant.

  • 3mc launches adverse products

    14 Sep 2007

    3mc has launched a range of two year adverse products with options including cash backs.

  • 5D to launch north of the border

    10 Sep 2007

    5D Finance is to launch in Scotland. The commercial lender's chief financial officer William Hodson says: "We are entering a period of sustained growth after a summer of intense activity. We are launching in Scotland on the back of our success in England."

  • A timely wake-up call for sub-prime

    10 Sep 2007

    The winds of change are blowing through the sub-prime market. LTVs are decreasing, rates are increasing and lenders are reassessing and repricing risk, and this is happening without loan performance deteriorating significantly. Arrears and repossessions are up a little from historically low levels, but nowhere near enough to trigger this degree of market dislocation.

  • A&L cuts prices on fixed rate deals

    11 Sep 2007

    Alliance & Leicester has cut the price of several two and five-year fixed rate deals.

  • Abacus uncovers demand for greener homes

    11 Sep 2007

    Two out of three UK energy consumers are more concerned about the environment than the cost of energy, says a survey by Abacus Billing.

  • Abbey raises rates

    13 Sep 2007

    Abbey has risen the rates of its tracker products for new customers by between 0.1% and 0.2%.

  • Abbey to lower selection of two-year fixed rates

    14 Sep 2007

    Abbey is lowering rates on a selection of its new two-year fixed rate mortgage products by between 0.05% and 0.21%.

  • Advantage bins paper applications

    10 Sep 2007

    Advantage says a decline in paper applications means it will now only accept new mortgage applications online.

  • AFB's annual weekend at The Belfry

    10 Sep 2007

    The Association of Finance Brokers’ annual autumn weekend will be held at The Belfry.

  • As the third anniversary of regulation approaches, what issues do so sole brokers face?

    10 Sep 2007

    The dearth of first-time buyers is more of a problem for small firms than the burden of regulatory compliance, according to our experts

  • B&W launches AMPD exclusives

    14 Sep 2007

    Bristol & West has launched a range of exclusives through the Association of Mortgage Packagers and Distributors today.

  • B2L deserves praise not condemnation

    10 Sep 2007

    For 2,500 years, debate and formal argument have been at the centre of the western civilisation. Our society is built on consensus, reached by careful thought and logic. And last week the mortgage industry proved that the art of oratory was alive and well at the Wriglesworth buy-to-let debate.

  • B2L investors buying in regeneration areas

    11 Sep 2007

    Investors are buying into regeneration areas, a survey of investors shows.

  • Balance sheet lenders better bet, says Salt

    10 Sep 2007

    Salt is urging brokers to consider on balance sheet lenders amid product withdrawals, criteria changes and rate rises across the market.

  • Balance sheet lenders may not fare as well as expected

    10 Sep 2007

    The need for many specialist lenders to reprice their mortgage products has led to some commentators remarking that this could result in a windfall for balance sheet lenders. But I remain to be convinced that this is the case.

  • Banks ride roughshod over workers

    10 Sep 2007

    Have I always been cynical or has viewing the financial services industry from the outside corrupted me? Either way, I find myself increasingly convinced that banks are guilty of perpetuating a major modern day myth, namely, 'our staff are our greatest assets'.

  • Basinghall adds Cobalt to broker panel

    13 Sep 2007

    Cobalt Capital is the latest firm to enter into a distribution partnership with West LB backed Basinghall Finance.

  • BDS appoints business development consultants

    10 Sep 2007

    BDS Mortgage Group has appointed Jackie Jeffrey and Charles Whitby to its sales team as business development consultants. These newly created positions combining elements of consultancy with compliance.

  • BDS launches secured loans venture

    11 Sep 2007

    BDS Mortgage Group has launched BDS Secured Loans - a dedicated joint venture with MD Secured Loans based in its Fareham office.

  • Bond for overseas buyers

    10 Sep 2007

    Overseas property investors can now sell new homes for profit before they are completed without putting down deposits, thanks to an overseas exchange bond platform from Exchange Insurance Company.

  • Bonus threat to London properties

    10 Sep 2007

    Experts have warned that house prices in London could falter as a result of the threat to City workers' million-pound bonuses.

  • Boulger broaches green belt option

    10 Sep 2007

    Consumers would support property developments on green belt land if it meant larger and cheaper housing, Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, says.

  • Broker call to help our boys

    10 Sep 2007

    A broker has called on lenders to allow UK military personnel stationed overseas to transfer their residential mortgages to buy-to-let for free.

  • Broker toasts medically-underwritten milestone

    10 Sep 2007

    Partnership has aw-arded a broker a bottle of champagne to cel-ebrate the completion of its first medically-underwritten lifetime mortgage.

  • Brokers have commercial advantages

    10 Sep 2007

    You've sorted your client's residential mortgage and sold them the most appropriate insurances so what's next? It is always more cost-effective to sell to existing customers than get new ones so any additional service you offer must give you an advantage over your competitors.

  • Brokers needed to navigate fees maze

    10 Sep 2007

    With the US sub-prime crisis continuing to hit the UK market and making it more difficult for the poorest to find good mortgage deals, it's sad that lenders continue to impose sneaky fees.

  • Brokers will have to pay for publicity

    10 Sep 2007

    The broking community needs a consumer awareness campaign extolling the benefits of its services but it is going to have to find the funds itself, says Rob Griffiths

  • C&G is tops when it comes to bypassing common sense

    10 Sep 2007

    I recently placed a buy-to-let remortgage case with Cheltenham & Gloucester for £42,000, representing an LTV of 18%.

  • C&G's John Champion steps down

    13 Sep 2007

    John Champion, intermediary sales director for Cheltenham & Gloucester, will leave at the end of September after 20 years of service.

  • Call for rent-back regulation

    10 Sep 2007

    An MP is calling for rent-back schemes to be regulated to prevent the exploitation of vulnerable home owners.

  • Cartel cancels FSA status

    10 Sep 2007

    Cartel Group Holdings has applied to cancel its Financial Services Authority status after closing its doors to regulated advice through its broking arm, Cartel Marketing.

  • Chancellor had final say over NR loan

    14 Sep 2007

    The chancellor Alistair Darling had the final say over yesterday's decision to award Northern Rock with a loan.

  • Chief slams banks over sub-prime

    10 Sep 2007

    Deutsche Bank's chief executive has slammed other banks for their handling of the US sub-prime crisis. In an interview with German newspaper Handelsblatt, Josef Ackermann said: "This has been a failure on the part of management."

  • CHL confirms business as usual

    10 Sep 2007

    CHL Commercial has confirmed it is business as usual despite the upheaval in the wider market and stressed that it would not be repricing its product range.

  • CHL launches 'Clearing Hotline'

    12 Sep 2007

    CHL Mortgages has launched a Clearing Hotline to assist those intermediaries that have been let down by lenders pulling their product ranges or exiting the market.

  • Citizens Advice recieves record breaking debt enquiries

    11 Sep 2007

    Debt enquiries have hit a record high, increasing by 20% in the last year, bringing the total to 1.7 million in 2006/07, says the Citizens Advice Bureau.

  • CML reports drop in mortgage value and demand

    11 Sep 2007

    Data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders indicates both the amount and value of UK mortgages taken out by home buyers dropped in July.

  • Commercial brokers see 43% increase in business

    11 Sep 2007

    Commercial mortgage brokers have seen a 43% increase in business on last year at £19bn, a member survey by the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers has shown.

  • Complete plans day at the races

    10 Sep 2007

    Complete Mortgage and Loan Services is to hold a business event including presentations for its existing and potential satellite packagers. It will be held on September 21 at Newbury Racecourse.

  • Consumer confidence falls

    10 Sep 2007

    Only 15% of consumers think buying property or making other major purchases is a safe move right now, Nationwide's latest report into consumer confidence reveals.

  • Consumer power claims another scalp

    10 Sep 2007

    Something truly remarkable happened recently. In a David versus Goliath battle where the odds were firmly stacked against the minnows, the underdogs achieved a famous victory, just like the Old Testament tale.

  • Councils to get £500m to build more homes

    14 Sep 2007

    Council in England will be given a £500m cash injection to help them build more houses. The government has unveiled plans to share the money out between councils that build enough homes within a set timescale.The grants also depend on councils building a certain mix of housing.House minister Yvette Cooper says the scheme will help create more homes for families and first-time buyers.

  • Curriculum Vitae: Gary Forrest

    10 Sep 2007

    Name: Gary Forrest

  • Cycle of achievement

    10 Sep 2007

    A team of plucky cyclists from insurance provider Paymentshield has pedalled its way through a punishing 222-mile bike ride for charity.

  • Darling calls for cautious lending

    13 Sep 2007

    Chancellor Alistair Darling has called on banks to be more cautious when it comes to lending.

  • DB volumes up despite rate rise

    10 Sep 2007

    DB Mortgages has revealed that its business volumes have gone up since it upped rates by 1% and clamped down on credit criteria last month. Managing director Bill Dudgeon says one reason for the growth is the firm's increased focus on the buy-to-let and near-prime sectors.

  • Dear Delia

    10 Sep 2007

    Dear Delia, Rob and Claire are looking to purchase five buy-to-let properties - two at £220,000, one at £200,000, one at £180,000 and one at £170,000. Their anticipated monthly rental income is £960, £850, £750 and £745 respectively. Rob earns £70,000 and Claire £35,000, and they have a residential mortgage of £160,000. They also have three self-supporting buy-to-let properties with total borrowing of £495,000 and receive £3,950 in rental income a month. What are their options?

  • Duffy tasked with doubling Robert Sterling's size

    10 Sep 2007

    Kevin Duffy will be tasked with doubling the size of Rob-ert Sterling within three years of taking up his role as managing director on October 12, as part of parent firm Lexicon Group's floatation plans.

  • Easier2Move backs HIP roll-out

    11 Sep 2007

    Easier2move has bucked the industry trend and endorsed the roll-out of Home Information Packs to include three-bedroom properties.

  • ECB president calls for credit rating agencies investigation

    12 Sep 2007

    Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of European Central Bank, is calling for increased transparency in the wake of the credit crunch.

  • Ecology to pay for introductions

    10 Sep 2007

    Ecology is to pay introducers fees for all new residential mortgage business with immediate effect. The fees are 0.35% of the loan value from a minimum of £300 to a maximum of £1,000, and are paid upon completion.

  • Economic uncertainty bolsters rental demand, says RICS

    11 Sep 2007

    Rental demand is being bolstered by economic uncertainty and a slowing housing market, a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reveals.

  • Edeus forecasts 50% drop in business

    11 Sep 2007

    Edeus managing director Alan Cleary has forecast a 50% drop in expected business in 2008 from £3bn to £1.5bn.

  • Edeus says it has loan book lifeline

    10 Sep 2007

    Edeus says it has a confirmed lifeline until the end of the year with a series of loan book sales to asset buyers. Michael Bolton, chief executive of edeus, says the global credit crunch is hurting everyone, including balance sheet lenders. He says: "Any lender that says it isn't hurting is lying through its arse. The situation is painful for edeus at the moment but we have agreements with asset buyers in place."

  • Energy assessors sign up to xit2 system

    11 Sep 2007

    Xit2 has received a rush of fresh registrations for its Energy Performance Certificate exchange system from newly qualified energy assessors.

  • Enter the dragon race

    10 Sep 2007

    Eleven brave Legal & General employees took part in The Great River Race last weekend, an annual dragon boat race down the Thames.

  • Enterprise ready for expansion

    10 Sep 2007

    Enterprise Partners, the satellite packager arm of Enterprise Group, is expanding its head office in Edgware as part of a growth plan orchestrated by its head of partners, Terry Young.

  • Fears about true cost of bad debts

    10 Sep 2007

    The rumour mill has gone into overdrive over claims that lenders have massaged between £5bn and £6bn worth of bad first charge mortgages.

  • Finding the next generation of brokers

    10 Sep 2007

    Mortgage Strategy's new column Training Days follows the career of Tim Jones as he embarks on a traineeship to become a mortgage broker.

  • Fitch foresees no immediate impact on Victoria RMBS

    13 Sep 2007

    Fitch Ratings says its forsees no immediate impact on the ratings of residential mortgage-backed securities transactions backed by loans originated by Victoria Mortgage in light of the lender going into administration.

  • Four-bed homes graded on average "E" for energy inefficiency

    10 Sep 2007

    The average four-bedroom home only qualifies for an “E” energy rating on a scale of “A-G”, a government survey has revealed.

  • Four-bedroom homes get E rating on average

    11 Sep 2007

    A survey of energy assessors by the Department for Communities and Local Government says average four-bedroom homes are getting an E energy rating.

  • FSA affirms Northern Rock has quality loan book

    14 Sep 2007

    The Financial Services Authority says it believes Northern Rock is solvent with a good quality loan book. Callum McCarthy, chairman of the FSA, says: "The FSA's judgement on Northern Rock is that we believe it is solvent, meets all capital requirements and has a good quality loan book.

  • FSA fines for Hadenglen

    10 Sep 2007

    The Financial Services Authority has fined Hadenglen Home Finance £133,000 for having inadequate systems and controls for recommending remortgages and payment protection insurance. Its chief executive Richard Hayes was also fined £49,000.

  • FSA reappoints commissioner

    10 Sep 2007

    Sir Anthony Holland has been reappointed as the independent complaints commissioner at the Financial Services Authority for a second term.

  • GMAC appointment

    10 Sep 2007

    GMAC-RFC Partners has made Gordon Rae national partner manager.

  • GMAC-RFC increases sub-prime partner rates above 75% LTV

    10 Sep 2007

    GMAC-RFC has revealed that it is increasing sub-prime rates on its partner range over 75% LTV by 0.5%.

  • GMAC-RFC invests in new software

    13 Sep 2007

    GMAC-RFC is investing in ReadSoft DOCUMENTS for Mailrooms software to automate the processing of more than 2.5 million documents every year.

  • GMAC-RFC to up rates on sub-prime above 85% LTV

    11 Sep 2007

    GMAC-RFC will be increasing rates across its sub-prime range above 85% LTV tomorrow. The changes will affect all fixed and variable products in this range. The new rates will be announced tomorrow.

  • Good old days making a comeback

    10 Sep 2007

    The sub-prime correction will see the return of risk-based pricing and reduced but more profitable business, creating a leaner, meaner market - just like the good old days, says Michael Clapper

  • Hamptons adds to offices

    10 Sep 2007

    Hamptons International has increased its branch network to more than 75 offices as part of its global expansion plan, putting it on target to grow its network to 100 offices by 2010. In the past few months, the company has opened eight offices in the UK. Hamptons is also refurbishing many existing branches.

  • Hamptons dismisses market meltdown fears

    14 Sep 2007

    The Bank of England’s move to award a loan to Northern Rock does not signal imminent market meltdown, says Hamptons Mortgages.

  • Help clients hold onto their homes

    10 Sep 2007

    Brokers can play an important role in helping borrowers avoid having their homes repossessed by suggesting alternative ways to weather the storm in the lending market, says Mark Harris

  • High LTV deal launched

    10 Sep 2007

    London Scottish Mortgages has launched a 100%-plus LTV product that includes a second charge loan of up to £15,000.

  • High Street Home Loans boosts team

    10 Sep 2007

    High Street Home Loans has boosted its team in a bid to uphold service commitments.

  • High-tech assistance for DA brokers

    10 Sep 2007

    Using one of the compliance software solutions on the market could help directly authorised brokers stay on the right side of the regulator and boost their efficiency, says Frank Eve

  • HIPs rolled out for three-bed homes

    10 Sep 2007

    Home Information Packs have been rolled-out to all properties with three bedrooms or more today, in the second phase of the regime.

  • HOC adds Money Partners Touch to panel

    11 Sep 2007

    Home of Choice has appointed Money Partners Touch to its lender panel effective from Monday September 10,

  • Home & Capital buys Hinton and Wild

    13 Sep 2007

    Ecclesiastical Life has sold its independent equity release advice business, Hinton and Wild, to the Home & Capital Trust Group, which specialises in equity release. Hinton & Wild has been providing independent specialist equity release advice for over 30 years. Both Ecclesiastical, which first provided home income plans in 1986, and Home & Capital, whose equity release business started in the 1970s, also have a long history in this market. They formed two of the original ...

  • House price inflation cooling

    10 Sep 2007

    Members of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association have forecast modest house price inflation over the next quarter, with an average percentage rise of just 1.4%.

  • Housetwo on the hunt for franchisees

    13 Sep 2007

    Buy-to-let specialist Housetwo is looking for more franchisees across the UK to help inexperienced investors profit from property.

  • How to nurture the green revolution

    10 Sep 2007

    Their shoots have been in evidence for a number of years thanks to a handful of lenders including Norwich and Peterborough, the Co-operative Bank and Ecology, but healthy growth in green mortgages has not been forthcoming.

  • HSHL links to Evaluate online trading platform

    10 Sep 2007

    High Street Home Loans has signed up to Evaluate Technologies' online trading platform.

  • Infinity says new packaging arm not a refocus

    12 Sep 2007

    Infinity Mortgages has stressed it hasn’t given up the ghost over future lending as it launches its new packaging arm Infocus Mortgage Packaging.

  • Investors urged to target Hungary's cities

    10 Sep 2007

    Hungary’s ‘fly-to-let investors’ should buy city centre new builds rather than being seduced by holiday resorts, say experts at the Property Investor Show.

  • Jim Reeve in Positive move

    10 Sep 2007

    Positive Solutions has appointed Jim Reeve, former managing director of Barclays Financial Planning, as its new chief executive. He takes over from Neil Johnson, who will move to new IFA technology firm True Potential as senior partner.

  • Johnson homes in on shared ownership vision

    10 Sep 2007

    Potential Conservative London mayoral candidate Boris Johnson has pledged to increase shared ownership schemes to help more consumers to buy property.

  • Kensington rejects Loans etc offer to assist with broker pipeline business

    10 Sep 2007

    Kensington Secured Loans has refused a lifeline by master broker Loans etc to help brokers caught out by its decision not only to withdraw from secured loans but also to not honour existing pipeline business after today. Graham Brent, managing director at Loans etc, says: “Our long established relationship with GE Money and in particular igroup has resulted in unprecedented enquiries from mortgage and established credit brokers all day Friday as the rumours unfolded.

  • King warns against drastic BoE intervention in money markets

    13 Sep 2007

    The governor of the Bank of England, Mervyn King, has warned against taking drastic measures to bail out banks in order to avoid generating a future crisis.

  • Landlords snapping up rental repossessions

    10 Sep 2007

    My Mortgage Direct has reported an increase in the number of enquires from a new generation of landlords as buy-to-let repossessions rise.

  • Leeds makes web submissions easier

    10 Sep 2007

    Leeds has improved its online process to make it easier to submit applications. Enhancements include automated introducer registrations, an improved mortgage application submission process and Right to Buy cases added to the list of prime and sub-prime products it already accepts.

  • Lehman Brothers in shock brand consolidation U-turn

    10 Sep 2007

    Lehman Brothers performed a shock U-turn on its promise not to merge its mortgage lenders last week when it dissolved the London Mortgage Company brand and consolidated it into Preferred Mortgages and Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited.

  • Lehmans to target support functions with job cuts

    12 Sep 2007

    Lehman Brothers 850 job cuts worldwide are to hit support functions like IT and compliance, Mortgage Strategy understands.

  • Lender sees £225m of business in one day

    10 Sep 2007

    BM Solutions says it has smashed its record after achieving £225m worth of applications in a single day.The applications came from over 600 brokerages and were received on August 30. Over 70% of the applications' value was derived from BM Solutions' buy-to-let products.The lender says on average it gets more than £140m in business a day.Phil Rickards, head of sales at BM Solutions, says: "Even at these volumes, we are keeping our service and processing efficiency at high levels."

  • Lenders defend penalty fees

    10 Sep 2007

    Lenders have defended the fees they charge borrowers who fall into arrears, including charging them for debt counselling.

  • Lenders find new ways to fleece clients

    10 Sep 2007

    HSBC recently made an embarrassing climbdown over its decision to axe its interest-free student overdraft accounts.

  • Lenders impose non-refundable fees

    11 Sep 2007

    Mform.co.uk has warned customers to watch out for non-refundable fees which can apply if an application is not approved.

  • Let's get real about the impact of B2L

    10 Sep 2007

    Yet again, the buy-to-let sector could find itself portrayed as a villain in a government-funded study into the consequences of the sector for first-time buyers. The National Housing and Planning Advice Unit, sponsored by the government, will be undertaking research to see if in-vestors are preventing first-time buyers getting a foot on the property ladder.

  • LIBOR at 20 year high

    11 Sep 2007

    Three month LIBOR increased almost a full basis point above the Bank of England base rate yesterday to a 20 year high.It now stands at 6.89% whereas the base rate is 5.75%. Conversely, the LIBOR rates for both the dollar and the Euro have fallen consistently over the past three days.

  • LIME to enter secured sector

    10 Sep 2007

    Tenet’s non-investment network LIME has launched into the secured loan sector - despite several lenders exiting last week.

  • Link Lending revs up for classic car experience

    10 Sep 2007

    Link Lending is offering five brokers and their guests the chance to drive a Ferrari 360 (pictured) and a Lamborghini Gallardo at Rockingham Motor Speedway's driving school in Northamptonshire.

  • Loans Etc unveils lower rate loans

    10 Sep 2007

    Loans Etc has released full details of its exclusive range of loans funded by Morgan Stanley through ADV2. All have lower rates than the commission-based plans it offers, with loans available up to £150,000 and 95% LTV. Brokers are able to charge up to 10% fees for the deals to a maximum of £4,000.

  • London Scottish offers help to Victoria customers

    13 Sep 2007

    London Scottish Mortgages has confirmed it will support packagers who have outstanding Victoria Mortgages cases.The lender made the offer after many inquiries from introducers.Martin Coates, sales and marketing director at London Scottish, says: Following discussions with Victoria, we will review any case that meets our published criteria and, whilst we sympathise with Victorias situation, our priority is to help customers.

  • London Scottish streamlines secured products

    11 Sep 2007

    London Scottish says it has streamlined its secured product plans in response to a surge in demand.

  • MAB offers secured loans

    10 Sep 2007

    Mortgage Advice Bureau has added secured loans direct from packager Direct Financial Services to its offering.

  • Making progress on declined claims

    10 Sep 2007

    In the past couple of weeks there have been two pieces of good news in the fight against declined protection claims.

  • Market will recover from this hangover

    10 Sep 2007

    The credit crunch has claimed its latest scalps. Last week, Lehman Brothers canned London Mortgage Company and Southern Pacific Personal Loans, and Kensington Group has pulled out of the second charge market after just 12 months.

  • Marketwatch

    10 Sep 2007

    Shorter term swaps leapt up last week and one-year money seems to be on a one-way trip heavenwards. But at least longer term rates don't seem to be increasing too sharply. It seems bizarre that all the economic data points to a housing slowdown yet rates are exploding. Three-year LIBOR has hit a nine-year high at 6.75% and nobody expects the base rate to go up by 1% in the next three months. Most debate centres on whether it will go up by 0.25%, if at all.

  • Me & My Car

    10 Sep 2007

    My BMW 645 Ci turns heads with its unusual design and has a sporty performance but it’s still practical enough to transport my family around at the weekend, says Adam Henry

  • MEX appointed to Mosaic panel

    10 Sep 2007

    Mosaic has appointed Mortgage Express to its mortgage club's panel.

  • MGM to close AR arm

    10 Sep 2007

    MGM Assurance has revealed it will be closing its appointed representative arm in order to focus on the IFA market.

  • MI offers exclusive three-year buy-to-let product

    10 Sep 2007

    Mortgage Intelligence has launched an exclusive buy-to-let product from Bristol & West. The product is a three-year fixed rate until November 30 2010 at 6.03% up to 85% LTV. The maximum loan available is £500,000, with a 100% rental calculation and a £1,599 arrangement fee. Its early repayment charge is 5% for the first three years but overpayments of 10% a year are allowed.

  • Mini up for grabs in Enterprise draw

    10 Sep 2007

    Enterprise Finance has launched a free prize draw competition with prizes worth £30,000, including a Mini Cooper S. The competition is open to brokers that register with the firm or Loans of Choice, with additional tickets allocated for every £10,000 of secured, commercial or bridging finance loans completed with the firms between September 1 and November 30.

  • Money Partners rumoured to be staying in secured loans

    10 Sep 2007

    Early indications are that Money Partners is to remain in the secured loan market, following a meeting with Investec today.It was widely anticipated that the lender would withdraw from the market today, following Investec's decision to pull funding from Kensington Secured Loans on Friday.However sources say that Money Partners has managed to persuade Investec to stay in the market, and will instead be tightening its criteria.Money Partners is yet to make an official comment.

  • Money Partners Touch picks List

    10 Sep 2007

    Money Partners Touch has appointed Jeff List as account development manager for the south of England. List will report to regional BDM Chris Pearson and will be responsible for developing the lender's relationships with brokers across the region.

  • Money Partners will not pull out of secured lending

    10 Sep 2007

    Money Partners will not pull out of the secured lending market, following its meeting with Investec today.

  • Moneyfacts' free sourcing

    10 Sep 2007

    Moneyfacts.co.uk has launched a free sourcing system that it says will rival Trigold and Mortgage Brain.

  • More bad news for first-timers

    10 Sep 2007

    Average low-income couples now spend 44% of their combined pay on monthly mortgage payments, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reveals.

  • MPLC to increase rates by up to 0.92%

    13 Sep 2007

    Mortgages PLC is increasing its product pricing by between 0.05% and 0.92% with effect from Wednesday September 19.

  • MPPI protects brokers and their customers

    10 Sep 2007

    Borrowers are struggling to cope with the five base rate rises seen in the past year and this has led to a jump in repossessions - 30% year-on-year in the first half of 2007 alone.

  • My Home Move links with Trigold

    10 Sep 2007

    My Home Move, a conveyancing service in England and Wales, has integrated with sourcing system Trigold.

  • N4 nominated for business of the year

    10 Sep 2007

    N4 Solutions, an Experian company, has been selected as a finalist for the Citizen & Gloucestershire Echo Business Awards ‘Business of the Year’.

  • Nearly 25% of brokers admit sub-prime crisis has hurt business

    11 Sep 2007

    Almost a quarter of all UK mortgage brokers claim the uncertainty caused as a result of the recent turmoil in international markets has negatively effected their business, says GE Money Home Lending.

  • New Deal sees business rise in 2007

    11 Sep 2007

    New Deal Finance says it is set to achieve its highest level of business ever this month on the back of a record-breaking August.

  • New signing for PackageStream

    10 Sep 2007

    Finance & Mortgage Solutions has signed up to MortgageStream's PackageStream case processing system. FMS has recently expanded its processing team.

  • Northern Rock confirms BoE loan

    14 Sep 2007

    Northern Rock says it now anticipates total growth of just 9% for 2007 as it confirms Bank of England loan.

  • Northern Rock's shares drop 31%

    14 Sep 2007

    Northern Rock's shares have plummeted 31.46% in the wake of the Bank of England's decision to bail out the lender.

  • OFT bans a Haart estate agent

    13 Sep 2007

    The Office of Fair Trading has banned a Haart’s estate agent after he pleaded guilty to obtaining properties by deception.

  • OFT issues warning to Essex estate agent

    12 Sep 2007

    The Office of Fair Trading has issued a warning order against Essex estate agent Andrew Farquharson over his previous job at Bairstow Eves in Wanstead.

  • OneSearch signs HIP deal

    10 Sep 2007

    Private search firm OneSearch Direct has signed a £20m three-year contract with Home Information Pack and conveyancing provider, LMS. It is looking to sign further agreements with other large HIP providers.

  • Online applications rise 11% from Q1, says TMB

    10 Sep 2007

    The average proportion of online mortgage applications has increased according to the latest research by The Mortgage Business.

  • Online corporate awards database goes live today

    10 Sep 2007

    AwardsIntelligence.com, the first online database of corporate aw-ards for the UK, launches today with the Mortgage Strategy Awards as one of its initial listings.

  • Optoma recuits six staff members

    14 Sep 2007

    Optoma Broker Solutions has recuited six new staff members as part of its ongoing expansion.The packager has recruited in all areas of the business and welcomes three new dedicated case owners spread between the Lincoln and Leatherhead offices. The sales team welcomes Tony Crawley as new BDM for east London, Essex and Hertfordshire. Jane Reid, development manager at Optoma, says: “Optoma’s business is booming and we are recruiting talented new people to join our team.”

  • Origo unveils standards delivery timeline

    12 Sep 2007

    Mortgage governance group eMortgage Forum has approved Origo’s move to deliver standards for full mortgage applications, tracking and product data by the end of Q2 2008.

  • Over 25% of negligence claims against solicitors over conveyancing

    11 Sep 2007

    More than a quarter of negligence claims against solicitors relate to conveyancing, statistics by professional indemnity insurance broker Lockton have shown.

  • Oxygen becomes RAMP member

    10 Sep 2007

    Oxygen Mortgage Group has joined the Regulatory Alliance of Mortgage Packagers as an associate member. This brings the number of the alliance's associate members to four.

  • Packager power

    10 Sep 2007

    Some lenders have pledged to scrap exit fees because they now have to justify them to the Financial Services Authority. Do you think they'll reappear in other forms at the front end of the mortgage process, or will lenders hike their rates?

  • Packagers may be the winners when the market settles down

    10 Sep 2007

    During the recent market upheaval, we've all seen the headlines and read the letters of shock and outrage. As a packager, we have handled all the criteria and product adjustments, despite sometimes being informed of these at almost hourly intervals.

  • Peace of mind as the base rate rises

    10 Sep 2007

    I like to think of myself as a chilled-out person. I don't waste my time sweating the small stuff as they say in the US - well not usually anyway.

  • Platform's Tweedy to deliver in two years

    11 Sep 2007

    Platform managing director David Tweedy says he has put in place a two-year multi-million pound transformation programme at the lender and hopes to still be there in another 10 years time.

  • Prize draw for Trigold brokers

    10 Sep 2007

    Brokers submitting secured loan applications via Trigold's new sourcing module will be entered into a prize draw. Those submitting cases through the Prospector AAA system up until October 31 are in with a chance to win £1,000.

  • PYV web traffic trebles since 2006

    12 Sep 2007

    Professional indemnity broker PYV says the number of visitors to its website has almost tripled since September 2006.

  • Quality of loan portfolios is critical

    10 Sep 2007

    Fitch Ratings says it expects to see arrears and repossessions in the UK sub-prime mortgage sector to rise in the next few months. Nobody ob-serving the US situation or recalling the payment shock following rising interest rates in the early 1990s will be surprised by this.

  • Readers committed to sub-prime despite crisis

    10 Sep 2007

    Despite the liquidity crisis causing volatility in the sub-prime markets, with lenders repricing rates and tightening criteria across the board, Mortgage Strategy Online readers remain committed to servicing adverse clients. A surprising 73% of them say they have not been put off the sector.

  • Reasons for home equity release

    10 Sep 2007

    One in eight clients use equity release to fund divorces or buy out ex-partners, analysis by Saga's equity release service reveals. The research also shows that the most popular reason for equity release is to fund home improvements. Over one in six clients use the cash to decorate or renovate their properties.

  • REITs pavilion to feature at Mortgage Expo

    11 Sep 2007

    Mortgage Business Expo has announced a pavillion for property investment and Real Estate Investment Trusts will feature at the London exhibition for the first time.

  • Rent at all time high, says ARLA

    11 Sep 2007

    A study by the Association of Rental and Letting Agents reveals UK rents are at an all time high continuing the trend that began in early 2007.

  • Retired home owners make 151m a day, says Pru

    10 Sep 2007

    Retired home owners saw the value of their homes rise by 151.22m a day between May last year and June this year, says Prudential.

  • Rice open-minded on AMI code

    10 Sep 2007

    Regulatory Association of Mortgage Packagers managing director John Rice has hit back at suggestions he does not support the packager code of conduct being drafted by the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries. He says he will give the code his full support if he considers it to be as robust as the one now used by RAMP members and if it is policed properly.

  • Rooftop appoints underwriting head

    10 Sep 2007

    Rooftop Mortgages has appointed Paul James as head of underwriting. James has worked in financial services for 25 years, with both prime and sub-prime experience at lenders including Mortgage Express, Abbey and GMAC-RFC.

  • Salans names conveyancing Day

    10 Sep 2007

    Salans has promoted Denise Day to the position of conveyancing manager. Day has worked at Salans for two years as a senior conveyancer.

  • Savills reports 35% increase in group revenue

    11 Sep 2007

    Savills has reported a 35% increase in group revenue to £284.2m for the six months ended June 30.

  • Searle tipped to join Knight in new venture

    10 Sep 2007

    Barry Searle, who resigned as ma-naging director of operations at GMAC-RFC last week, is tipped to join his old boss Stephen Knight in a new venture.

  • Sesame appoints head of products

    10 Sep 2007

    Sesame has appointed Helen O'Donovan as head of mortgage products. O'Donovan has worked at UCB Home Loans, Alliance & Leicester and Barclays in various senior product management roles and has experience in the prime, self-cert, buy-to-let and sub-prime sectors.

  • Skipton lure borrowers into capped rate security

    10 Sep 2007

    Borrowers unsure over the future of interest rates could be lured into a secure deal with two new capped rate mortgages from Skipton Building Society.

  • Small firms will feel the crunch first, says FSB

    10 Sep 2007

    Small businesses could feel the effects of the credit crunch first because they pay higher interest rates on loans, the Federation of Small Businesses has warned.

  • Smith quits Lansdown Place to head Whitechurch's new mortgage arm

    10 Sep 2007

    Neal Smith has quit as director of mortgages at Lansdown Place to start a new mortgage arm at Whitechurch Securities.

  • Social landlords get help with anti-social behaviour

    14 Sep 2007

    Social housing landlords have received new guidance to help them tackle anti-social behaviour.

  • Softer housing market pushing up rents

    11 Sep 2007

    The slowing housing market is stimulating demand for rental housing, surveys by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Association of Rental and Letting Agents and Paragon Mortgages show.

  • South-East BDM for Centrepoint

    10 Sep 2007

    Centrepoint Insurance Services has appointed Carl Stacey as BDM for the South-East. Stacey, who previously worked for 11 years at Cornhill Insurance, will be responsible for establishing and developing relationships with brokers and training.

  • Spicerhaart launches residential valuation firm

    10 Sep 2007

    Spicerhaart Group last week launched a residential property valuation firm called Valunation.

  • Spiralling LIBOR rates offer brokers remortgage option

    10 Sep 2007

    Mortgage Express says the current gap between LIBOR rates and the Bank of England base rate presents an opportunity for brokers to cash in on remortgage business.

  • Standard Life Bank reveals 0.25% increase on Freestyle trackers

    14 Sep 2007

    Standard Life Bank has unveiled rate increases on its Freestyle products of 0.25% on trackers, 0.35% on discounted rates and 0.1% on fixed rates.Discounted two-year trackers now start from 5.65% and two-year fixed rates start at 5.99%.

  • Taking a more balanced view of HIPs

    10 Sep 2007

    Home Information Packs are heading for a re-cord in terms of how many column inches of bad publicity a single initiative can generate. They are starting to make Margaret Thatcher's introduction of Poll Tax seem like a good idea. It seems that HIPs have been responsible for generating more scornful comments than a bad act performing for Simon Cowell.

  • TCC targets 8,000 introducers

    12 Sep 2007

    The Commerce Centre has targeted 8,000 professional introducers in a concerted direct recruitment campaign.

  • Tenet appoints ex-Tory chairman

    10 Sep 2007

    Tenet Group has appointed former Tory party chairman Lord Hodgson to the position of non-executive chairman. Lord Hodgson was deputy chairman of the Conservative Party from 1997 to 2000 and shadow front bench spokesman for trade and industry from 2003 to 2006.

  • TFC appoints head of sales

    11 Sep 2007

    TFC Homeloans has appointed Colin McLaren as head of sales.

  • Thanks to the lenders that are helping us place cases again

    10 Sep 2007

    In the current climate of uncertainty brought about by events in the US len-ding market, the news has been dominated by UK lenders adjusting their products, rates and criteria, mainly in the sub-prime sector.

  • The balanced approach will pay off

    10 Sep 2007

    Companies that are strong in balance sheet lending rather than relying on securitisation are well placed to avoid the fallout from the global credit crunch, says Sally Laker

  • The case for charging by the hour

    10 Sep 2007

    Brokers working on a commission basis regularly come across cases where they cannot cover their costs and charging a fee for their time would make more sense, says Sue Read

  • The Co-op creates £25m fund for world’s poor

    12 Sep 2007

    The Co-operative Bank has created a $50m (£25m) fund to support the development of small businesses in some of the world’s poorest countries.

  • The Mortgage Mole

    10 Sep 2007

    Digging the dirt in the mortgage world...

  • The right stuff

    10 Sep 2007

    In his first interview as the new managing director of Hamptons Mortgages, Jonathan Cornell explains how he made it into the hot seat, his reaction to the drawn-out appointment process and his plans for the future. By Clare Bettelley

  • The Thoresen Review unveils generic advice pilot

    10 Sep 2007

    The Thoresen Review has announced that Consumer Direct will be piloting generic financial advice in London, the North West, Staffordshire and South Yorkshire.

  • This Week's Dilemma

    10 Sep 2007

    We are a small company and one of our employees has been called for jury service. This would not normally be a problem but he is working on an important project and is the only employee with the necessary skills and experience to take it to completion. Given our need to have him at work at this time, is it necessary for him to do jury service?

  • Three-month LIBOR hits 6.89%

    10 Sep 2007

    Three-month LIBOR rates have hit 6.89% up from 6.88% on Friday.The asking price for two-year swaps rates today is 6.15%, for three-year 6.03% and for five-year at 5.88%, Moneyfacts daily bulletin reveals.

  • Three-month LIBOR hits 6.9%

    12 Sep 2007

    Three-month LIBOR rates have crept up further to 6.9% since they hit a 20-year high on Monday.Moneyfacts.co.uk’s daily bulletin shows the asking price for swaps has gone down since the beginning of the week with two-year rates now at 6.01%, three-year rates at 5.88% and five-year rates at 5.73%.

  • Tim Jones appointed CEO of Hipstar

    14 Sep 2007

    Hipstar has appointed Tim Jones as chief executive.

  • TMB backs satellite packagers

    10 Sep 2007

    The Mortgage Business has come out in support of packagers who choose to use satellite packagers.

  • TMW names account manager

    10 Sep 2007

    The Mortgage Works has appointed Adrian Moloney as national account manager with responsibility for packagers. The South-East England Regional Assembly has recommended building 32,000 homes, prompting a warning from the Tories that this would mean green belt development. But Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, says the public would support this if it meant larger and cheaper properties.So, this week Mortgage Strategy asks…

  • TMW to launch POSO

    13 Sep 2007

    The Mortgage Works will launch an online point of sale offer facility on Monday September 17.

  • Training days

    10 Sep 2007

    Mortgage Strategy follows the career of graduate Tim Jones as he sets out on his mission to qualify as a London broker

  • Understand the benefits of reversions

    10 Sep 2007

    Home reversion regulation has been in place for five months and it is expected that there will be a slow but steady increase in sales in the latter part of this year. But for many it is still a misunderstood option.

  • UNIFi teams with L&S

    10 Sep 2007

    UNIFi Partners has delivered the roll-out of all its services to the entire broking sector.

  • United we stand

    10 Sep 2007

    There are many trade bodies that strive to provide brokers and lenders with useful advice, resources and representation in the corridors of power, says Christine Toner

  • US crisis may push up standard mortgage rates, says ex-MPC member

    10 Sep 2007

    The US sub-prime mortgage crisis could push up prime rates in the UK, an ex-Monetary Policy Committee member has warned.

  • Victoria "not dead yet", say sources

    10 Sep 2007

    Victoria Mortgages isn't dead yet, sources close to the lender claim.

  • Victoria goes into administration

    10 Sep 2007

    Victoria Mortgages has confirmed that it has gone into administration as of today.

  • Victoria's exit won't unhinge market

    11 Sep 2007

    One of Victoria’s fastest growing packagers says that the lender going into administration will have little impact on the market.

  • Wave appoints divisional director

    12 Sep 2007

    Wave, the specialist lending subsidiary of Merrill Lynch, has appointed Max Griffiths as risk divisional director.

  • Wave appoints divisional director of risk

    11 Sep 2007

    Wave has appointed Max Griffiths as divisional director of risk.

  • We must support brokers of all types

    10 Sep 2007

    There's an ongoing debate about whether firms should join networks or be directly authorised by the Financial Services Authority. We must provide choice and support brokers whatever their decision. With their livelihoods depending on it, their decisions are likely to be well thought through.

  • Website calls for green awareness

    10 Sep 2007

    Easier2move has urged brokers to advise their clients to demand environmental reports on the properties they wish to purchase. It says brokers must ensure clients are aware of the likelihood of flooding, contamination and subsidence affecting their purchases.

  • Webster joins edeus in surprise move

    10 Sep 2007

    Gary Webster, the man earmarked by Nationwide to lead its sales operation, has joined edeus as director of distribution.

  • Winning share

    10 Sep 2007

    Brokers' share of the mortgage catch is continuing to rise compared with lenders' direct offerings, which is a huge achievement given their brief history, says Christine Toner

  • With ownership comes responsibility

    10 Sep 2007

    When one considers the role and risks undertaken by lenders, at first glance it seems obvious that they have right of ownership over clients.

  • Woolwich launches new 10 year fixed rate

    13 Sep 2007

    Woolwich is launching a new 10 year fixed rate mortgage at a 5.59% tomorrow.

  • Woolwich's call centre system makes life difficult for everyone in the chain

    10 Sep 2007

    Over the years, service standards at Woolwich have gone from one extreme to the other. In my opinion, its latest gaffe is allowing its broker mortgage enquiry lines to be redirected to a call centre in India, presumably at the behest of parent company Barclays.

  • Working towards a fairer future

    10 Sep 2007

    A recent speech gives a useful insight into what the regulator's principal concerns are when it comes to TCF and what it expects firms to have achieved by December 2008, says Bill Warren

  • Would you accept green belt development if cheaper homes could be built?

    10 Sep 2007

    The South-East England Regional Assembly has recommended building 32,000 homes, prompting a warning from the Tories that this would mean green belt development.But Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at John Charcol, says the public would support this if it meant larger and cheaper properties. So this week, Mortgage Strategy asks...Would you accept green belt development if cheaper homes could be built?

  • Yes Group to corner unsecured loan market

    11 Sep 2007

    South Wales-based Yes Group has surged to the top ranks of unsecured loans brokers in the UK with the acquisition of No Worries Loans.

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