Mortgage Strategy
14 February 2005

  • A View from the floor

    14 Feb 2005

    Mike Sketch, head of retail operations at Norwich and Peterborough, says the popularity of buying homes in Spain is rising - but so are house prices in that country.

  • Abbey begins cuts of 3,000 jobs

    18 Feb 2005

    Abbey is in the process of slashing 3,000 jobs, following its takeover from Banco Santander.

  • Abbey for Intermediaries launches lending and packaging guide

    15 Feb 2005

    Abbey for Intermediaries has launched a campaign to intermediaries selling mortgages, to promote its lending and packaging guide.

  • Accord changes welcomed

    14 Feb 2005

    Brokers have welcomed moves by Accord to encourage fees to be paid using credit and debit cards.Accord recently revamped its call centres and says it will be encouraging brokers to use credit and debit cards instead of cheques to make its service more efficient.Brokers will also be encouraged to send faxes instead of posting applications which Accord says will cut processing times by as much as two days.Bob Riach, proprietor at Riach Independent Financial Advisers, says: ...

  • Advisers warned against equity release grandfathering

    17 Feb 2005

    Richard Fox, chief executive at the Society of Mortgage Professionals is warning all advisers that they need to gain a suitable lifetime mortgages and equity release qualification. Fox says while new advisers need to obtain a qualification, FSA rules state that those who were deemed competent under the MCCB rules to sell these products can take advantage of a grandfathering arrangement. However he warns the danger is that advisers will leave themselves exposed to claims ...

  • Anger over non-FSA websites

    14 Feb 2005

    The Exchange, a subsidiary of Marlborough Stirling, is being accused of leaving brokers in breach of Financial Services Authority requirements because it has not updated their websites.Brokers who have not updated their websites are non-compliant if the sites still refer to The Mortgage Code of Compliance Board.Neil Franklin, partner at Franklin's Financial Services, says he was not told about any changes he had to make and has found that, more than three months after regulation, ...

  • Are lenders irresponsibly fuelling debt?

    14 Feb 2005

    Figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that mortgage debt is likely to hit the 1trillion mark for the first time next year. This would put the average debt per head of population at 16,700.The CML is concerned that ever-increasing debt is pushing even more potential first-time buyers away from the dream of owning their home.Sue Anderson, spokeswoman for the CML, says: "We've been saying for some time now that if things carry on the way they have been, it is ...

  • B&B selects Marlborough Sterlings mortgage point of sale system

    14 Feb 2005

    Marlborough Stirling, the outsourcing and solution provider, has made a contract with Bradford & Bingley, for its Omiga point-of-sale mortgage solution.

  • Bankhall changes as Mann becomes MD

    14 Feb 2005

    Bankhall has made senior level changes with the promotion of Peter Mann to managing director.Mann takes charge of the day-to-day running of the firm leaving joint chief executives and founders, Simon Taylor and Paul Hogarth, to focus on strategy.Mann's team, approved by Bankhall's major shareholder Skandia, includes Tony Murrell as sales director, Richard Howells as marketing director, David Scott as operations and IT director, Roy McKean as compliance director, Darren Beavers ...

  • BDS Mortgage Group expands lender on site underwriting team

    14 Feb 2005

    BDS Mortgage Group, the South-Coast based mortgage packager and distributor, is set to expand its team of on site underwriters as both Kensington Mortgages and Preferred Mortgages come on board.

  • Being emotionally intelligent is vital

    14 Feb 2005

    Robert Owen, chief executive officer of London Mortgage Company, says having emotional intelligence is important to be an effective business leader in the modern world.

  • Blue sky

    14 Feb 2005

    Every businessperson knows a story about an intelligent, skilled executive who was promoted to a leadership position only to fail at the job.

  • BM Solutions named 2004s top buy-to-let lender

    14 Feb 2005

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has named BM Solutions as 2004's top buy-to-let lender, measured by gross advances.

  • Bolton was completely out of order - dream on, Baggies

    14 Feb 2005

    From David Copland

  • BoS keeps all parties in chain better informed

    14 Feb 2005

    Bank of Scotland has teamed up with Simply Conveyancing to ensure all parties are kept better informed throughout the house sales process.Borrowers with Bank of Scotland will be able to find out what stage their case is at by logging on to the Simply Conveyancing website.John Lloyd, head of Bank of Scotland mortgages, says: "The problem has been that everything is in the hands of the solicitors and the information is not easily obtainable. With the new system, not only can the ...

  • Brent records biggest price rise in London since 1994

    14 Feb 2005

    Halifax research shows that boroughs in the north west quadrant of London have typically recorded the largest house price rises over the past 10-years.

  • Brokers warned on packager fees

    14 Feb 2005

    Pink Home Loans is warning brokers to be wary of packagers that fail to list their gross fees clearly on their websites.Pink says it is vital packagers list the full fee clearly so this can be displayed on the Key Facts Illustration.David Copland, sales and marketing director at Pink, says: "Brokers need to know what the gross fee is to declare it on the KFI. My concern is that you have brokers out there using KFIs who don't know what the gross fees are."Other firms take ...

  • Buy-to-let growth slowing down, says CML

    14 Feb 2005

    The buy-to-let sector continued to grow strongly in the second half of 2004, although at a slower rate than in previous periods, says the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

  • Cascade under the spotlight

    14 Feb 2005

    Questions have been raised over whether cascade mortgage underwriting is compliant under Financial Services Authority regulation.The nature of this type of underwriting is that if the borrower fails the credit search for the product on the best rate, they are cascaded down to a more adverse product which will have a higher rate.Some in the industry are warning this could be seen as non-compliant as the broker does not go back and search the market to find the best deal for the ...

  • Chelsea reprices fixed rates and introduces self-cert discount mortgage

    15 Feb 2005

    Chelsea has introduced a new range of two, three and five year fixed rate mortgage products as well as introducing a new two year discount self certification mortgage.

  • Clearing up introductory questions

    14 Feb 2005

    'Introducing' sounds like a simple enough activity but many brokers are confused about whether or not their introductory activities require authorisation under the FSA, says Neal Smith.

  • CML welcomes government's evaluation of housing policy

    17 Feb 2005

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has welcomed the evaluation of housing policy, in a report from the office of the deputy Prime Minister published today.

  • Compass Finance relocate to assist development plans

    15 Feb 2005

    Compass Finance is to relocate its Rawtenstall operation to new premises in nearby Bury, to help assist its development plans.

  • Concern over sub-prime proc fees

    14 Feb 2005

    Sub-prime lenders run the risk of falling foul of the Financial Services Authority's MCOB rules if they continue to pay proc fees as high as 3%.Industry experts believe that if a lender is paying too high a procuration fee it could breach the FSA's Principle 9 that says the broker and lender have a duty of care to the client.Alan Cleary, head of sales at BM Solutions, says: "Take Mortgages PLC, for example. Paying a proc fee of 2.5% and sometimes more flies in the face of Principle ...

  • Confused? Why not go FSA surfing

    14 Feb 2005

    Bamboozled brokers may well be better off referring to the FSA's website rather than phoning its helpdesk for clarification on questions to do with mortgage regulation, says Ben Stafford.

  • Consumer confidence starts to grow for first time since May 2004

    15 Feb 2005

    The Woolwich consumer confidence index shows that last month confidence increased for the first-time in eight months, with 40% of home owners believing that the value of their properties will increase in value compared to 39% in December. First -time buyers are most confident of making money on their property with 47% of 20-29 year olds believing that their properties will continue to increase in value compared to 41% in the 30-39 age group.

  • Cover mis-selling allegation

    14 Feb 2005

    Lenders are being accused of raking in hundreds of millions in commission by mis-selling personal loan insurance.Specialist broker Burgesses says major lenders are guilty of breaking Financial Services Authority rules by employing dubious sales techniques to persuade borrowers to sign up for expensive, front-loaded loan protection cover designed to protect against unemployment, disability and death.Sales of loan protection are running at a rate of over 1,000 policies per hour, ...

  • Cultivating relationships

    14 Feb 2005

    Mortgage brokers can generate additional income streams by forging reciprocal relationships with other intermediary specialists, says Stephanie Spicer

  • Curriculum Vitae - Mark 'Spoons' Witherspoon

    14 Feb 2005

    "Show me a good malt whisky and I'll show you a happy man"

  • Dangers of going soft on insolvency

    14 Feb 2005

    Declaring insolvency may be the only option for individuals who have hit the financial wall but dangers lie ahead if it becomes a widespread lifestyle choice in society, says Rachel Blackmore.

  • Dear Delia

    14 Feb 2005

    Dear Delia Mr and Mrs Brown run a reasonably profitable greengrocer. They believe they will be unable to obtain a mortgage because of their adverse credit history.

  • Despite rumours, Majestic says it is still going strong

    14 Feb 2005

    Packager Majestic Mortgage Services is denying claims it has ceased trading despite rumours of it having run up over 500,000 in business debts.Majestic says although it has laid off a large number of staff, it is still in business.Peter Parsons, managing director at Majestic, says: "We are still going strong. We are in business and regulated by the Financial Services Authority."We have laid off quite a lot of staff and are looking at various projects."Parsons is unable ...

  • Digest

    14 Feb 2005

    Rob McQuade has joined BM Solutions as director of credit risk management.Formerly head of credit risk at GMAC-RFC, McQuade will oversee specialist credit risk management and take a seat on the BM board.Michael Bolton, managing director of BMS, says: "Rob will be a great asset. As the biggest online sub-prime lender and over twice the size of our nearest competitor, Rob is joining the undisputed heavyweight of the specialist lending market. We're looking forward to delivering ...

  • Easy to find websites are good but visitors must stay

    14 Feb 2005

    From Jeff Sutherland-Kay

  • Fewer filing cabinets, more efficiency

    14 Feb 2005

    Electronic document management systems will allow mortgage brokers not only to comply with regulatory requirements but also offer to customers better service, says John Halestrap.

  • Financial health matters

    14 Feb 2005

    The beauty of today's unsecured credit market is the wide choice available, together with moves made to offer credit to those left behind in the early days of credit provision.

  • Fix for three or five years with Skipton

    16 Feb 2005

    Skipton is launching two fixed rate mortgages with reduced rates this Friday, both priced at 5.09%.

  • Former Charcol boss Okey to help grow AfI business

    14 Feb 2005

    Ricky Okey, former managing director at Charcol, has joined Abbey for Intermediaries in the newly created position of director, mortgages and protection.Based in London, Okey, 43, will report to Ambrose McGinn to shape and drive mortgage and protection sales through the intermediary channel.The appointment shows Abbey plans to invest and grow its intermediary mortgage and protection business under Santander, something Okey says was key to his accepting the role.He says: ...

  • Four firms get together to launch mortgage club

    14 Feb 2005

    A mortgage club is being launched this week by four businesses - IFA network Falcon, IFA aggregator Financial Synergies, Manor Mortgages and Members' Mortgages.Branded The Mortgage Club, only intermediaries that have a relationship with one of the four founding firms will have access to its services.The group is responsible for around 2bn of mortgage completions, over 1m of protection premium income and around 100m of investment business.Users will access mortgage deals ...

  • FSA has big job ahead in cutting out cold calling

    14 Feb 2005

    From Tony Smith

  • FSA helping financial advisers facing uncertain future

    15 Feb 2005

    The FSA is urging Independent Financial Advisers to take advantage of the opportunities the changing retail market place will present or get left behind.

  • FSA must look into sub-prime murk

    14 Feb 2005

    Procuration fees paid by some sub-prime lenders are too high. Fact.There can be no justification for some of the fees paid by lenders. Proc fees of 2.75%-plus are simply deplorable when it is clients who will ultimately pay the price through an extra loading on the interest rate they pay, be it at the front end or - as is more common with some lenders - at the back end after an initial deep discount.Traditionally, high proc fees were justified by the relative complexity and ...

  • Genesis appoints IT director

    16 Feb 2005

    Genesis has appointed Mark Smith as IT director.

  • GMAC-RFC doubles corporate account team

    16 Feb 2005

    GMAC-RFC, the UK's 12th largest mortgage lender, has doubled the size of its corporate account team.

  • Goldsmith Williams and Charcol launch exclusive purchase conveyancing system

    15 Feb 2005

    Goldsmith Williams, one of the UKs largest direct conveyancing firms, has launched a unique national system for the purchase market with Charcol.

  • Home owners could benefit from affordability approach

    17 Feb 2005

    Borrowing to buy a house based solely on your salary will be a thing of the past forecasts a report from Alliance & Leicester Mortgages.

  • Homebuyers worship the church conversion

    15 Feb 2005

    Church attendance may be at rock bottom, but people want to live in them, says a poll by property website, propertyfinder.com.

  • Housing market sales see modest pick up

    15 Feb 2005

    The first month of 2005 saw UK house prices fall further, but at an increasingly slower pace, says the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors monthly housing survey.

  • I fought the law and the law won: a case for travel insurance

    14 Feb 2005

    I fought the law and the law won. So runs the title of a song released by the Bobby Fuller Four in 1965.

  • If you want to get ahead, get online

    14 Feb 2005

    The brokers that will come out on top in the direct to consumer mortgage market are those that will use internet technology to link themselves to lenders and customers, says Frank Eve.

  • Inter-Alliance International Group appoints group IT operations director

    14 Feb 2005

    Inter-Alliance International has appointed Nenad Todorovic as group IT operations director.

  • Internet Insite

    14 Feb 2005

    Mortgage Strategy's weekly guide to what's hot and what's not on the web. Jeff Sutherland-Kay checks out the websites of brokers, product providers, clubs, networks and packagers

  • Irresponsibility claim denied

    14 Feb 2005

    GMAC-RFC has rebuffed claims that fast-tracking prime status products up to 90% LTV is irresponsible lending.One London-based broker contacted Mortgage Strategy after being visited by a business development manager from GMAC-RFC, claiming it was told in no uncertain terms that if a prime product scored well, no evidence of income would be required.The source says: "I'm sure GMAC-RFC must have a logical reason behind allowing people to basically self-cert on prime products. But ...

  • It's about time estate agents were regulated by the FSA

    14 Feb 2005

    Letter of the week from Edward Whitehouse

  • Kicking packagers when they're down

    14 Feb 2005

    Legal & General Partnership's recent decision to change its procuration and packaging fees payment system is hardly a vote of confidence in its own packager panel, says Richard Griffiths.

  • L&C Mortgages launches new Ratecheck service

    17 Feb 2005

    L&C Mortgages, the no-fee broker, has launched Ratecheck, a free service aimed at giving borrowers the peace of mind that they are getting the right deal.

  • Landmark court ruling on loans due this summer

    14 Feb 2005

    A landmark legal case, which could become the benchmark for assessing whether a loan or mortgage is an extortionate credit bargain, will come before the Court of Appeal in the summer.The hearing on June 13 and 14 in London will determine whether a judge at an earlier hearing was right to find in favour of Tony and Michelle Meadows, whose 5,000 loan for home improvements ballooned to a debt of over 380,000.The case made national headlines in October 2004 when Judge Howarth, sitting ...

  • Lender surveys FTB attitudes

    14 Feb 2005

    Scottish Widows Bank is to highlight the frustrations of the first-time buyer with the publication of further research on the attitudes of British graduates toward home ownership.It published the results of its inaugural graduate first-time buyer study last October and says the research will now be yearly.SWB enhanced its graduate mortgage offering by extending the age limit for applicants to 35 and abolishing the requirement for applicants to have been employed for 12 months ...

  • Lending Solutions in homefast deal

    14 Feb 2005

    Lending Solutions has bought a majority shareholding in conveyancing firm homefast property lawyers.The deal allows homefast to continue to operate under its own brand and management in St Albans.Lending Solutions was founded in July 2004 when Simon Embley led the 42m management buyout of e.surv and Your Move from Norwich Union which was backed by Barclays Private Equity.John Brian, director of conveyancing services at homefast, says: "This deal allows us to retain our independence. ...

  • LIME adds Abbey to its select panel

    14 Feb 2005

    LIME, the mortgage and general insurance network which is part of the Tenet Group, says it is building on the success of its select partnerships by adding Abbey to its panel.Amanda Waddington, operations manager at LIME, says: "We have been renewing our select partnerships and have added Abbey to our panel. We are also looking at strengthening our mortgage club, negotiating exclusives with Halifax, The Woolwich and Bristol & West. We have seen increased lending month on month and ...

  • Manor Mortgages appointed to Burns-Andersons lending panel

    15 Feb 2005

    The Bristol based IFA network, Burns-Anderson, has appointed packager Manor Mortgages to its preferred packager and lender panel.

  • Market watch

    14 Feb 2005

    Short-term swaps increased pretty sharply last week as the chances of the next base rate change being in an upward direction increased.

  • Monty Burn: Maybe you can buck the market after all

    14 Feb 2005

    There is a belief in some quarters that you can't buck the market. I am not a firm believer in this theory as historians can point to a number of events that have been changed due to the intervention of Joe Public.

  • More reasons to release equity

    14 Feb 2005

    Standard Life Bank says borrowers are drawing equity from their mortgages for an increasing number of reasons.Alan Dring, head of sales at SLB, says consumer perception of mortgages has shifted, with buyers now seeing them as short-term financial opportunities rather than long-term debts.He says: "While people are keen to have financial security, they are also funding adventurous lifestyles by drawing equity. SLB is increasingly promoting this through outlets such as travel ...

  • Mortgage arrangement fees up by over 40% in last six months

    14 Feb 2005

    Mortgage arrangement fees have increased by over 40% in the last six months says Charcol.

  • Mortgage Choice adds CHL to specialist lending panel

    16 Feb 2005

    Packager Mortgage Choice has added Capital Home Loans to its specialist lending panel, giving it access to its exclusive buy-to-let product available to Professional Mortgage Packager Associates members.

  • Mortgage Express appoints new development manage

    15 Feb 2005

    Mortgage Express, specialist lending arm of the Bradford & Bingley Group, has appointed Emma Paine as its product development manager within the business development department.

  • Mortgage lending down 18% since last January, says CML

    18 Feb 2005

    The latest survey from the Council of Mortgage Lenders shows that gross mortgage lending declined in January to 17.9bn, 16% down on the 21.3bn in December and 18% lower than the 21.8bn lent in January last year.

  • Mortgage Summit can convey important message to industry

    14 Feb 2005

    From John Malone

  • Mortgages Direct questions industrys commitment to regulation

    14 Feb 2005

    Mortgages Direct, has raised serious concerns about the industrys interpretation of the FSA regulations since mortgage day.

  • Newcastle signs up Realtime

    14 Feb 2005

    Hometrack Data Systems says Newcastle has become the 50th customer to sign-up to the Realtime Valuation System, Hometrack's automated property valuation model.

  • Nick's notes

    14 Feb 2005

    Critical illness insurance has an important part to play in financial planning.

  • On the beat

    14 Feb 2005

    A topic that rarely gets the coverage it deserves made headlines last week. But the story surrounding the common trading platform made the news for the wrong reasons.

  • Opus enhances its MPLC range

    14 Feb 2005

    Opus, the Glasgow-based loan administration company, is enhancing its Mortgages PLC range, which will be tied to the Bank of England base rate.Added benefits include free legals, all inclusive for remortgages, valuation and processing fees refunded and a cashback from 0.25% to 0.5% with no maximum level. Legal fees, excluding disbursements, will also be paid in Scotland. The product range will be available to Mortgage Promotions members, St James's Place and other origination partners.Kevin ...

  • Pension property changes to boost housing market by 15%

    18 Feb 2005

    Changes in pension investment rules next year could cause a boom in the housing market by up to 15%, says experts at The Homebuyer Show.

  • Pink secures members access to B2L suite

    14 Feb 2005

    Pink Home Loans has secured its members access to a suite of buy-to-let products funded by Mortgage Trust.With criteria and features that differ from the Mortgage Trust core range the calculation used to assess the rental income required is based on 125% of the product rate.Products available through Pink include a two-year fixed buy-to-let rate of 4.79%, a two-year fixed buy-to-let rate of 5.39% and a three-year discount buy-to-let rate of 5.45%. There is an arrangement fee ...

  • Plum Software becomes affiliate member of AMI

    14 Feb 2005

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has made Plum Software its latest affiliate member. Ann Dempster, managing director of Plum Software, says: "AMI has established itself as the trusted trade body for professional mortgage intermediaries.

  • PMPA looks to become lender

    16 Feb 2005

    The Professional Mortgage Packagers Alliance has revealed that it is in various stages of discussions with a number of providers looking at the potential of becoming a lender in its own right.

  • Politicians' fine words are not enough

    14 Feb 2005

    Prime Minister Tony Blair last week pledged to encourage the spread for home ownership.Mortgage Strategy is encouraged that home ownership now has a higher profile in the political arena and with each of the main political parties than has been for the case for many years. But we still want Stamp Duty reform and we're not going to give up.If you've not done so already, sign are petition below. Send the completed coupon to: Mortgage Strategy, 50 Poland St, London W1F 7AX. Or ...

  • Preferred launches new core range

    14 Feb 2005

    Preferred has launched its new core range, with major enhancements, including increased discounts and reduced loadings.

  • Preferred reveal new brand identity

    14 Feb 2005

    Preferred has revealed its new brand identity, including a new logo and strap-line, and the move from Preferred Mortgages to Preferred.

  • Prestbury buys Blue Pearl

    14 Feb 2005

    Prestbury, parent of Solutions Network, is set to buy rival mortgage and general insurance network Blue Pearl.

  • Progress made with TCF, but more needs to be done, says FSA

    16 Feb 2005

    The Financial Services Authority has welcomed the progress the industry has made in implementing its Treating Customers Fairly principles, but says there is much more to do to improve treatment of retail financial services customers.

  • Purely applauds FSA crackdown on illegal mortgage brokers

    17 Feb 2005

    Mark Chilton, chief executive of Purely Mortgages has welcomed the Financial Service Authoritys crackdown on illegal mortgage brokers, but called for a tougher look at marketing.

  • RAMP appoints new compliance director

    18 Feb 2005

    The Regulatory Alliance of Mortgage Packagers has made Nick Battersby its new compliance director.

  • RAMP dumps C2 and sparks war of words

    14 Feb 2005

    A bitter war of words has broken out between RAMP and C2 Financial, the packager it kicked out of the regulatory alliance last week.C2 Financial, formerly County Mortgage Services, was thrown out of the Regulatory Alliance of Mortgage Packagers last week in a move that left RAMP founding member and C2 Financial managing director David Wylie furious.RAMP claims C2 Financial has failed to improve its compliance procedures, an accusation strenuously denied by Wylie.RAMP managing ...

  • Record results for Platform

    14 Feb 2005

    Platform has announced record results, with lending jumping to 2.54bn in 2004 from 1.47bn in 2003.This represents a 72% increase for the Britannia subsidiary across its product range. Completion figures are up by 302% from 633m in 2002.Sales and marketing director Guy Batchelor says: "2004 was a challenging year for us, not only due to increased levels of new business activity but particularly with the work required in moving to a regulated marketplace."Outstanding figures ...

  • Redundancies claim refuted

    14 Feb 2005

    Genesis has refuted claims that 13 recent staff redundancies were due to the company losing money, saying rather that they were down to a reorganisation.Mortgage Strategy was contacted by a source last week who said the company was getting rid of staff.The source says: "The reason given was lack of business and losing money."But Genesis says that while business has been quiet, there were a number of factors that led up to its having to make the redundancies.Last year ...

  • Rush to sign up for Tenancy Deposit Scheme

    17 Feb 2005

    Letting agents are signing up to the Tenancy Deposit Scheme at the rate of over 100 offices a month, it was revealed yesterday.

  • Sellers flood the market, but prices remain steady

    16 Feb 2005

    New sellers and applicant enquiries in the UK housing market increased significantly last month, shows data released today by the National Association of Estate Agents.

  • Sesame roadshows at stadia

    14 Feb 2005

    Sesame is to run 24 roadshows during February and March, with the final one being in Bristol on March 18. The roadshows will be open to Sesame members as well as any other mortgage brokers. The topics on this year's agenda will be buy-to-let, sub-prime and remortgaging.The roadshows will be held in football stadia across the country including St James's Park, above.

  • Skipton appoints new head of compliance

    18 Feb 2005

    Skipton has promoted Kathryn Payne from compliance manager to become its head of compliance.

  • SPML launches online AIP facility

    14 Feb 2005

    Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited has launched the third phase of its electronic trading platform.

  • TFC confirms expansion plans

    17 Feb 2005

    Specialist mortgage distributor The Finance Centre has confirmed its rumoured expansion plans for 2005.

  • The Derbyshire enhances its buy-to-let range

    17 Feb 2005

    The Derbyshire has enhanced its range of fixed rate, discount and tracker buy-to-let mortgages, all available from February 17 2005, by increasing their maximum exposure and LTV limits.

  • The Mortgage Mole

    14 Feb 2005

    Sick of it Mole scuttled north of the border to Edinburgh last week while the Rat was in. Having booked into the four-star Roxburghe Hotel on the recommendation of a colleague, Mole was mystified as to how the place had achieved its lofty rating with wobbling wardrobes, temperamental taps and soporific staff hardly creating the perfect ambience. However, the attitude of the employees may have been a reaction to the antics of Sickboy the Salesman who decorated his windowsill with regurgitated ..

  • TMO confirms departure of Mark Charlesworth

    18 Feb 2005

    Matthew Grayson, managing director of the private equity firm Venturion Capital and chairman of TMOs holding company, has confirmed that Mark Charlesworth has left TMO as part of the groups restructuring.

  • TMO could become lender

    16 Feb 2005

    Speculation was mounting last night that Venturion Capital, parent of The Mortgage Operation, is looking to turn the former network and packager into a lender in its own right.

  • TMO disposes of managing director

    15 Feb 2005

    Mark Charlesworth, managing director of The Mortgage Operation, is believed to have been made redundant by parent group Venturion Capital.

  • Tribunal refuses authorisation application for Ridings GB and three individuals

    17 Feb 2005

    The Financial Services and Markets Tribunal today upheld a decision by the Financial Services Authority's regulatory decisions committee to refuse an application for authorisation to carry out regulated activity by a firm and three individuals.

  • UCE honours top Birmingham businessman

    14 Feb 2005

    Univeristy of Central England is to confer the honorary award of doctor of the university to Andrew Messenger, FCIB, chief executive of West Bromwich, in recognition of his distinguished business achievements.

  • Warning on easy options

    14 Feb 2005

    Brokerage Mortgages Direct has warned brokers not to be taken in by rival firms boasting of a more casual approach to compliance that will make their jobs easier.It says that some of its intermediaries have considered moving to competitor firms which claim to offer a more relaxed attitude to regulation.Mortgages Direct says it has serious concerns about the industry's interpretation of the Financial Services Authority's regulations since Mortgage Day.Peter Gladdy, director ...

  • We must reinvent ourselves or disappear, say packagers

    14 Feb 2005

    At least two packagers, Pink Home Loans and Optoma, are predicting the death of the sector unless it reinvents itself.Optoma managing director Matthew Bright warns regulatory creep means packagers will come under Financial Services Authority control and predicts technology could do away with the need for packaging.Bright says: "Packagers' role in the industry will become increasingly exposed over the next three years. Regulatory creep will see packagers coming within FSA regulation ...

  • Will the level of regulatory costs encourage More small brokers to Join networks?

    14 Feb 2005

    With FSA fees nearly 1,000 higher than under the MCCB smaller brokers may well be tempted to sign up to networks, say our experts.

  • Yorkshire reports record gross mortgage lending

    16 Feb 2005

    Yorkshire has published its 2004 results, which show record gross mortgage lending of 3.24bn, up by 14.5% on 2003. The results also reveal net savings inflow to the society increased by 94.3% to 375m with almost 307,000 new member savings accounts being opened, and growing member savings balances of 7.3% to 9.63bn.

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