Mortgage Strategy
16 March 2009
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32% of brokers to cancel permissions at end of March
16 Mar 2009
A poll of some 1,000 Mortgage Strategy Online readers has found that 32% are looking to cancel their Financial Services Authority permissions on March 31.
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A good year to seek out new customers
16 Mar 2009
I hesitate to use the phrase green shoots of recovery when discussing the mortgage and housing markets but as someone of the glass half full persuasion, I believe there are more reasons to be cheerful in 2009 than last year.
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A sensible base rate would be 4% rather than 0.5%
16 Mar 2009
It doesn't matter how low interest rates go if lenders are not lending.
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Abbey cuts rate on key account exclusive
20 Mar 2009
Abbey for Intermediaries has cut the rate on its key account exclusive by 0.20%.
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Abbey for Intermediaries launches flexible offsets
19 Mar 2009
Abbey for Intermediaries is launching a range of flexible offset mortgages, the products are at base rate plus 3.25% and fully flexible.
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Adviser Matrix deals with 17 networks and IFAs
16 Mar 2009
Adviser Matrix, the free independent research service for financial brokers, is now dealing with 17 networks and national IFAs.
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AMI supports Turner Review
18 Mar 2009
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has come out in support of the Turner Review by the Financial Services Authority.
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AMI, stop heralding false dawns for dual pricing threat
16 Mar 2009
Readers of the news story 'Dual pricing is no longer a threat to brokers, says AMI' (Mortgage Strategy 2 March) should not fall into the trap of thinking that there is now a more level playing field, as stated by Robert Sinclair, director of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries.
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BDS optimistic as applications rise
16 Mar 2009
BDS Mortgage Group says there is still mileage in the packaging market, as the firm reported a rise in enquiries and packaged applications for February.
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Boulger slams FSA mortgage cap plan
17 Mar 2009
Industry guru Ray Boulger says if the Financial Services Authority limits mortgage lending to only 3 x a borrowers income it will be a retrograde step.
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bpl Solicitors to pay referral fee on failed cases
20 Mar 2009
bpl Solicitors will now pay referral fees to introducers even if the case fails to complete.
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Bright Grey launches online protection product
16 Mar 2009
Bright Grey, a protection specialist within the Royal London Group, has launched lifestyle protection, a simplified product available through its internet broker site, theidol.com.
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Bring back MIGs to boost LTVs, says AMI
16 Mar 2009
AMI is calling for mortgage indemnity guarantees to be resurrected to help lenders offer higher LTVs.
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Broker document service unveiled
16 Mar 2009
A Lancashire-based compliance firm has launched a service where-by brokers can buy compliance manuals and supporting documents on a one-off basis.
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Brokers may be writing blank cheques to FSA
16 Mar 2009
Brokers have been warned that they could be writing blank cheques to the Financial Services Authority when it comes to paying their annual permission fees.
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Brokers must maximise internet, claims Evaluate
17 Mar 2009
Evaluate Technologies claims that only those brokers with a distinct lack of vision will be hampered by future technological evolution.
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Brown is playing a risky game of snap
16 Mar 2009
US President Barack Obama has a reputation as a pretty cool poker player, which may explain the massive gamble he is taking on turning the US economy around.
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BSA urges borrowers to contact societies over arrears
17 Mar 2009
Hard pressed borrowers struggling to meet their mortgage repayments need to contact their building society as soon as possible – that is the advice from the Building Societies Association as the FSA publishes data on mortgage arrears. The BSA says societies have a wide range of techniques that they can use to help ensure that wherever possible borrowers with repayment difficulties can remain in their homes.
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Cable's way
16 Mar 2009
What do you believe needs to be done to get mortgage lending going again?It seems this is already starting to happen. The government, through its ownership of Northern Rock and virtual ownership of the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds/HBOS, can ensure that a strategy of lending is pursued but we must be clear what the framework for new mortgage lending involves.
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Call for simpler equity release deals
16 Mar 2009
Brokers are facing an uphill struggle when it comes to advising on complex equity release products.
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Cattles suspends more directors
16 Mar 2009
The crisis at Cattles showed no sign of easing last week after the sub-prime lender suspended a further three directors pending the out-come of a review of its accounts.
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Central Trust to shed up to 180 jobs
16 Mar 2009
Finance broker Central Trust is restructuring the business, resulting in the loss of up to 180 jobs.
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CI cover adapts as medicine advances
16 Mar 2009
Last month was National Heart Month, which aims to raise awareness of heart and circulatory diseases.
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Clueless
16 Mar 2009
Mole enjoyed a spot of brain training last week courtesy of Nationwide's annual pub quiz. Held in a swanky pub in the City, the quiz brought together the great and the good of the industry in a titanic battle of knowledge.
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Complete adds Affirmative to panel
16 Mar 2009
Complete Mortgage and Loan Services has added bridging loans provider, Affirmative Finance to its lending panel.
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Complete adds Affirmative to panel
16 Mar 2009
Complete Mortgage and Loan Services has added bridging loans provider, Affirmative Finance to its lending panel.
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Coreco Group joins Mortgage Advice Bureau
20 Mar 2009
Coreco Group, the breakout venture initiated by some of the former senior management team and key consultants at Cobalt Capital is to become an appointed representative of the Mortgage Advice Bureau.
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Crunch crushes London brokers
16 Mar 2009
Cobalt Capital has put paid to weeks of speculation by announcing it has been placed into administration.
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Curriculumvitae: Chloe Taverver
16 Mar 2009
Describe your current jobI'm responsible for maintaining The Business Mortgage Company brand, our media profile and all broker communications. I am also in charge of implementing the marketing plans for our key distribution partners. My role is quite varied and requires advanced juggling skills as I am usually involved in a number of projects at any given time.
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Debt company expands as enquiries double
16 Mar 2009
TCF Debt Solutions is expanding its facilities to cope with a doubling of broker enquiries since the beginning of 2009.
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Dual pricing is still going strong with lenders like Halifax
16 Mar 2009
Dual pricing is no longer a serious threat to brokers, according to AMI (Mortgage Strategy March 2) - that's quite amusing.
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Equity release must battle negative vibes
16 Mar 2009
Good communication is one of the keys to success for any business, and of course it is doubly important when trying to understand the needs and desires of customers.
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European Financial Solutions continues Nordic expansion
20 Mar 2009
Financial services group, European Financial Solutions, has continued its European expansion with the launch of its fourth Nordic business.
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Evaluate extends free sourcing demonstration
16 Mar 2009
Evaluate Technologies has extended the 30-day free demonstration of its online sourcing and application system.
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Exact calls on government to reinstate local authority lending
17 Mar 2009
In its latest white paper, Exact is calling on the government to reinstate local authority mortgage lending to fill the public lending shortfall.
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Exact calls on local authority lending to be reinstated
17 Mar 2009
In its latest white paper, Exact is calling on the government to reinstate local authority mortgage lending to fill the public lending shortfall.
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Exclusive adds lender to bridging panel
16 Mar 2009
Exclusive Connections has bolstered its bridging finance panel with the addition of another Blemain Group lender, Lancashire Mortgage Corporation.
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Ex-Cobalt crew launches Coreco Group
18 Mar 2009
Andrew Montlake and a crack team of ex-staff from defunct brokerage Cobalt Capital have joined forces to launch a new London-based firm called Coreco Group.
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Fat chance
16 Mar 2009
A couple of weeks back Mole brought you the news that sales of chocolate and fast food were on the up as struggling consumers indulged in a spot of comfort eating to ease their monetary sorrows. Well, last week the situation got worse.
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Fighting fraud in the commercial sector
16 Mar 2009
Fraud is a dirty word. Ever since money was invented, people have spent huge amounts of time and effort working out how they can get their hands on more and more of it; and not all of these methods have been scrupulously honest.
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Financial Solution sees successful product launch
19 Mar 2009
Specialist commercial provider, The Financial Solution, based in Herefordshire, has reported a successful launch of its new unsecured commercial loan.
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FOS to name and shame
19 Mar 2009
The Financial Ombudsman Service says it will publish business-specific complaint data every six months, starting from September 2009.
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FSA bans firm for dishonesty
16 Mar 2009
The Financial Services Authority is continuing its clampdown on corrupt mortgage companies, banning another firm for dishonest behaviour last week.
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FSA considering regulation of buy-to-let and seconds
18 Mar 2009
Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority says its Mortgage Market Review paper due in September 2009 will consider whether the FSA should regulate secured loans and buy-to-let.
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FSA could cap mortgages
17 Mar 2009
Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority is rumored to be going to announce a cap on mortgage lending tomorrow.
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FSA could regulate buy-to-let mortgages
18 Mar 2009
Lord Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority says its Mortgage Market Review paper due in September 2009 will consider whether the FSA should regulate secured loans and buy-to-let.
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FSA fines insurance broker for misleading clients
19 Mar 2009
The Financial Services Authority has fined Blackburn insurance broker Aspray Limited £21,000 for failings in control of its appointed representatives and for misleading its clients and the FSA.
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FSA must clarify its aims
16 Mar 2009
The news last week that the Financial Services Authority is finally dumping its policy of principles-based regulation didn't come as much of a surprise.
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FSA publishes consultation paper on remuneration
18 Mar 2009
The Financial Services Authority has published a consultation paper which consults on whether to incorporate its Code of practice on remuneration into the handbook and its application to large banks and broker dealers.
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FSA says limiting LTVs may be on the cards
18 Mar 2009
The Financial Services Authority has confirmed that limiting LTVs may be on the cards following a mortgage market review due in September.
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FTBs must find 24% deposits
16 Mar 2009
First-time buyers are on average stumping up record deposits of 24% to get on the housing ladder.
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Give Lloyds' bosses the time they need
16 Mar 2009
How will history judge Sir Victor Blank and Eric Daniels' time at the helm of Lloyds TSB?
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Goldsmith Williams hosts Chinese delegation
20 Mar 2009
Goldsmith Williams, the Liverpool based law firm, has hosted a delegation of Chinese business people who visited the law firm to analyse its use of advanced data management technology.
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Gross mortgage lending drops 60% year-on-year
19 Mar 2009
Gross mortgage lending in February dropped 60% from the same time last year to £9.9bn, the lowest monthly lending figure since 2001.
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Guardian offers two new dates for business opportunities seminars
16 Mar 2009
The Guardian Financial Group has announced the addition of two new dates to its series of business opportunities seminars due to intermediary demand.
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Helpucover sees boom in protection sales
18 Mar 2009
Helpucover has seen a 69% increase in the rate of sales for its income protection and mortgage payment protection insurance products in the first two months of 2009 compared to the second half of 2008.
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HIPs are unpopular and often lead to search duplication
16 Mar 2009
As a provider of conveyancing services to the public we speak to hundreds of home buyers and sellers every month and find that sellers consider Home Information Packs to be a nuisance and an unnecessary expense.
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Home & County manager wins Aston Martin for a year
16 Mar 2009
Paymentshield named Nicola Wood, manager of Home & County, winner of its Aston Martin competition last week.
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Home Buyer Systems appoints business development consultant
20 Mar 2009
Home Buyer Systems, the supplier of end-to-end sales and compliance systems for mortgages and general insurance, has appointed Chris Foster as business development consultant.
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Homeloan Partnership partners TCF Debt Solutions
18 Mar 2009
Debt solutions provider TCF Debt Solutions is to provide advice to clients of AR network Homeloan Partnership.
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Housing Policy - dumb and dumber
16 Mar 2009
Last week the government announced its intention to force local councils to use legal powers to make the owners of properties that are left empty for six months or more either let them out, sell them or face the threat of compulsory seizure.
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I have a clear conscience, unlike the axis of evil
16 Mar 2009
As exciting and informative the news and features sections of magazines are, letters pages are my favourite part of most publications.
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Idea for asset-backed loans floated
16 Mar 2009
Commercial mortgage brokers could be thrown a lifeline if pension funds get behind a new idea being touted by Stuart Parfitt.
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Invest in excellent customer service
16 Mar 2009
Have you ever returned to a restaurant where you've had bad service in the past? The chances are you haven't and you certainly won't have recommended such a place to your friends.
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Job market pessimism dents housing optimism
18 Mar 2009
Over half of people now believe that it is a good time to buy property, but uncertainty surrounding their personal circumstances is denting their confidence, shows the Building Societies Associations Property Tracker survey.
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King calls for simple and robust regulation
18 Mar 2009
In a speech to the Worshipful Company of International Bankers last night, Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England called for regulation to be simple and robust.
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Lenders must be pressured to lend
16 Mar 2009
Remember 1974? Professional football matches were played on Sundays for the first time, the UK's first McDonald's restaurant opened in south London and Ali beat Foreman in their famous rumble in the jungle.
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Link Loans added to V Loans lender panel
17 Mar 2009
V Loans, the Cheshire based master secured loan broker has teamed up with Link Lendings secured loan arm Link Loans to offer Links second charge secured loan products.
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Loan Options backs calls for regulation of secured loans
16 Mar 2009
Loan Options says it supports the Association of Finance Brokers' call for the Financial Services Authority to regulate the secured loan market.
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Loan Options supports FSA regulation
16 Mar 2009
Secured loan packager Loan Options has given its support to the Association of Finance Broker’s call for the FSA to regulate the secured loan market.
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London plan faces tough challenges
16 Mar 2009
In one of his first forays into the politically charged world of housing in the capital, London mayor Boris Johnson has presented a multimillion pound plan to deliver 3,000 affordable homes to kick-start his First Steps low-cost home ownership initiative.
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Look East and pray China pulls through
16 Mar 2009
Will US President Barack Obama's massive economic rescue plan lift the world out of the slump? While the UK slides into the unknown with a programme of quantitative easing, the smart eyes are not looking to the West but the East.
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Market ignores distribution danger at its peril
16 Mar 2009
In a recent article I expressed concern about mortgage lending and distribution in 2009.
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Marketwatch 16/03/2009
16 Mar 2009
Swaps all fell last week, whereas in the previous few weeks we have seen some rise and some fall. Three-month LIBOR is now 1.91%.1-year money is down 0.07% at 1.78%2-year money is down 0.04% at 2.2%3-year money is down 0.08% at 2.46%5-year money is down 0.12% at 2.93%
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McCormack appointed MD of Connells Asset Management
17 Mar 2009
Connells has appointed Roland McCormack as managing director of its asset management division.
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McQueen takes top mortgage role at Nationwide
16 Mar 2009
Andy McQueen has been made divisional director for mortgages and savings at Nationwide, a job which will see him oversee the creation and marketing of the society's mortgages.
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Miles succeeds Blanchflower on MPC
19 Mar 2009
David Miles is set to take over from David Blanchflower as an external member of the Monetary Policy Committee.
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Mortgage arrears soar 31%, says FSA
17 Mar 2009
The Financial Services Authority has published its latest mortgage lending figures, showing a sharp increase in the number of mortgages in arrears.
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Mortgage Brain hosts seminars for Encore users
19 Mar 2009
Mortgage Brain is running a series of training seminars to help mortgage 2000 users make the transition from Encore to Mortgage Brain.
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Mortgage Brain to include direct product info
17 Mar 2009
Brokers will be able to offer clients whole-of-market mortgage sourcing via Mortgage Brain by mid 2009.
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Mortgage Warehouse Corporation acquires The More Group
20 Mar 2009
London based broker, Mortgage Warehouse Corporation has acquired national mortgage broker, The More Group.
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MP attacks FSCS fees as unfair burden on building societies
16 Mar 2009
Ann Cryer, Labour MP for Keighley, has slammed the Financial Services Compensation Scheme's fees on-slaught on building societies.
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MPC unanimous on £75bn asset purchase
18 Mar 2009
The Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously in favour of both the £75bn Asset Purchase Facility and the 0.5% base rate reduction, committee minutes reveal.
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MTE offers luxury break for millionth transaction
16 Mar 2009
The Mortgage Trading Exchange is offering a luxury weekend break to the broker who processes the millionth transaction on the platform. It expects this transaction to be processed within the next few days.
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NAEA calls for Beckett to suspend HIPs
20 Mar 2009
Following Margaret Beckett’s admission that the government has spent £1.3m on promoting Home Information Packs, Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents is calling for their elimination.
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Nationwide preparing for £250m FSCS levy
20 Mar 2009
Nationwide is estimating its Financial Services Compensation Scheme levy could be as high as £250m.
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Network Data slashes asking price for Botleys
16 Mar 2009
Network Data has cut the asking price for its headquarters Botleys Mansion by £0.5m.
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OFT bans London estate agents after convictions
16 Mar 2009
The Office of Fair Trading has banned two East London estate agents from trading after they were convicted of a string of serious violent offences.
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OFT to increase consumer credit licence fee
19 Mar 2009
Fees for consumer credit licences will rise from 1 May 2009, the OFT has announced today.
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OFT to investigate impact of public funding on banks' competitiveness
16 Mar 2009
The Office of Fair Trading is to investigate how public funding for banks may unfairly impact on competition in the market.
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Personal Touch offers 75% LTV through RBSIP
16 Mar 2009
Personal Touch Financial Services has launched an exclusive two-year fixed rate at 75% loan to value at 3.79% through RBS Intermediary Partners for its network appointed rep members.
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Pink adds Principality to lending panel
17 Mar 2009
Pink Home Loans has added Principality to its panel of mortgage lenders.
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Pink adds Prudential to equity release panel
20 Mar 2009
Pink Home Loans has added Prudential to its panel of equity release providers.
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Poverty stinks
16 Mar 2009
And it's not just good food the public is shrinking away from. Unfortunately, it seems many people are giving up the little luxuries of life - such as washing.
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Printing money won't solve all our problems
16 Mar 2009
Quantitative easing is the latest economic catchphrase to get to grips with, and unless you have an in-depth knowledge of Japanese economics in the past decade it's unlikely to be a term you are familiar with.
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Profits down 4.5m at Savills Private Finance
16 Mar 2009
Savills has released its results for 2008, showing a profit of just under 500,000 for its Savills Private Finance arm compared with 5m last year.
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Promises won't fill the lending gap
16 Mar 2009
Good news is hard to come by at the moment but at least Prime Minister Gordon Brown is giving out some positive signals as banks are being encouraged to lend more.
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Providers limit unemployment cover in face of rising claims
16 Mar 2009
Unemployment cover is becoming harder to secure for clients as lenders and providers amend their criteria in line with the spectre of rising redundancies.
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Regulator beefs up its enforcement division
16 Mar 2009
The FSA added to its enforcement division last week with the appointment of David Kirk, currently director of the Fraud Prosecution Service, as chief criminal counsel.
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Regulator may target lenders next as crackdown on fraud intensifies
16 Mar 2009
Lenders are likely to face tough questions from the regulator over the measures they are taking to stamp out mortgage fraud.
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Regulatory reform shouldn’t drive us to drink
17 Mar 2009
Last week saw the Conservative Party publishing Sir James Sassoon’s interim review of the current Tripartite system of City regulation which was introduced by good old Gordon Brown back in 1997.
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Rock pushes £800m on Together loans post-government cash
20 Mar 2009
Northern Rock continued writing new Together mortgages to the tune of £800m even after it had been propped up by government cash, a National Audit Office report reveals.
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Roland McCormack to run Connells Asset Management
17 Mar 2009
Connells has appointed Roland McCormack as managing director of its asset management division.
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Sants slammed for insulting advisers
16 Mar 2009
Hector Sants, chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, has been criticised for implying some advisers in the financial services sector are morally corrupt.
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Savings club will boost brokers' income options
16 Mar 2009
Brokers can now earn commission from savings products and encourage the flow of lending at the same time.
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Sesame teams up with RBS Intermediary Partners
17 Mar 2009
Sesame and RBS Intermediary Partners are offering an exclusive fixed rate residential mortgage product.
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Simon White launches surveyor
16 Mar 2009
Just weeks after Ashdown Lyons went into administration, former director Simon White has launched a new venture called London's Chartered Surveyors and Valuers.
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Slime time
16 Mar 2009
I've never been a big fan of eco-warriors, whether full-on activists causing chaos on May Day or mundane tree huggers who think polar bears are drowning at a rate not seen since Noah floated his ark.
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Small firms have the edge in the crunch
16 Mar 2009
Last week two major brokerages announced that they had called in administrators.
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Sour notes
16 Mar 2009
The credit crunch has also brought out the creative side of would-be musicians on YouTube.
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Stifling innovation won't help
16 Mar 2009
The government's tightening grip on the mortgage market is frightening. With Lloyds Banking Group under majority state control, it joins the Royal Bank of Scotland, Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley among the ranks of lenders that have lost their independence.
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Tax from financial sector down £28bn, says CEBR
19 Mar 2009
A study by the Centre for Economics and Business Research estimates that the tax taken from the financial service sector for 2009/10 will be only £39bn, down from £67bn in 2006/07.
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The curse of PPI
16 Mar 2009
The curse of payment protection insurance seems to be haunting the industry at the moment.
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The men who changed the face of London
16 Mar 2009
London contains just about every type of domestic structure imaginable and I've seen most of them.
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Trigold claims it is still the top sourcing system
16 Mar 2009
Trigold insists it still has the lion's share of mortgage sourcing system users, despite Mortgage Brain poaching a number of its users.
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Trigold says broker activity has plunged
16 Mar 2009
Broker activity in February dropped to half the level seen at the same time last year, latest figures from Trigold reveal.
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Unemployment passes two million mark
18 Mar 2009
Data released today by the Office for National Statistics shows unemployment passed the two million mark over the three months to January.
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Unsellable homes push down rents, says RICS
19 Mar 2009
Would-be sellers continued to flood the rental market with unsellable properties at the end of last year, research from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reveals.
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US auction company comes to the UK
17 Mar 2009
America’s leading real estate auction company is to launch its auction business in the UK market at the end of March.
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US auction firm to launch into UK
16 Mar 2009
America’s leading real estate auction company is to launch its auction business in the UK market at the end of March.
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Valuers are caught in a perfect storm
16 Mar 2009
Recent weeks have seen more companies exit from the valuation market, with respected players such as Christopher Rodgers and Ashdown Lyons going into administration.
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Waiting lists for social housing to hit two million by 2011
19 Mar 2009
The number of households on waiting lists for social housing is set to soar to a record high of almost two million over the next two years, claims figures from the National Housing Federation.
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Website may help stressed brokers
16 Mar 2009
Good economic news is still not forthcoming - at least not in the headlines of the national press.
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Which? launches online PPI complaints tool
16 Mar 2009
Which? is launching an online Payment Protection Insurance complaints tool, making it quicker and easier for people to claim back mis-sold PPI.
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Woolwich system is no more helpful than direct deals
16 Mar 2009
I was interested to see a number of letters in last week's issue about the way Woolwich is rationing mortgages.
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Younger clients are seeking debt advice
16 Mar 2009
In the past six months we have seen a 100% increase in enquiries for help with debts. These debts range from 2,100 to a whopping 109,000, with the average being 15,000.
