Mortgage Strategy
17 February 2003

  • Abbey National cuts costs on fixed rate deals

    19 Feb 2003

    A new mortgage range from Abbey National includes some of the lowest fixed rates ever offered by the bank. Rates start at 3.95% for a two-year fix available to first-time buyers only, up to 95% LTV. A two-year fixed rate for remortgage customers is priced at 4.29% up to 90% LTV and a five-year fixed rate of 4.75% is available to all customer at up to 95% LTV. Guy Aldwinckle, head of mortgage marketing at Abbey National, says: "In this low rate environment, customers ...

  • Abbey National launches new deals for first-timers

    19 Feb 2003

    Abbey National has launched a new range of mortgages for first-time buyers. The new mortgage range offers competitive rates and offers first-time buyers the choice of money-saving offers, such as a First Time Buyer Solution package that includes free valuation and £250 cashback towards legal fees on a two-year tracker at bank base rate plus 0.1%. Applicants can also choose to add arrangement fees to their mortgage, therefore not having to pay them upfront. Away ...

  • Alliance & Leicester cuts SVR

    17 Feb 2003

    Alliance & Leicester's new basic variable rate is 5.79% (6.1% APR) with effect from February 17 for new borrowers and March 10 for existing borrowers. A&L mortgage products that track the Bank of England base rate were reduced by 0.25% from February 9 for new borrowers and will be reduced from March 1 for existing customers.

  • Bank of Ireland drops SVR

    19 Feb 2003

    The Bank of Ireland is reducing its standard variable rate by 0.16% to 5.79% following this month's cut in Bank of England base rates. The change is effective from March 3 and is applicable to new and existing customers. The SVR of the Bank of Ireland Northern Ireland remains unchanged.

  • Bank says low inflation a key factor for confidence

    19 Feb 2003

    The Bank of England last night said low inflation was a key factor in enabling households to plan with confidence for the future. In a speech to the Manchester Statistical Society today, Kate Barker, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, noted the advantages of low and stable inflation. Barker told members: "Overall it is clear that there are many benefits from the successful achievement of low and stable inflation, especially in terms of greater ...

  • Base rate cut surprised analysts

    19 Feb 2003

    On January 21 Sir Edward George criticised economic analysts for being too gloomy about UK economic prospects. So Why therefore did the Bank ease monetary policy just two weeks later? Last week's Bank of England press conference provided clues. Deputy Governor King (normally a monetary "hawk") stated that the threat of war with Iraq "hangs heavily over the world economy". The US Federal Reserve Board Chairman Greenspan, in his testimony to the Senate ...

  • BM Solutions inspires HBOS to tackle Scottish crime with soccer

    18 Feb 2003

    A BM Solutions-backed soccer initiative to tackle crime is expanding into Scotland. The Midnight League scheme was launched in 2000 in partnership with Wolverhampton Wanderers Community team to combat crime and social exclusion in and around Wolverhampton. Bank of Scotland - sponsor of the Premier League in Scotland - has introduced the scheme to the Premier League clubs including Celtic and Rangers. The Midnight League encourages youngsters between the ages ...

  • Bradford & Bingley pre-tax profits up 8%

    19 Feb 2003

    Bradford & Bingley yesterday announced healthy year end results. Profit before tax and exceptionals increased by 8% to £273m, up from £253m in 2001. Operating revenues increased by £15m to £728m, and total costs before exceptionals reduced by £5m to £446m. Return on equity before exceptionals increased to 15.8%. Earnings per share before exceptionals rose 13% to 29.3p. The full-year share dividend was 14.8p per share, up ...

  • Bristol & West backs fixed rate at Bradford & Bingley

    19 Feb 2003

    The MarketPlace is offering borrowers a 4.15% three year fixed rate. Funded by Bristol & West, the deal applies to a maximum LTV o 95% and is MIG free. It offers £300 cashback and no arrangement fees. There are non extended tie-ins beyond fixed period. David Bitner, head of product operations for The MarketPlace, says: "Since the base rate cut earlier this month we have seen a lot of re-pricing in the mortgage market with fixed rate deals coming ...

  • Broker wins BM Solutions prize for £1m online success

    20 Feb 2003

    Mortgage broker Kiran Bhundia of KB Home Solutions has won a London theatre weekend for being the first broker to process £1m of applications via BM Solutions Online. Bhundia says: "BM Solutions Online has driven the efficiency of my business. I'm turning around applications in record time and the online product matching and case tracking tools especially are leaving me with more time to spend with customers. On top of all this - winning the weekend away is another very ...

  • CML Scotland unveils manifesto for Scottish Parliament elections

    18 Feb 2003

    As the political parties gear up for the forthcoming elections to the Scottish Parliament, CML Scotland has produced its own manifesto of housing policy proposals to raise the profile of housing within the overall policy agenda. CML Scotland members lend to the private housing market and have also lent over £1.1bn for new-build, repair and improvement to social housing throughout Scotland. CML Scotland wants the Scottish Executive to promote more low cost home-ownership ...

  • Commercial lender recruiting staff

    18 Feb 2003

    Specialist lender Commercial First Mortgages is creating 40 new jobs at its headquarters in Brentwood. CMFL is boosting its staff of senior underwriters and mortgage processing team, and is will embark on a campaign to build a team of business development managers throughout the UK. CFML says it is inundated with enquiries from the intermediary community regarding its commercial mortgage, which allows sole practitioners, partnerships and limited companies to borrow between ...

  • Coventry announces record results

    19 Feb 2003

    Coventry Building Society has announced "outstanding" results for the year ending December 31 2002. Chief executive Martin Ritchley says: "2002 proved to be an outstanding year for the Coventry. Not only did net savings receipts top £1bn for the first time ever, we also achieved record levels of gross mortgage lending of £1.9bn. "At the same time, we enhanced our position as one of the most cost efficient lenders in the UK. These results reinforce the Coventry's ...

  • Earl Shilton passes on base rate cut

    21 Feb 2003

    The Earl Shilton Building Society will reduce its standard variable rate to 5.50% from March 1, following this month's 0.25% reduction in the Bank of England base rate. All discounts will be reduced accordingly.

  • Egg cuts SVR to 4.59%

    19 Feb 2003

    Internet bank Egg is cutting its mortgage standard variable rate by 0.15% to 4.59% on flexible and saver mortgages. The cut takes effect from March 1. With immediate effect, Egg will also reduce the rates on its savings accounts, with its flagship Internet Savings Account now paying a competitive 3.75% gross per annum. Egg's Internet Savings Account currently has one of the longest savings rate guarantees in the UK, promising to at least match the Bank of England base rate ...

  • Future celebrates 2nd 'online' Birthday

    20 Feb 2003

    Future Mortgages is celebrating the second Birthday of online applications via its website. The lender now receives 35% of all new applications electronically. Since the launch of online applications, Future has added online case tracking and online decisions in principle to the site as well as various tools and services. Richard Hurst, communications manager, says: "Future Mortgages had a very clear criteria for using new technology; it had to provide a true business ...

  • Future launches 85% LITE mortgage

    17 Feb 2003

    Future Mortgages has launched the 85 LITE mortgage for customers who wish to self-certify their imcome, available up to 85% LTV. Brokers can choose between a standard LIBOR linked rate of 5.80%, or a discount rate of 4.55%. Customers are permitted to have one 'blip' in their credit history and still qualify for both the standard and discount versions. Brian Pitt, director of sales and marketing, says: "The self-cert market is one of the fastest growing and most ...

  • GISC not closing doors to new members

    20 Feb 2003

    The GISC has rebuked claims it will cease accepting new members this spring. The reports centred around a speech given by GISC policy manager Branko Bjelobaba in which he explained that firms would need to join GISC in the near future to give themselves time to become compliant with GISC requirements and to qualify for due credit in the FSA authorisation process. Anthony Howland Jackson, GISC chairman, says: "GISC is not closing its doors in the spring to new members. "My ...

  • GISC welcomes insurance regulation date

    17 Feb 2003

    GISC, the current regulator of businesses offering general insurance, has been advised by the financial secretary to the Treasury that the FSA will take over the regulation of general insurance on January 14 2005. Following the finalisation in September 2002 of the EU Insurance Mediation Directive, Her Majesty's Treasury and the FSA had been working towards a transition date of October 2004. However, the Directive was only formally published in the EU Official Journal on ...

  • GMAC-RFC acquires High Street Home Loans

    18 Feb 2003

    GMAC-RFC has acquired High Street Home Loans for an undisclosed sum. GMAC-RFC had previously been a minority shareholder in HSHL's parent company. Following the acquisition, HSHL will continue as a separate trading style, headed by Gary Forrest, with the corporate entities themselves being dissolved. HSHL will offer a separate and distinct product range to its customer base. Stephen Knight, executive chairman of GMAC-RFC, says: "This acquisition continues ...

  • Hargreaves Lansdown shares proc fee with borrowers

    20 Feb 2003

    Hargreaves Lansdown is giving clients a commission share on mortgages above £75,000. Customers will collect £100 of the mortgage provider's procuration fee on loans over £75,000, £150 of the commission on loans over £150,000, £300 on loans over £300,000, £400 on loans over £400,000 and at least £500 on loans over £500,000. The cashbacks are aimed at borrowers who have decided which mortgage suits them ...

  • Homeloan Partnership offers direct submission

    19 Feb 2003

    Mortgage network Homeloan Partnership is offering direct submission to 30 prime lenders, including Abbey National, Halifax, Nationwide, Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest. HLP also offers brokers the opportunity to submit sub-prime business through Solent Mortgage Services or The Finance Centre. All lenders' applications forms are available on the company's sourcing software, Pathfinder, which is included with Gold and Platinum Membership. Steve Hoare, ...

  • Housing association Targets arrears management

    20 Feb 2003

    Target, the business solutions provider, has signed contracts with English Churches Housing Group to provide arrears management to the housing association's 26,000 customers. With the 2000/2001 annual report from the Housing Corporation quoting £72m rent losses due to bad debt, an increase of 19% on the 1999 /2000 figures, ECHG sees effective arrears management as a key plank of its strategy. Sue Martin, debt recovery manager at ECHG, says: "Delays in assessment ...

  • Huntswood expands outsourcing facilities

    21 Feb 2003

    Huntswood Outsourcing Solutions is expanding its e-secure outsourcing office in Reading, which handles business processes for financial services companies. The capacity of Huntswood's outsourcing facility in Reading will be increased from 200 to 400 desks to meet rapidly rising demand for services, particularly in the field of financial regulatory compliance. David Brownlow, chief executive of Huntswood, says: "The rapid expansion of our facility in Reading shows ...

  • IFAs urged to protect against data loss

    21 Feb 2003

    Clunk Click, a provider of online backup solutions to the IFA and SME market, is warning IFA firms to back-up data off-site to combat computer theft, corruption and virus activity, which are at an all-time high. Clunk Click research, underpinned by information from the DTI, suggests that over 75% of all businesses that suffer data loss go out of business within 18 months. The research, collated from sources such as the Gartner Group and IDC, shows that more than 60% ...

  • Insurance advice from BM Solutions

    21 Feb 2003

    BM Solutions is offering homeowners some practical advice on subsidence after the shock collapse of an extension of the Channel tunnel in Stratford. The lender's specialist insurance team advises homeowners who already have insurance to check on the value of their home to make their policy is in line with recent house price inflation. Homeowners should ensure they do not undervalue the contents of their home and should review their insurance if in doubt. BM ...

  • Intelligent Finance roadshows to kick off on March 14

    21 Feb 2003

    Intelligent Finance is giving professional advisers the chance to win a laptop computer at its forthcoming roadshows. Kicking off in Belfast on March 14 and covering 15 venues, the bank will be giving away a laptop at every venue in its three-week tour of the UK. Ian Jeffery, sales and marketing director at Intelligent Finance, says: "After the positive feedback we've received on our previous roadhows, we're delighted to announce the return of the Intelligent ...

  • Ipswich to launch 0.75% lifetime tracker

    19 Feb 2003

    Ipswich Building Society is launching a tracker mortgage at bank base rate plus 0.75% for the life of the loan. The product, which is to be introduced from the end of February, is available for purchase or remortgage, including right-to-buy and self-build. Paul Winter, sales and marketing director, says: "Unlike many products which offer a short-term discount rate, this deal is competitive for the whole of the mortgage term. This has to be one of the most competitive ...

  • Irish Permanent unveils £1m let-to-buy deal

    18 Feb 2003

    Irish Permanent has relaunched its let-to-buy product for the self-employed with the introduction of a new threshold of £1m and higher LTVs. Ireland's largest mortgage lender, which has its UK base in Hammersmith, west London, will lend up to £500,000 on an existing property to be remortgaged and let. It will then lend up to £500,000 on the new purchase going forward, which the borrower is buying to be their main residence. The new £1m limit ...

  • January remortgaging breaks all records

    21 Feb 2003

    The proportion of lending accounted for by remortgaging broke through the 50% mark in January for the first time on record, latest CML figures reveal. Of the total £18.6bn gross advances, £9.6bn was accounted for by remortgaging. Lending in January showed a slight seasonal dip, but remained very strong compared with £13.4bn in January last year. Lending for house purchase totalled £7.5bn, well up on the £6.7bn in January 2002, ...

  • L&C tells nation to remortgage and save £400m a year

    20 Feb 2003

    London & Country estimates that British borrowers could save £400m by switching from SVR deals to more competitive two-year mortgage schemes. Almost two weeks after the Bank of England voted to reduce interest rates by 0.25%, L&C says many borrowers still do not know how much, if any, of this cut will be passed on through the SVR. Four of the top 15 lenders have still yet to announce any decision. NatWest, HSBC, Bradford & Bingley and Britannia Building Society ...

  • L&G says UK will avoid oil price hike if Iraq crisis turns to war

    20 Feb 2003

    Legal & General believes western markets will avoid massive hikes in oil prices and the associated economic unstability if the Iraq crisis turns to all-out war. Andrew Clare, financial economist at Legal &General, says: "When OPEC flexed its muscles for the first time in the 1970s the rise in oil prices wreaked significant damage on world economies. If the US and UK enter military conflict with Iraq, the balance of probabilities is strongly against a similar sharp, sizeable and ...

  • Lenders prepare to remove trip-wires to e-innovation

    19 Feb 2003

    Joe Bradley, former chief executive of Marlborough Stirling Mortgage Services, is heading up a drive to take the next generation of workplace technologies into businesses including the mortgage market. As the new chief operating officer of Telenor Business Solutions, Bradley is closely involved in the launch of "Wireless Zone". Developed in conjunction with Accenture, Cisco and Birdstep, the project provides cutting edge alternatives to old-style computers, wired to a work station ...

  • Lending increase fails to reverse slowdown

    21 Feb 2003

    Underlying mortgage lending increased by £5.4bn in January, compared with £5.1bn in December, figures from the Major British Banking Groups reveal. But evidence of the housing market slowdown continues - January's rise was not as strong as the £5.6bn increase recorded last October or the £5.8bn rise for November. Net sterling lending, after allowing for mortgage securitisation and write-offs, increased by an underlying £11.6bn to £890bn ...

  • Lower mortgage equity withdrawal hits consumer spending growth

    17 Feb 2003

    Research from the Centre for Economics and Business Research shows that mortgage equity withdrawal was worth 2.2% of consumer spending in 2000, 3.9% in 2001 and 6.5% in 2002. While real consumer spending growth in the UK has slowed over this period, from 5.1% to 3.4%, had it not been for a rising proportion of consumer spending being financed by this form of borrowing against housing, the growth would have slowed much more dramatically - from 4.6% in 2000 to only 0.8% in 2002, ...

  • Misys launches annual ISA campaign

    20 Feb 2003

    Misys has launched its annual ISA campaign for members of its networks under the banner theme of 'ISA Choice'. There are eight funds on offer, with five from Legal & General, Newton, Jupiter, Gartmore and Standard Life plus three multi-manager funds from M&G/ Cazenove. Andrew Oliver, head of marketing at Misys Life and Pensions, says: "The make-up of these ISA funds recognises that investors are nervous about the stock market and may not have seen their current ...

  • Mortgage Express grows mortgage book to £7.9bn

    20 Feb 2003

    Mortgage Express grew its mortgage book to £7.9bn in 2002 to make a "major contribution" to the group's 73% growth in new lending. A breakdown of the group's year-end results shows that gross advances from Mortgage Express totalled £4bn, and purchasing a loan portfolio from GMAC-RFC added mortgages worth £650m to the book. From a standing start in February 2002, MX Online completions reached £380m, delivering 20% of new lending to the group. Mortg

  • Mortgage lending rises 22% at Principality

    20 Feb 2003

    New mortgage lending at the Principality Building Society rose 22% to £720m, the society's 2002 results reveal. Savings balances increased 20% to £2.7bn. Pre-tax profits moved up from £19.1m in 2001 to £21.6m in 2002, reserves increased in excess of 5% to £187.9m and the £3bn asset landmark was passed. The society plans to continue building on the fundamentals of a strong branch presence on the high street, and to rapidly develop ...

  • MPC voted 7:2 to reduce interest rates

    20 Feb 2003

    The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee voted 7:2 to reduce rates by 0.25%. The economic fallout of a potential war in Iraq and the continuing weakness of UK manufacturing were among the factors that persuaded the Bank to cut interest rates by 0.25% this month, minutes from this months Monetary Policy Committee meeting reveal. But Matthew Taylor MP, Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor and Mortgage Strategy columnist, says: "The chancellor is like the three ...

  • Mutual Co-operative launched

    17 Feb 2003

    Mortgages PLC has launched a joint initiative with mutual building societies, which enables smaller societies to work in partnership with Mortgages PLC to design, originate and acquire portfolios of profitable mortgage assets. Peter Beaumont, sales and marketing director of Mortgages PLC, says: "The Mutual Co-Operative is a classic example of true partnership. Mortgages PLC has the distribution base and expertise to originate margin-positive business, and building societies have ...

  • NAEA says market is booming as property stock remains low

    17 Feb 2003

    The first monthly survey of the housing market to be carried out by the National Association of Estate Agents in 2003 indicates that its predictions for a strong start to the year were correct. The NAEA's monthly Housing Market Survey for January showed that there were more new applicant enquiries during the first few weeks of this year than for any month since September 2002. At the same time stock levels made a slight recovery, but only to the same low levels recorded in ...

  • National Mortgage Helpline proves popular with advisers

    17 Feb 2003

    The National Mortgage Helpline, which launched on January 14 2003, reports that demand for its residential mortgage leads service has been so great that it will soon have to stop taking on any more IFAs and independent mortgage advisers for many areas of the UK for the foreseeable future. Nigel Pritchard, National Mortgage Helpline's marketing director, says: "We've been very pleased with the number of advisers joining us, a lot of whom have come to us through recommendation ...

  • Nationwide cuts base mortgage rate by 0.1%

    17 Feb 2003

    Nationwide has announced a reduction in its base mortgage rate of 0.1% to 4.64% for both new and existing borrowers from March 1. This move follows the recent announcement that the Bank of England base rate has been cut. In addition, lowest ever fixed rates and a new range of lower tracker rates are being introduced. Nationwide's BMR will be the lowest rate paid by the majority of its existing borrowers since June 1955 - almost 50 years ago - and will remain around ...

  • New Lifestyle for Future account manager

    18 Feb 2003

    Sub-prime mortgage broker packager Lifestyle Finance has appointed Ian Wood as business development manager. Wood will help spearhead the company's recent move into the broker-introduced packaging market. Wood joins Lifestyle Finance in March, following four years as Future Mortgages' account manager for the North-East, where he was top performing account manager for the last two years. He has 19 years experience in the lending industry, having worked for Skipton ...

  • New rate for Mortgage Express' FlexAbility

    17 Feb 2003

    Following the Bank of England base rate reduction last week, Mortgage Express is now offering its best-ever discounted rate for FlexAbility. The discount is 0.50% for two years. Up to 95% LTV, the payrate is 4.24%, and up to 75% LTV the payrate is 4.04%. There are no tie-ins or redemption penalties, and, as always, the rates are linked to the Bank of England base rate so that customers immediately feel the benefit of any reduction. Product manager Andrew Moss says: "FlexAbility ...

  • Norwich & Peterborough cuts fixed rates

    18 Feb 2003

    Norwich & Peterborough Building Society is reducing rates on its fixed rate mortgages in the UK with immediate effect, taking it's five-year fix to an all-time low of 4.48%. Two-year fixed rates fall to 3.99% up to 90% LTV and 4.19% up to 95% LTV. Both schemes have redemption changes of 3% of current balance in the first two years. Three-year fixed rates fall to 3.69% up to 90% LTV and 3.89% up to 95% LTV. Redemption charges of 5% of current balance apply in the first ...

  • Optoma announces lead generation service

    17 Feb 2003

  • Personal loan borrowers will lose out on £1bn

    20 Feb 2003

    Over half of UK adults go straight to their existing bank for a personal loan, ICM research for Intelligent Finance reveals. Intelligent Finance estimates that personal loan borrowers across the UK will lose out to the tune of over a £1bn in the year ahead by saddling themselves with uncompetitive and inflexible loans. The Big Four banks are likely to be the primary beneficiary of people's failure to shop around for better deals. Existing customers borrowing ...

  • Positive outlook for equity release as annuity rates fall

    20 Feb 2003

    Eight out of ten IFAs believe annuity rates will fall over the next 12 months by an average of 2.5%, research from equity release brokers Key Retirement Solutions reveals. One in six IFAs expects annuity rates to decline by 5% or more and only 6% believe they will stay the same - all of which should boost the equity release market. Colin Taylor, managing director of Key Retirement Solutions, says: "Many pensioners have already had to endure annuity rates falling by ...

  • Premier Mortgage Service tops mortgage clubs with £24.5bn applications in 2002

    19 Feb 2003

    Prudential's Premier Mortgage Service has claimed the top spot for 2002 amongst the country's mortgage clubs, recording applications worth £24.5bn, up from £14.9bn in 2001, and completions of £18.35bn, up from £10.98bn. With 35 lenders on its panel, PMS facilitated the arrangement of over 204,000 new mortgages last year, accounting for 8.5% of all mortgages arranged in the UK during 2002. Based at the Prudential intermediary and broker headquarters ...

  • Record results from Yorkshire Building Society

    20 Feb 2003

    Yorkshire Building Society's gross lending grew to £2.49bn in 2002, up 26% on 2001. Assets increased by over £1bn, a growth rate of 8.8%. The society's lending was focussed on the prime residential market with no recourse to buy-to-let, commercial or credit impaired markets. The society's mortgage redemption rate was around 20% better than the industry average. Its share of the volatile remortgage market was only around half the industry average. ...

  • Retired incomes fall

    20 Feb 2003

    Retired couples have seen their standard of living fall for the second year in a row, the annual Britannic Asset Management Retired Income Monitor reveals. At the same time, the average working family and single retired people have seen an 11% increase in their standard of living. The findings point towards an increase in the fledging equity release market, which the CML and several lenders have highlighted as a major growth area. The Britannic income monitor, ...

  • RICS survey finds evidence of market slowdown

    21 Feb 2003

    The rise in house prices slowed for the fourth consecutive month in January, the latest figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reveals. The RICS quarterly Housing Market Survey finds that general economic slowdown combined with fears of war bought about a small price decline in London and the South-East, with prices static across the South-West, Midlands and East Anglia. Prices across northern England and Wales continue to increase strongly, but if ...

  • Rightmove.co.uk predicts soft landing for housing

    19 Feb 2003

    The latest report from Rightmove.co.uk provides further evidence that the housing market is heading for a soft landing. Rightmove.co.uk figures show that year-on-year house price inflation fell from 26.5% in January to 23.5% in February. The monthly rise was 2.0% - much lower than the 4.5% registered in the equivalent period last year - at a time when prices typically rise strongly as vendors return to the market and estate agents rebuild stock levels after the Christmas break. Geographi

  • Savills reports record growth in commercial debt broking

    18 Feb 2003

    Savills Private Finance has announced a record year of growth in its commercial debt broking business. During 2002, the team of five headed by director Stuart Robinson, arranged commercial mortgages totalling £250m. Their extensive experience covers all aspects of commercial property including healthcare, leisure, hotels commercial investment, retail and land acquisition. Stuart Robinson, director of SPF, says: "This last year has been very successful, which ...

  • Self-employed miss out on MPPI cover

    18 Feb 2003

    Britain's growing number of self-employed and contract workers are missing out on the security of mortgage payment protection insurance (MPPI), says Abbey National Home Insurance. Since 1998 there has been a steady increase in the number of borrowers taking MPPI. Datamonitor and the CML report 2.5m MPPI policies in force at the end of 2001, representing 22.5% of all outstanding residential mortgages. The percentage increase in the take-up of MPPI outstripped the increase ...

  • Skipton launches 4.69% 5-year fix

    20 Feb 2003

    Skipton Building Society has launched a five-year fixed rate at 4.69% until May 2008. On an £80,000 repayment mortgage, this means fixed monthly payments of £454. The scheme is available up to 95% LTV, with free MIG up to 90% LTV. It offers flexible benefits of daily interest, overpayments and payment holidays, and up to 10% capital repayments free of charge each year until 2008. An early redemption charge of 3% of mortgage balance applies until ...

  • Skipton launches two base rate trackers

    18 Feb 2003

    Skipton Building Society has launched two new base rate tracker mortgages with initial rates from 3.5%. This equates to monthly interest payments of just £292 on a £100,000 mortgage. Both loans are guaranteed to track bank base rate for four full years. The base rate tracker discount mortgage offers a 1% discount in year one on a tracker rate of base rate plus 0.75% for four years. A redemption charge of 2% applies in the first year and 1% in years two, three and ...

  • SPML enters prime mortgage market

    19 Feb 2003

    SPML launches its first prime mortgage range on February 24. For full status borrowers, a fixed rate of 4.75% until June 2005 is on offer for LTVs up to 75%, with a maximum loan value of £350,000. A 4.99% fix for the same period is offered at 90% LTV for a maximum loan size of £200,000, and at 85% LTV for loans up to £350,000. A 5.14% fix is offered at 85% to a maximum loan size of £350,000. Self-certification options are also available ...

  • Standard and Poor's to hold credit rating seminar

    19 Feb 2003

    Standard and Poor's is inviting brokers to attend a free seminar explaining the intricacies of credit ratings. The seminar, presented in conjunction with the Chartered Insurance Institute on March 12, will explain why accurate information on the financial strength of insurance companies has never been so vital. Standard and Poor's says that credit ratings deliver a "comprehensive and detailed profile of an organisation's true state, giving brokers, advisers, ...

  • Standard Life Bank cuts SVR by 0.15%

    17 Feb 2003

    Standard Life Bank has cut its SVR from 5.1% to 4.95%, a drop of 0.15%.

  • Towry Law offers 3.59% loan

    20 Feb 2003

    Towry Law Mortgage Services has launched an exclusive deal that offers borrowers an opportunity to combine the security of a fix with a discount thereafter. The loan is offered at a fixed rate of 3.59% for one year, followed by a 1% discount for the second year. Secured lending has increased by 40% over the last year, and Towry Law says the product is ideal for people looking to utilise the value in their property for whatever reason without any early redemption penalties. Sel

  • UCB Home Loans cuts variable rate

    19 Feb 2003

    UCB Home Loans is reducing its mortgage interest rates from March 1, 2003. The FlexiPlus variable rate has reduced by 0.1% to 5.89%. The self-certification variable rate has reduced by 0.1% to 6.49%, and the buy-to-let variable rate, a tracker product, has reduced by 0.25% to 5.74%. Charles Reed, managing director at UCB Home Loans, says: "These rates offer a particularly attractive deal for our borrowers, many of whom are self-employed."

  • UK secured loan market valued at £14.4bn in 2002

    17 Feb 2003

    Independent market analyst Datamonitor's new report, UK Secured Lending 2003, found that last year gross advances in the secured loan market amounted to £14.4bn, up from £10.5bn in 2001. The market has been buoyed by good economic conditions, rising house prices and high levels of unsecured debt. More than 700,000 secured loans were advanced in 2002, each with an average value of more than £20,000. Datamonitor believes that the secured loan market could be ...

  • Widespread abuse of Right to Buy scheme

    17 Feb 2003

    The sale of council homes is riddled with abuse by companies exploiting the Right to Buy system, government research published accidentally last week reveals. Thousands of homes have been sold in London in the past four years under a scam that the study warns could spread to the rest of Britain. The practice is legal and involves tenants being encouraged to buy their homes with the offer of cash incentives from leasing companies of as much as £26,000. In return, residents ...

  • Wooden Spoon challenges brokers to get fit

    19 Feb 2003

    Mortgage lenders and brokers are being urged to swap desk-based life for skiing, trekking and marathon running in a bid to raise money for the Wooden Spoon Society - the official charity of British and Irish rugby. Hundreds of people are expected to take part in the first ever Six Nations Challenge Series, organised by Wooden Spoon to celebrate its 20th anniversary. Corporate and private teams are being encouraged to join in for sporting events taking place in each ...

  • Yorkshire Building Society cuts offset rates

    21 Feb 2003

    Yorkshire Building Society has passed on the full Bank of England base rate reduction to its offset account customers and guarantees to pass on the full amount of any further reduction. Yorkshire BS' offset account is fully flexible, calculating interest on a daily basis and allowing underpayments, overpayments and payment holidays without penalty and drawndown facilities which are linked to up to three simple savings accounts rather than a current account. David Heshon, ...

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