Mortgage Strategy
19 February 2007

  • Beacon to offer ID checking facility

    19 Feb 2007

    In a bid to tackle fraud, Beacon is to team up with technology provider GB Group to offer an identity checking service for its packagers.B2L tenants linger longerMoneyfacts.co.uk has stressed that buy-to-let is still a worthwhile investment as tenants are staying in rented properties for longer.

  • Council Tax problems rise

    19 Feb 2007

    The number of people approaching Citizens Advice Bureau with debt problems relating to Council Tax rose sharply in the past year. The charity says it was approached for help with 15% more debt problems this January than in the same month last year, with the number of people struggling with everyday living expenses such as fuel and Council Tax increasing sharply.

  • Outsourcing deal for Rooftop

    19 Feb 2007

    Vertex Financial Services has signed an outsourcing contract with Rooftop Mortgages.Using Vertex's Optimus software platform the new partnership will give Rooftop capabilities including servicing, administration, online funding release, securitisation and portfolio trading.

  • Platform unveils deals via PMS

    19 Feb 2007

    Platform is offering a two-year prime self-cert tracker, a three-year prime buy-to-let tracker and a three-year sub-prime remortgage tracker through Premier Mortgage Service. John Malone, managing director of PMS, says: "Platform has supplied products that are highly competitive."

  • £350 Cashback on Preferred rates

    19 Feb 2007

    The Professional Mortgage Packagers Alliance is offering £350 cashback on Preferred's two and three-year fixed rates. Helen Hymos, lender relationship manager at the PMPA, says: "The cashback is paid directly to customers and should prove to be an attractive feature for brokers to market."

  • 100 days to wake up to HIPs, warns AHIPP

    21 Feb 2007

    With only 100 days until Home Information Packs becoming mandatory the industry needs to get prepared, the Association of Home Information Pack Providers has warned.

  • 47% Of landlords plan to expand

    19 Feb 2007

    A survey by the Homebuyer Show reveals that 47% of landlords are looking to expand their portfolios. This is up from 40% the previous year. The survey also showed that many novice investors are still committed to the buy-to-let market and the level of interest is also strong, with 17% looking to enter the market.

  • A base rate rise would be pointless

    19 Feb 2007

    Given that inflation will almost certainly be falling by the second half of 2007 there is little point in the Bank of England raising interest rates again, says Ray Boulger

  • A&L starts search to replace chief executive

    21 Feb 2007

    Alliance & Leicesters group chief executive Richard Pym has asked the board to start looking for his successor.

  • A&L to take on BM and NR

    21 Feb 2007

    Alliance & Leicester has revealed it will be challenging Northern Rock and BM Solutions with the launch of Plus Mortgage - a mortgage connected to an unsecured loan.

  • Advantage appoints head of credit

    19 Feb 2007

    Advantage has appointed Richard Wilson as head of credit.

  • Advantage deal proves popular

    19 Feb 2007

    Enterprise Group and Solent Mortgage Services have reported unprecedented levels of new business for Advantage's product exclusive. Between them, they expect to originate more than £100m for Advantage in February.

  • Advantage names project director

    19 Feb 2007

    Advantage has appointed Chris Heather as director of projects. Heather has nine years' experience in business development and services management. He joins Advantage from The Caudwell Group - parent group of Phones4U - where he was director of strategic accounts and operations for lifestyle services.

  • Advantage unveils sub-prime rates

    20 Feb 2007

    Advantage has unveiled new rates on its ADV sub-prime product range.

  • Affirmative appoints two BDMs

    22 Feb 2007

    Bridging finance house Affirmative has appointed two business development managers and a client relations manager for Manchester.

  • AHIPP slams CMLs stance on HIPs

    21 Feb 2007

    The Association of Home Information Pack Providers has criticised the Council of Mortgage Lenders for its tardy response to the governments consultation into Home Information Packs.

  • AMI members on top of implementing TCF

    21 Feb 2007

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries say nearly half of its members are at least at the implementation stage with their Treating Customers Fairly work.

  • An interesting time to revisit clients

    19 Feb 2007

    The knee-jerk reaction to any increase in inflation is to raise interest rates. It is basic economic theory. Rising inflation tends to signal that wage demands will rise too - after all, the cost of living has to be kept up with.

  • Anti-fraud systems alienating genuine shoppers

    20 Feb 2007

    A leading fraud protection specialist has slammed new UK anti fraud measures as having the potential to alienate genuine customers.

  • AVMs could help free up funds

    19 Feb 2007

    Lenders that raise funds secured against their mortgage assets could release billions of pounds by switching to automated valuation models.Hometrack says that by moving from indexation to AVM revaluation, lenders make capital savings which can result in substantial reductions in the capital needed for transactions, thereby increasing return on capital or releasing funds for further lending.

  • AXA cuts rates across its protection policies

    22 Feb 2007

    AXA has revised rates across its many of its policies.

  • B&B new lending leaps 43%

    19 Feb 2007

    Bradford & Bingley has reported a 43% increase in gross new residential lending in 2006 to £10.3bn, despite a fall in statutory profits.

  • B-A launches member charter

    19 Feb 2007

    Burns-Anderson has launched a charter pledging its commitment to work on behalf of its members' interests.Mike Hughes, chief executive officer of B-A, says: "The way our members run their businesses is very much their concern and it is our desire, as a network, to enhance this."

  • Barclays reports mortgage balances up to 59.6bn

    20 Feb 2007

    Barclays has reported an increase in its total UK residential mortgage balances from 59.6bn in 2005 to 61.9bn in 2006.

  • BDM for Platform

    19 Feb 2007

    Platform has appointed Lawrence Farrall to the role of business development manager in its sales department.

  • BDM of the week

    19 Feb 2007

    Haydyn Jones is the kind of BDM who makes things happen and he has taken the time to familiarise himself with our business and staff, says Andy Moody

  • Beacon teams up with TMP

    21 Feb 2007

    The Beacon Group has teamed up with The Money Portal to offer an exclusive packaging service called TMP Packaging Services for all TMP members.

  • Berlin property market finally stirs, says Assetz

    19 Feb 2007

    The Berlin property market is finally starting to stir after 15 years of stagnation, reports Assetz.

  • Bespoke to sponsor Saracens

    19 Feb 2007

    Bespoke Mortgages is to sponsor Saracens rugby club with the firm's brand appearing on players' jerseys for the 2007/08 season.

  • Broker questions hike in FSCS levy

    19 Feb 2007

    A broker has slammed the Financial Services Compensation Scheme for raising mortgage brokers' levies even though there were no claims made against them in 2006.

  • Brokers cash in on housing shortage

    19 Feb 2007

    There are some stunning statistics coming out of the housing market at the moment. Average house prices continue to spiral, with the price of a first-time buyer home in London now around 250,000.

  • Brokers do the right thing

    19 Feb 2007

    Brokers have a strong sense of what is right, not only for themselves but also for others, according to a financial personality test by Scottish Widows.

  • Brokers fail to put their own finances in order

    19 Feb 2007

    Proving the old adage that you can dish it out but you can't take it, two-thirds of advisers reveal that although they've been happily imploring their clients to get their houses in order after recent interest rate rises, they have failed to do so themselves.

  • Budget set for March 21

    22 Feb 2007

    The Treasury has set March 21 for chancellor Gordon Brown to deliver his Budget speech.It will be Brown’s 11th Budget speech - but could well be his last if he takes over the reigns as Prime Minister in the coming months.He is expected to give further details of green taxes and outline new rules for ISAs.While tax cuts are not likely, the strength of the economy should mean the budget shortfall not as severe as previously thought.

  • Buy-to-let lending topped £38bn in 2006

    19 Feb 2007

    Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders last week revealed that buy-to-let lending hit a whopping £38.4bn in 2006.

  • C&G loses out on new mortgage market

    23 Feb 2007

    Cheltenham & Gloucester lost ground in the new mortgage market last year, the Lloyds TSB financial results revealed.

  • Capital One fined for PPI failures

    19 Feb 2007

    The Financial Services Authority has fined Capital One £175,000 for failing to have adequate systems and controls for selling payment protection insurance and for failing to treat its customers fairly.

  • CEBR reveals continued growth in UK economy

    23 Feb 2007

    The UK economy expanded by 0.8% in Q4 2006, reveals research by the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

  • Child porn broker spared jail term

    19 Feb 2007

    Jamie Elliot, a mortgage broker from Longlevens, Gloucestershire, was spared prison last week after being caught downloading over a thousand images of child pornography.

  • CHL bags innovative product award

    23 Feb 2007

    CHL Mortgages has scooped the prize for most innovative product at the Business Moneyfacts awards, hosted at The Brewery in London.

  • CHL gets back into self-cert

    19 Feb 2007

    CHL Mortgages has re-entered the self-employed self-cert market with a 95% LTV product with no higher lending charges.

  • Cleary took inaccurate stance on fast-track dilemma in MS

    19 Feb 2007

    I was having a look at Mortgage Strategy Online recently and came across the Dilemma article published on January 29, which was responded to by Alan Cleary.

  • CML could do better on binding DIPs

    19 Feb 2007

    I am sure that anyone who has worked with the public will have found it rewarding but at the same time stressful. Anyone working with the public in financial services will find the process of giving advice particularly exacting.

  • CML launches PPI seminar day

    21 Feb 2007

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders is launching a one-day seminar on mortgage payment protection that will be sponsored by Assurant Solutions.

  • CML urges government to postpone HIPs

    21 Feb 2007

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has called for the implementation of Home Information Packs to be postponed until full evidence from research and area trials is available.

  • C-NLIS backs CMLs calls for HIP postponement

    21 Feb 2007

    The Council for the National Land & Property Information Service has supported the Council of Mortgage Lenders call for the postponement of Home Information Packs.

  • Cobalt Capital buys Square Mile

    19 Feb 2007

    Cobalt Capital has bought its appointed representative subsidiary Square Mile Mortgage Finance outright today.

  • Cohabitees await crucial judgement

    19 Feb 2007

    The case of an unmarried couple wrangling over the sale of their house has gone to the Law Lords, the outcome of which could affect hundreds of thousands of couples in England and Wales.

  • Commercial deals offer higher proc fees, says InterBay

    20 Feb 2007

    InterBay says brokers can expect to pocket the same proc fee for one commercial deal as it would take them to earn for eight residential deals.

  • Confidence high among packagers

    19 Feb 2007

    A survey from Rooftop Mortgages reveals that 95% of packagers are confident about their future.

  • Confidence in property declines

    19 Feb 2007

    Confidence in the housing market has been steadily declining over the past three months, research from Propertyfinder.com reveals. The survey shows 6% fewer people expect house prices to rise now than did in December. Most believe a fall in prices would be the result of recent interest rate hikes.

  • Consumers warned of "unscrupulous" CIC providers

    22 Feb 2007

    Many people are literally getting mugged by providers when it comes to buying critical illness cover from unscrupulous providers, warns bestdealinsurance.co.uk.

  • Controversial case study withdrawn

    19 Feb 2007

    Home & Capital Trust has taken a case study it used to promote equity release products off its website after the Daily Mail alleged the subject was a confidante of former Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

  • Countrywide receives fresh takeover offer

    21 Feb 2007

    US private equity firm Apollo has made a proposed offer to the board of Countrywide to buy the estate agency.

  • Coventry reports 10% increase in mortgages and loans

    20 Feb 2007

    Coventry has reported that mortgages and other loans increased by 10.2% to 10.0bn in 2006.

  • Coventry unveils discount deal

    19 Feb 2007

    Coventry has unveiled a discounted product at 4.89% up to 85% LTV. The deal comes with a £199 booking fee and a £500 arrangement fee. There are also free valuation and discounted legal fees, and it has no overhanging early repayment charges.

  • Cupis quits L&G for Sesame

    23 Feb 2007

    John Cupis has quit Legal & General to join rival network Sesame.

  • CurriculumVitae

    19 Feb 2007

    "I'm presently demolishing my hallway. I also enjoy rugby, Formula 1 and anything that involves gadgets."

  • Cut-price leads may lure brokers to MT forums

    19 Feb 2007

    The Mortgage Times Group has teamed up with paaleads.com to offer brokers half-price leads at its business development forums.

  • DA firms deserve networks' support

    19 Feb 2007

    Contrary to predictions, directly authorised brokers have survived regulation and they deserve the support of networks they have remained loyal to, says Sally Laker

  • Dear Delia

    19 Feb 2007

    Dear Delia,My client has been struggling with mortgage payments due to the recent interest rate rises. He has a mortgage of £120,000 but has decided to sell up and buy a smaller property. His decision is sensible but he has one County Court judgment of £423 registered in February 2006 and two defaults for £203 and £110, both registered 18 months ago. His salary is £26,000. What options are there to get a lower mortgage of £90,000?

  • E2M unveils Global Mortgages partnership

    19 Feb 2007

    Easier2move has unveiled a partnership with the mortgage broker Global Mortgages, part of The Home of Choice network. Easier2move will provide a branded white label conveyancing service, including Home Information Packs, to Global Mortgages for all customers using its mortgage products.

  • EConveyancer adds solicitors

    19 Feb 2007

    eConveyancer has added Loosemores and McVey & Murricane to its panel of Openwork preferred solicitors.

  • Exclusive Connections reports record year

    19 Feb 2007

    Packager association Exclusive Connections has reported a record year for 2006 with over 2bn of mortgage business completed.

  • Experts slam Social HomeBuy plan

    19 Feb 2007

    Government plans to help social housing tenants into home ownership by letting them buy as little as 10% of their properties have been attacked by social housing experts.

  • Fall in inflation may stop MPC raising rates again

    19 Feb 2007

    The Bank of England last week revealed that in-flation has dipped from 3% to 2.7%, prompting experts to predict this may be en-ough to stop another base rate rise in March.

  • First-timers are more stretched

    19 Feb 2007

    The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says first-time buyers are increasingly stretching themselves to afford homes. Oliver Gilmartin, economist at RICS, says: "The latest data indicates that demand will remain firm in early 2007 despite three interest rate rises since August 2006.

  • Fitch launches investor tools for sub-prime RMBS

    21 Feb 2007

    Fitch Ratings has launched two new tools designed to increase transparency in the sub-prime Residential Mortgage Backed Securities sector.

  • Free legals on TMB products

    19 Feb 2007

    Pinnacle is offering its free legals package on all The Mortgage Business buy-to-let remortgage products including the House 2 House scheme.

  • Freedom adds Praxis to panel

    19 Feb 2007

    Freedom Lending has added Praxis to its packaging panel.Freedom will be making its entire product portfolio available via Praxis.

  • Freedom launches discount trackers

    22 Feb 2007

    Freedom has released limited edition two and three year buy-to-let rental and earned income discounted tracker products.

  • Freedom releases self-cert products

    19 Feb 2007

    Freedom Lending has released two and three-year prime self-cert products. The two and three-year tracker rates are both at 5.48% to 85% LTV. The two-year deal has a rate of 5.68% to 90% LTV while the three-year tracker has a rate of 5.78% to 90% LTV.

  • FSA appoints head of mortgages and credit unions

    20 Feb 2007

    The Financial Services Authority has revealed that Mandy Spink will replace Michael Lord as head of mortgages and credit unions in its small firms division.

  • FSA pledges to save firms 1m a year

    23 Feb 2007

    The Financial Services Authority says it will save firms 1m a year by merging the customer functions in its approved persons regime into a new single category.

  • GE Life dumps home reversions

    19 Feb 2007

    GE Life last week revealed it was pulling out of the home reversion market, blaming low profits from the sector since regulation.

  • Green thinking can pay off all round

    19 Feb 2007

    Brokers can play their part in encouraging clients to consider the environment during the house buying process, and boost their businesses as a result, says Tom Parker

  • Gross lending hits 26.8bn, reports CML

    20 Feb 2007

    Gross lending hit an all-time January high of 26.8bn, the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders reveals.

  • Guard against being blamed for debt

    19 Feb 2007

    With insolvencies and repossessions rising clients may start to blame the mortgage advice they were given so firms must have robust procedures in place, says Bill Warren

  • Halifax calls on government to up IHT

    23 Feb 2007

    Halifax has urged the government to increase the Inheritance Tax threshold to £460,000 to keep in line with house price inflation.

  • HBOS leads way at John Charcol Awards

    19 Feb 2007

    HBOS swept the board at the John Charcol Awards earlier this month, scooping the spoils in no fewer than five out of 12 lender categories.

  • HIP without HCR equals consumer confusion, says L&G

    20 Feb 2007

    Legal & General has warned that a Home Information Pack without a Home Condition report could lead to consumer confusion.

  • HIPs are heading for disaster, says Hamptons

    21 Feb 2007

    The introduction of Home Information Packs is heading ever closer to disaster, warns Hamptons International. It claims a vast improvement to the government initiative is needed as, with the implementation date of June 1 fast approaching, no one has any confidence in it.

  • HIPs could attract rogue traders

    19 Feb 2007

    The growth of Home Information Pack market could attract rogue traders, critics are warning.

  • House prices rose 0.9% in December, says DCLG

    19 Feb 2007

    The Department for Communities and Local Government says annual house price inflation in December was 9.9%, up from 8.8% in November.

  • HSBC axes US executives

    23 Feb 2007

    HSBC has announced that two of its executives have stepped down in the wake of the banks mortgage downturn in the USA.Bobby Metha, chief executive of North American operations and Sandy Derickson, head of US retail operations have both stepped down.The move comes after HSBC became the most high-profile name to be hit by the downturn in the US sub-prime market. The lender recently increased its bad debt reserve to $10.56bn in anticipation of huge delinquencies.

  • ICOB split could shake up MPPI sales process

    19 Feb 2007

    The Financial Services Authority is set to shake up the mortgage payment protection insurance sector after confirming it might split its Insurance Conduct of Business rules between commoditised insurance and protection products.

  • IFAs and lenders to unite through online community

    22 Feb 2007

    An IFA community internet portal has been created to bring small to medium sized IFAs and providers closer together.

  • IMLA wants to work with packagers

    19 Feb 2007

    The Intermediary Mortgage Len-ders Association says technology, regulation and packagers as well as the broker market will be high on its agenda in 2007.

  • Islamic market could be worth 1bn by 2009

    19 Feb 2007

    The Islamic mortgage market is being tipped to grow to as much as 1bn by 2009.

  • Jim Robinson to join edeus

    19 Feb 2007

    Edeus has confirmed that Jim Robinson will be joining it as packaging relationship manager once he has satisfied his contractual obligations with the Royal Bank of Scotland.

  • Leave dabblers alone, says GE Life

    20 Feb 2007

    GE LIFE HAS COUNSELLED against stamping out dabblers in the equity release market after the Financial Services Authority sent a letter warning advisers to get qualified for equity release or stay away.

  • Lehman confirms Prust has quit

    20 Feb 2007

    Lehman Brothers has confirmed that John Prust has quit his position at the investment bank but denies that this follows a performance related structured pay-out.

  • Lenders seem to treat sole traders particularly badly

    19 Feb 2007

    Abbey recently managed to send an offer to my customer's former marital home instead of his correspondence address provided to a BDM, which meant he could not reasonably bid on his auction property. This left him £260 out of pocket.

  • Lib Dems calculate major bank's profits

    19 Feb 2007

    The Liberal Democrat party has calculated that the major bank’s pre-tax profits could reach £230 per customer.

  • Macnaughton joins financial consultancy

    19 Feb 2007

    Angus Macnaughton, former corporate development executive at Newcastle, has joined the recently launched financial services consultancy MI Business Solutions as a director.

  • Marketwatch

    19 Feb 2007

    Swaps fell sharply last week as a consequence of two significant events. The first was the base rate being kept at 5.25%. While it was unlikely we would see two consecutive in-creases, inflation is running at a high level.

  • Match integrity with some good PR

    19 Feb 2007

    I was fascinated by a recent Sunday Times piece about lenders paying fees to brokers for encouraging borrower retention.

  • MGM adds Money Partners Touch to panel

    21 Feb 2007

    MGM Home Finance has appointed Money Partners Touch, the direct-to-broker business of specialist lender Money Partners, to its lender panel.

  • More variety in secured loans sector

    19 Feb 2007

    One of the criticisms often levelled at the sec-ured loans market - rather short-sightedly in my opinion - is that it does not offer enough product variety and for this reason mortgages are said to offer clients much more in terms of choice.

  • Mortgage holders cut borrowings

    19 Feb 2007

    Home owners with mortgages cut their unsecured borrowings by an average of £197 during 2006, says Alliance & Leicester.

  • Mortgage lending up 5.6bn in January, says BBA

    20 Feb 2007

    Net mortgage lending rose by an underlying 5.6bn in January 2007, the latest figures from the British Bankers Association reveal.

  • Mortgage Next launches five year buy-to-let

    19 Feb 2007

    Mortgage Next is launching a five year buy-to-let tracker mortgage funded by West Brom for Intermediaries.

  • Mortgage terms increasing, says Moneyfacts.co.uk

    19 Feb 2007

    With many first-time buyers struggling to get a foot on the property ladder a growing number of lenders are offering mortgages with terms of up to 52 years, says moneyfacts.co.uk.

  • Mortgages PLC appoints regional manager

    20 Feb 2007

    Mortgages PLC has appointed Harry McGeough as regional manager responsible for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

  • MPC voted seven to two on rate freeze

    22 Feb 2007

    Minutes from The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Council February meeting reveal the decision to keep the interest rate at 5.25% was held by a majority vote of seven to two.

  • MPLC revamps fixed products

    19 Feb 2007

    Mortgages PLC has updated several products in its fixed and self-cert ranges. Its one and two-year fixed and discounted rates have been cut by up to 0.60% and now start from 4.70%. Two and three-year fixed rates have been cut by up to 0.40% and start from 5.32%. For self-cert applications up to 75% LTV, MPLC has increased maximum loan sizes to £1m. Also, maximum loan sizes have increased to £400,000 for loans up to 90% LTV.

  • MPs show they don't understand mortgages

    19 Feb 2007

    A recent early day motion raised concerns in the House of Commons over access to mortgages for first-time buyers.

  • MS crowned top magazine - again

    19 Feb 2007

    Mortgage Strategy was crowned Mortgage Publication of the Year at the John Charcol Awards last week for the second year running. The award is voted for by John Charcol's army of brokers and the shortlist of four included Mortgage Introducer, Money Marketing and Niche. This is the fifth award that Mortgage Strategy has won in as many years. Editor Robyn Hall (left) collected the award from Ian Kennedy, John Charcol chief executive. Hall says: "This ...

  • MT launches MEX buy-to-let

    19 Feb 2007

    The Mortgage Times Group has launched a buy-to-let exclusive product with Mortgage Express.

  • Muhammad Ali to promote Mortgages PLC

    19 Feb 2007

    Mortgages PLC has launched a marketing campaign with a series of adverts featuring famous icons such as Muhammad Ali, Freddie Mercury, Bruce Lee and Pel?PThe lender will make donations to the preferred charities of certain icons used in the campaign in return for their permission to use their images.

  • Mural is key to house deal

    19 Feb 2007

    The owners of a Bristol house adorned with a mural by graffiti artist Banksy have enlisted the help of an art gallery to sell the work with the property included.

  • N&P appoints non-executive directors

    22 Feb 2007

    Norwich and Peterborough has appointed three non-executive directors to its board.

  • Nationwide fine highlights importance of IT security

    20 Feb 2007

    FINANCIAL services firms must wake up to the risks posed by lax information security or more fines like the mega-penalty Nationwide was slapped with last week could follow, security experts warn.

  • Nationwide to create separate sales forces

    19 Feb 2007

    Nationwide is planning to create two sales forces following its merger with Portman later this year.

  • NatWest offset fees slashed

    20 Feb 2007

    The Royal Bank of Scotland Intermediary Partners will slash arrangement fees on NatWest's offset mortgage.The fees will be reduced from 345 to 100, from February 21.

  • Neighbours from hell prompt movers, says Abbey

    21 Feb 2007

    One in three people in the UK have chosen to move house in the last five years in order to find a better quality of life for their families, research from Abbey reveals.

  • Net lending stagnant at A&L for 2006 at £4.9bn

    21 Feb 2007

    Net mortgage lending at Alliance & Leiecester remained stagnant at £4.9bn in 2006, despite gross mortgage lending rising from £11.1bn to £12.6bn.

  • Network launches coaching sessions for its ARs

    19 Feb 2007

    BDS has launched coaching sessions for its appointed representatives to help them generate more business and income.

  • Northern Rock revises rates on Together range

    19 Feb 2007

    Northern Rock has updated the rates on its Together range as part of an ongoing price war with BM Solutions' Mortgage Plus products.

  • Offsets could become big business

    19 Feb 2007

    When offset and current account mortgages made their UK debut at the end of the last millennium, many predicted they would only ever be niche products.

  • One-trick ponies are a dying breed

    19 Feb 2007

    The one-trick pony is a dying breed and in all walks of life customers are turning to enterprises that can provide them with a number of services rather than niche offerings.

  • Optoma franchise opportunities

    19 Feb 2007

    Optoma Broker Solutions has unveiled a number of franchise opportunities. The packager is seeking applications from individuals in the mortgage industry interested in running Optoma franchises in any area of the country but particularly in Wales, the South-West and the Midlands.

  • Our affordability calculator addresses the problems Sue Read highlights

    19 Feb 2007

    I would like to comment on Sue Read's article entitled 'Affordability is a drag for brokers' (Mortgage Strategy February 12) in which she speaks about the frustrations that can arise for brokers out of using lenders' affordability calculators.

  • Packagers make the decision simple

    19 Feb 2007

    Over the past few weeks we have held two intensive two-day training courses for our franchise partners. As we've been doing the training courses we've found that one of the most frequently raised concerns has been about decisions in principle.

  • Parents pay out for longer

    19 Feb 2007

    Parents are subsidising their children into adulthood, a study by GE Life reveals.

  • Partnership Assurance reports 30% growth

    19 Feb 2007

    Partnership Assurance, the financial product provider for people with health impairments, has reported a 30% increase in sales during 2006.

  • Philip Dearing to take top job at Mutual One

    19 Feb 2007

    Philip Dearing is to step down as head of Market Harborough later this year to take up the reins at Skipton-owned outsourcing firm Mutual One as chief executive.

  • Platform delivers same day deal

    21 Feb 2007

    Platform has delivered its first same day mortgage offer using Automated Valuation Model technology and its click online systems.

  • Politically-correct MS leader excluded the true romantics

    19 Feb 2007

    You excluded most of your readers from celebrating Valentine's Day. I was reading your leader column in the February 12 issue and although I appreciated the main point of the article - people still being important in a world of technology - it seems to me that in the final paragraph excluded most of your readers.

  • Portman to close nine branches

    20 Feb 2007

    Portman is to close nine of its West Midlands branches following a strategic review revealed they were underperforming.

  • Portman unveils 100% LTV deals

    19 Feb 2007

    Portman is launching a number of 100% LTV products with no arrangement or valuation fees. Its five-year fix is being offered at 5.99%, its three-year fix at 6.13% and its two-year fix at 6.19%.

  • PPI president for Genworth

    19 Feb 2007

    Genworth Financial has appointed Ralf Meurer as president and chief executive of its payment protection insurance business.The appointment follows a restructure at Genworth earlier this year whereby the PPI business forms part of its newly-created international business unit. Meurer has 20 years' experience in financial services including several finance and operating roles for General Electric.

  • PPI providers urged to get their house in order

    20 Feb 2007

    Payment protection insurance firms need to reform their practices before they face costly penalties, urges Britishinsurance.com.

  • Praxis prize winner bound for Big Apple

    22 Feb 2007

    Praxis mortgage packager has announced the winner of its all expenses paid trip to New York.

  • Price must be right for home reversion plans

    19 Feb 2007

    This week I am returning to the subject of the fast approaching regulation of home reversion plans.

  • Private problems could hold up HIPs

    19 Feb 2007

    The facilitating of private searches by local authorities has been exposed as a serious problem in Home Information Pack dry run areas and this will have to be resolved, says Frank Eve

  • Promise launches first green HIP

    21 Feb 2007

    Promise Finance says it has launched the first environmentally friendly Home Information Pack.

  • PTFS dumps BDM promotion

    19 Feb 2007

    Personal Touch Financial Services has made an abrupt U-turn on its lender BDM incentive to promote its mortgage club Mortgage Box, following an industry backlash.

  • Regulation of B2L is open to question

    19 Feb 2007

    Research shows that now is a good time to invest in the buy-to-let sector and the booming market is reflected in the rise of private landlords. In the first half of last year the amount borrowed by landlords hit record levels, showing a rise of 17% compared with the previous six months.

  • REITs will bring new life to the market

    19 Feb 2007

    Annual commercial property returns for 2006 were in the high teens after another year of falling yields and strong investment bonds. But many commentators believe the commercial investment market is close to an inflection point.

  • Retention proc fees will become standard, say lenders

    19 Feb 2007

    Proc fees for customer retention will become a standard practice across the mortgage industry - but not in 2007, research by Troika management consultancy reveals.

  • Review your cover sales process

    19 Feb 2007

    In the face of rising repossessions, it is in everyone's interests that brokers should review their processes when it comes to advising clients on mortgage protection, says Simon Burgess

  • Robert Owen joins Islamic bank

    19 Feb 2007

    The founder of Lehman Brothers-owned London Mortgage Company has joined the Islamic Bank of Britain as a non-executive director.

  • Rooftop appoints head of marketing

    19 Feb 2007

    Stuart Brumhill, former head of marketing at em-financial, has joined Rooftop Mortgages as interim marketing manager to cover Mary Sung's maternity leave. The lender has also appointed Angie Spalding as lending operations director.

  • RPS to source protection for Saga

    19 Feb 2007

    Risk Placement Services has launched a protection-finding service for non-standard risk clients through Saga Personal Finance.

  • Sales manager for Advantage

    19 Feb 2007

    Advantage has appointed Sally Young as divisional sales manager for the north of England. Young will be responsible for managing the lender's packager and credit broker business relationships in the region.

  • Savills picks Xit2's online system

    20 Feb 2007

    Savills Private Finance has picked technology provider Xit2 to provide the online system to manage its external valuations.

  • Scotland avoids the problems of IVAs

    19 Feb 2007

    A lot has been written about individual voluntary arrangements in Mortgage Strategy in the past few weeks but for us citizens north of the border there's a different system to deal with, and so far it's not encountering the same barriers as have been seen down south.

  • Select adds Capital and Advantage to panel

    19 Feb 2007

    The Select Partnership has added Capital Home Loans and Advantage to its lender panel.

  • Shocking truth about affordability

    19 Feb 2007

    Ironically, affordability formulas allow lenders to lend more than clients can afford which means brokers may have to learn to help clients deal with payment shock, says Sue Read

  • Should BDMs encourage brokers to deal direct when packager agreements are in place?

    19 Feb 2007

    Lenders' distribution strategies should be clear and implemented in a straightforward way by BDMs, say our experts

  • SimplyBiz takes a broader view

    19 Feb 2007

    SimplyBiz Mortgages' white label version of Trigold's Prospector sourcing system is now whole of market.

  • SMS improves income multiples on branded range

    19 Feb 2007

    Solent Mortgage Services has improved the income multiples on its Collingwood Homeloans near prime product range.

  • Society gross advances hit 4,062m in January

    20 Feb 2007

    The Building Societies Association has reported that society gross advances amounted to 4,062m in January 2007, compared to 3,174m in January 2006.

  • Splitting up can be a financial pain

    19 Feb 2007

    Some opt for flowers and others champagne but last week Jasin Boland put such Valentines indulgences to shame when he presented his fianc?Maria Moral Pena with a 500,000 house. He completed her surprise by having the house giftwrapped.

  • Stop the argument about different types of networks

    19 Feb 2007

    I was honoured to see a mention of Whitechurch in a letter by Richard Griffiths addressed to Dev Malle (Mortgage Strategy February 12).

  • Sub-prime revamp at Manchester

    19 Feb 2007

    Manchester has revamped its sub-prime product range. The range now includes near prime, light and medium adverse schemes. The enhanced range offers a choice of mortgages at fixed and discounted rates with no extended early repayment charges.

  • Sub-prime securities up

    19 Feb 2007

    Fitch Ratings says that UK sub-prime residential mortgage-backed securities improved in Q4 2006 compared with the same period the previous year. But the ratings agency says this needs to be seen in the context of the collateral backing the transactions, for example, the increase in portfolios made up of near prime deals.

  • Sub-prime success story will continue

    19 Feb 2007

    History has never been the most popular of subjects and with that in mind, I will attempt a brief history of sub-prime lending.

  • Swift offers 100 bonus for good packaging

    21 Feb 2007

    Specialist lender Swift is offering an additional 100 processing allowance for all packaged secured loans business.

  • Talking points

    19 Feb 2007

    A recent conference explained how brokers can explore a more consultative relationship with lenders striving to secure their loyalty, says Clare Bettelley

  • Teenagers head for a life of debt

    19 Feb 2007

    Over half of Britain's young people are debt-stricken by the time they hit the age of 17, research reveals.

  • The Mortgage Mole

    19 Feb 2007

    Digging the dirt in the mortgage world...

  • The only way is up for MPPI's reputation

    19 Feb 2007

    The mortgage payment protection insurance market was on the receiving end of a firm kick to its nether regions last week as the Office of Fair Trading booted it up to the Competition Commission.

  • This Week's Dilemma

    19 Feb 2007

    I am the owner of a mortgage broking and packaging firm and I need to expand my business. It grew well in the first three years but I am finding it difficult to achieve more growth. I spend too much time doing management and administrative tasks and not enough getting new business through the door. I need a partner or co-director to add some momentum and share in the running of the business but I don't want to give up control of the firm I set up and nurtured. What should I do?

  • Time for the FSA to regulate the compensation cowboys

    19 Feb 2007

    I read with interest recently that endowment mis-selling compensation company Austin Hamilton Associates had been wound up following an investigation by the Companies Investigation Branch of the Insolvency Service.

  • Time out

    19 Feb 2007

    It's not the fastest vehicle that has featured on this page and I look a plonker getting out of it in a suit but my Land Rover Defender suits my lifestyle well, says Steve Atkins

  • Title Deed - Alexander Hall

    19 Feb 2007

    Alexander Hall was set up in 1992, 10 years after the formation of its parent company Foxtons. It was set up by Simon Nimmo, now managing director of estate agency Charles Cameron.

  • TMP offers free valuations

    19 Feb 2007

    The Mortgage Partnership is offering free valuations across the Rooftop Mortgages range.

  • TMW cuts rates on self-cert

    20 Feb 2007

    The Mortgage Works has cut rates on its buy-to-let and self-cert mortgages, and has launched two new self-cert products.

  • Tories sell their London HQ to pay off debts

    19 Feb 2007

    The Conservative Party has paid off all its debts by selling its previous headquarters in central London for more than £30m.

  • Towards a united voice for packagers

    19 Feb 2007

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has always been of the opinion that the industry delivers when it works together. This is why I am writing slogans such as 'the industry united will never be defeated' and 'united we stand, divided we fall' on bedsheets.

  • Trigold eliminates data re-keying

    19 Feb 2007

    Trigold has removed the need to re-key client data through its link with credit agency Equifax. This development ups the ante by removing the need to re-key client data during the credit report application process, reducing the time and effort involved.

  • Tune in to MSTV for latest news

    19 Feb 2007

    Last week, Mortgage Strategy Online launched MSTV, a weekly bulletin broadcast on its website, featuring what's hot and what's not in the mortgage industry.

  • Wake up to the possibilities of HIPs

    19 Feb 2007

    As I'm sitting in my study writing this column I'm looking out of the window at snow falling on the Staffordshire countryside.

  • West Brom issues same day deal

    23 Feb 2007

    The West Brom has issued its first mortgage offer on the same day the application was submitted.

  • Why the UK leads the world in CI cover

    19 Feb 2007

    I was invited to attend the fourth World Critical Illness Insurance Conference in Victoria, Canada last month and it was a privilege to share the stage with Dr Wolfgang Droste, Norman Levine and Dr Marius Barnard.

  • Woolwich deal for City slickers

    19 Feb 2007

    Woolwich has launched City Mortgage 3 to cater for big spenders benefiting from record City bonuses. City Mortgage 3 is the lowest discounted rate from Woolwich for larger loans at base rate minus 0.16% for the first two years with no early repayment charges. It then reverts to base plus 0.49% for the life of the loan.

  • Working capital

    19 Feb 2007

    City big hitters are spending their bonuses on property and brokers can get a piece of the action if they keep their eyes on the glittering prizes, says Harvey Jones

  • Would you take out a mortgage with a friend or relative?

    19 Feb 2007

    Rising house prices mean many first-time buyers are looking to buy with friends. Several websites offer people the chance to meet potential mortgage buddies and lenders offer deals for people buying together. But Moneyfacts.co.uk warns that groups of friends may find they can't borrow as much as they need.So, this week Mortgage Strategy asks...Would you take out a mortgage with a friend or a relative?

  • Young quits Network Data for Enterprise

    22 Feb 2007

    Terry Young has quit his director position at Network Data to join Enterprise as director of bespoke partners.

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