Mortgage Strategy
20 August 2007

  • C2 launches sub-prime range

    20 Aug 2007

    c2-financial has launched a range of fixed rate sub-prime products. Funded by Kensington Mortgages, deals are available from 5.40% for a three-year near-prime fixed rate.

  • ResCap is downgraded

    20 Aug 2007

    Residential Capital Corporation, GMAC-RFC's US parent, has been downgraded to junk status by Moody's and Fitch Ratings. ResCap was downgraded after being revised from stable to negative. Jeff Knight, director of marketing at GMAC-RFC, says: "ResCap is disappointed by this action, which has affected several US mortgage firms in a challenging market."

  • 5,000 City jobs predicted to be on the line

    23 Aug 2007

    Thousands of City of London workers will lose their jobs as a result of the tumultuous market conditions warns the Centre for Economics and Business Research.

  • 50% of companies ban facebook

    22 Aug 2007

    A study conducted by IT security firm Sophos has revealed that 50% of employees are blocked from accessing social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace at work including Lloyds, Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse.

  • 90% Don't believe lenders on sub-prime fallout

    20 Aug 2007

    Over the past few weeks, a number of lenders have pulled their sub-prime product ranges. Despite their protestations that this is unrelated to the US meltdown, 90% of Mortgage Strategy Online readers remain unconvinced. Just 10% believe lenders' claims.

  • Abacus launches sub-prime fixes from Future

    23 Aug 2007

    Abacus Permanent has launched a range of exclusive sub-prime three year fixed rates starting from 6.89% from Future Mortgages.

  • Abbey Commercial Mortgages appoints BDM

    21 Aug 2007

    Abbey Commercial Mortgages has appointed Mark Aston as BDM for the South West region.

  • Accord reduces prime fixed rates by 0.1%

    23 Aug 2007

    Accord Mortgages has reduced its prime fixed rates by 0.1%, with terms from two to 10 years.

  • AHIPP dubs HIP implementation a farce

    23 Aug 2007

    The implementation of HIPs has been branded a farce by the Association of Home Information Pack Providers.

  • Amber sticks with sub-prime ranges

    20 Aug 2007

    Amber Homeloans says it has enhanced its unlimited adverse product range, increasing the maximum LTV acceptable from 80% to 85%.

  • Arrests confirmed by Police in Thamesmead mortgage fraud

    21 Aug 2007

    The Metropolitan Police has confirmed it has so far made several arrests in its investigation into suspected large-scale mortgage fraud on 84 new-build properties in the Thamesmead area of south-east London.

  • Atkins resigns as head of PMS

    24 Aug 2007

    Steve Atkins has resigned as head of Premier Mortgage Services.

  • B2L investors missing out on golden opportunities

    21 Aug 2007

    Buy-to-let investors are missing out on prime investment opportunities by overlooking UK holiday lets, reveals an email survey taken by the Property Investor Show

  • B-A turned down £8m offer by Network Data

    20 Aug 2007

    Network Data Holdings has revealed that its offer to buy Burns-Anderson eight months ago for £8m was rebuffed.

  • Bad weather pushes Brits overseas

    21 Aug 2007

    This year’s dull and wet summer has led to double the number of Brits looking for properties abroad, says Barclays Bank.

  • Banks' decision could destroy HIPs market

    22 Aug 2007

    Several lenders yesterday revealed that they may not accept personal searches as part of Home Information Packs.

  • Banks put onus on solicitors to certify HIPs

    23 Aug 2007

    HSBC and Barclays have revealed they will not accept personal searches as part of Home Information Packs unless they are certified by a solicitor or conveyancer.

  • BDM of the Week

    20 Aug 2007

    Marie Owen offers a professional service and has fostered a relationship with us despite our small size, unlike other BDMs who are only interested in the bigger players, says Mark Wilding

  • Beacon appoints new head of lending

    24 Aug 2007

    Beacon Group has appointed Shaun I’Anson as head of lending. I’Anson will join Beacon from Preferred, where he was head of partnership lending and, more recently, acting head of sales. I’Anson brings a wealth of experience within the non-conforming mortgage industry. Beacon is a fast growing financial services group, encompassing five companies, including Beacon Homeloans.

  • BoE makes emergency loan to unnamed British bank

    21 Aug 2007

    The Bank of England has confirmed an unnamed bank has borrowed £314m from its emergency lending fund to stay afloat following the US sub-prime meltdown.

  • BoE sparks nerves by refusing to publish financial stability speech

    20 Aug 2007

    The Bank of England has sparked suspicion by refusing to publish a speech on financial stability given to the Australian Reserve Bank today.

  • Boom time in the commercial sector

    20 Aug 2007

    Over the past 10 years the commercial mortgage sector has yielded average returns of 13.6%, so it can pay dividends for brokers who play their cards right, says Henry Ejdelbaum

  • Borrowing costs will not increase due to fund bail-out, says HBOS

    23 Aug 2007

    HBOS has reassured consumers there will be no impact on product prices as a result of its bail out of one of its own investment funds.

  • BoS cuts rates on B2L products

    20 Aug 2007

    Bank of Scotland has cut the rates on selected buy-to-let products. Peter Curran, head of distribution at BoS, says: "The Association of Residential and Letting Agents' latest survey reveals that for 69% of buy-to-let investors, the LTVs on their rented properties are less than 75%."

  • Bridgebank launches five day bridging loan

    21 Aug 2007

    Bridgebank Capital has launched a five-day bridging loan for residential or buy-to-let purchases which is free from both drawdown or exit fees.

  • Brokers face compliance uncertainty

    20 Aug 2007

    Principles-based regulation creates potentially dangerous grey areas when it comes to compliance and is likely to hit small firms particularly hard, says Stephen Trimmer

  • Brokers must stay focussed on TCF

    20 Aug 2007

    Don't postpone thinking about the Treating Customers Fairly initiative until the next deadline approaches as the FSA is bound to be keeping its eye on brokers, says Rob Griffiths

  • Building society net advances down 1064m year-on-year

    20 Aug 2007

    Net advances were down by 1064m to 598m in July compared to 1,662m the previous year, the latest figures from the Building Societies Association reveal.

  • CAR could drive individual pricing

    20 Aug 2007

    Another week and yet another three-letter acronym. CAR - or customer agreed remuneration - is a term you may have heard about in association with the Financial Services Authority's Retail Distribution Review.

  • Charcol.co.uk launches ERC and exit fee free tracker

    21 Aug 2007

    Charcol.co.uk has launched a “simple-to-switch” tracker for borrowers who don’t want to pay remortgage fees every few years.

  • CHL improves online application process

    22 Aug 2007

    CHL Mortgages has altered its online application process to include a number of new features, including valuation fee payment and a help page.

  • Commercial deals via Trigold

    20 Aug 2007

    Trigold and Commercial First have teamed up to offer commercial mortgage products and services to Trigold users. Available through specialist partner Commercial-mortgages4u, the service offers a packaging or referral service for brokers.

  • Competitive tension benefits clients

    20 Aug 2007

    A recent survey concluded that lender mergers deliver substantial economies of scale but do little to benefit consumers. This isn't a surprise.

  • Consumer turn away from internet, says TML

    20 Aug 2007

    The internet is becoming a dead end for applicants as UK lending nerves become more frayed, says The Mortgage Lender.

  • Convex reports strong demand for anti-gazumping insurance

    20 Aug 2007

    Convex Conveyancing says hundreds of its clients are taking advantage of its upfront anti-gazumping feature.

  • Cornell made Hamptons MD

    20 Aug 2007

    Jonathan Cornell has been named as Hamptons Mortgages' new managing director, replacing Kevin Duffy.

  • Cornell pledges bigger and better Hamptons

    21 Aug 2007

    Jonathan Cornell has pledged a bigger and better Hamptons Mortgages with far greater resources, as he takes on the top job as managing director.

  • Coventry launches fixed rate range

    20 Aug 2007

    Coventry has launched several fixed rate products starting at 5.85%. The range includes two Flexx offerings at 6.09% and 6.19%, both up to 95% LTV with no early repayment charges, plus two 5.99% fixed rate deals up to 95% LTV, with 4% ERCs if repaid between September 2009 and June 2010.

  • Criminal not to learn from US mistakes

    20 Aug 2007

    If anyone was in any doubt about just how much impact the US sub-prime crisis is having on the world, events in the past two weeks have made it clear.

  • Cross the bridge to bridging finance

    20 Aug 2007

    Bridging finance is simple to source, with a wide range of terms available and a quick completion schedule. It's an easy win for brokers. No wonder this market has such appeal.

  • CurriculumVitae: Tim Fletcher

    20 Aug 2007

    "I like to watch England play at any cricket ground in the world."

  • DB Mortgages relaunches sub-prime and B2L ranges

    22 Aug 2007

    DB Mortgages has relaunched its newly priced sub-prime, buy-to-let and near prime product range.

  • Dear Delia

    20 Aug 2007

    Dear Delia, Wayne is a landlord with nine properties totalling over £2m. He has found a flat he would like to buy and let out on a company let basis but it needs refurbishment. The price is £295,000 and around £28,000 is needed for the work. The value once the work is finished is estimated to be £340,000. He has enough money to cover the deposit and refurbishment costs but would prefer to use this to expand his portfolio. What options are available to him?

  • Do you agree with the CML that the number of ftbs opting for 100%-plus mortgages is falling?

    20 Aug 2007

    These statistics seem contradictory and don't take into account the segmented nature of the first-time buyer market, say our experts

  • Dring's HIP propaganda fails to hide the problems with this shoddy legislation

    20 Aug 2007

    Over the past year or two, Alan Dring, sales director of eConveyancer, has had acres of column space in a number of the mortgage industry's trade magazines berating us for not embracing the dubious virtues of Home Information Packs. Now, following his article entitled 'Let's start making money out of HIPs' in the August 6 edition of Mortgage Strategy, I see that HIPs have nothing going for them besides being cash cows that the industry can milk.

  • Duddy goes to Hollywood

    20 Aug 2007

    Micheal Duddy, an independent financial adviser at Guiding Light Financial Advisors, has won the Magic Loans Hollywood prize draw.

  • Earl Shilton pulls entire product range

    21 Aug 2007

    The Earl Shilton has withdrawn its entire product range from the market in light of failing service levels.

  • EC to investigate US crash response

    20 Aug 2007

    The European Commission is to investigate the relationship between credit rating agencies and securities issuers after their slow response to the US sub-prime mortgage crash.

  • Fall in inflation makes base rate rise less likely

    20 Aug 2007

    A base rate rise in September is looking unlikely after the Bank of England revealed inflation fell in July to 1.9% from 2.4% in June.

  • First-timers turn to friends and family for advice

    20 Aug 2007

    Almost a quarter of first-time buyers turn to friends and family for mortgage advice rather than brokers, research from Abbey reveals.

  • Fitch forecasts rising arrears in UK sub-prime RMBS

    24 Aug 2007

    Fitch Ratings says it expects arrears and possession levels in the UK sub-prime mortgage sector to continue to increase in the next few months.

  • Future Mortgages reviews 125% LTV offering

    23 Aug 2007

    Future Mortgages says it is waiting to see if LIBOR rates increase further before embarking on new product ranges.

  • Gaskin's spin fails to hide truth about premium rate numbers

    20 Aug 2007

    I'm incensed by the response by Julie Gaskin, corporate relations manager at GMAC-RFC, in last week's Letters page regarding premium rate telephone numbers. Her answer makes her the leading candidate for a scriptwriting job if Yes, Prime Minister ever returns to our screens.

  • GMAC-RFC denies plans to pull BDMs

    23 Aug 2007

    GMAC-RFC has denied that plans are afoot to pull its team of BDMs off the road.

  • GMAC-RFC pulls MERC mortgage

    21 Aug 2007

    GMAC-RFC has confirmed that it has withdrawn its “revolutionary” MERC mortgage which it admits hasn’t been as popular as anticipated.

  • GMAC-RFC ups sub-prime rates by 0.75%

    21 Aug 2007

    GMAC-RFC has increased rates across its whole sub-prime range by 0.75% and across its prime buy-to-let and self-cert products by 0.5% with immediate effect.

  • GMAC-RFC warns more rate rises could lie ahead

    23 Aug 2007

    GMAC-RFC has admitted that further rate rises could be on the cards if the global financial markets continue to deteriorate.

  • Goldsmith Williams plays host to Chinese delegation

    20 Aug 2007

    Last week, Goldsmith Williams played host to delegates from Sinopec, China's largest petrochemical producer, who visited the conveyancing firm for a best practice conference.

  • Gross mortgage lending reaches new record, CML data reports

    20 Aug 2007

    Gross mortgage lending reached a new record for the month of July, totalling £34.4bn, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders reveals.

  • Guide to measuring TCF compliance

    20 Aug 2007

    A recent FSA publication concerning management information on Treating Customers Fairly gives useful guidance on how firms can gauge their compliance, says Bill Warren

  • How once-mighty mutuals have fallen

    20 Aug 2007

    I'm not sure who in the Wild West coined the phrase "The only good injun's a dead injun" - but swap injun for banker and you get a flavour of how tempers are running in our own Wild West Country.

  • IMLA members lack confidence in Brown's policies

    23 Aug 2007

    The majority of members of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association lack confidence in Gordon Brown’s government and its future policy as regards the housing market.

  • Immigration fuels rental demand

    20 Aug 2007

    The rise in immigration is driving up demand for rental property, according to research from Paragon Mortgages. The buy-to-let lender says 9% of private rental tenants are now immigrants, hosted by nearly one-third of landlords.

  • Infinity and FML seek new funding

    20 Aug 2007

    Infinity Mortgages says it is in talks with a number of financial institutions regarding setting up alternative funding lines after Investec was unable to guarantee it funding going forward.

  • Infinity not to honour applications

    20 Aug 2007

    Infinity Mortgages has informed brokers and packagers that due to the “deteriorating situation in the credit markets” it will not honour applications that have not yet been offered.

  • Interbay launches new product style guide

    22 Aug 2007

    InterBay Commercial has redesigned its product guide to make commercial mortgage product information, flexible options and benefits easier to read.

  • Kensington Secured Loans hints at increasing rates

    23 Aug 2007

    Kensington Secured Loans says it is not a question of if but more a question of when it will be repricing its range, because of current market conditions.

  • KGB back office system will cut out re-keying for brokers

    20 Aug 2007

    KGB Packaging has laun-ched a back office system call-ed eLIMINATE to streamline the packaging process.

  • Leadpoint UK celebrates first birthday

    22 Aug 2007

    LeadPoint is celebrating its first anniversary in the UK this week.

  • Lehman Brothers closes US sub-prime lender

    23 Aug 2007

    Lehman Brothers is closing American sub-prime lender BNC Mortgage, putting 1,200 employees in 23 locations out of work.

  • Lenders maintain their standards

    20 Aug 2007

    Lenders are maintaining service standards despite high demand following recent base rate rises, data from mform.co.uk shows. The website says satisfaction among consumers stands at 72.3% based on 16 service criteria determined by a survey of its customers.

  • Lenders reprice sub-prime deals

    20 Aug 2007

    Victoria Mortgages has raised its near-prime rates by 1.25% and its sub-prime rates by 2.5%. And Mortgages PLC is increasing its fixed rates by a minimum of 0.75%, with some higher risk products going up by over 1%. Kensington Mortgages will also raise the rates on its core adverse range by 0.55% from August 23.

  • Lenders will pass pain on to punters

    20 Aug 2007

    It was only a matter of time until the sub-prime crisis in the US started to hit home here in the UK. Many of the analysts writing in Mortgage Strategy have been warning of such a development for months.

  • Link creates new roles for ex-Mortgage Express staff

    21 Aug 2007

    Link Lending, has appointed Stel Charalambous as finance director and Aidan Gamble as management accountant.

  • LTV cap could cost GEMHL £200m a year

    20 Aug 2007

    An industry source claims GE Money Home Lending has written off £200m of business a year by introducing an LTV cap on First National products.

  • Major European and US banks snap up Fed loans

    23 Aug 2007

    Following last week’s Federal Reserve rate cuts a group of European and US banks have borrowed £1bn to subsidize their credit facilities.

  • Manager trains to swim Channel for charity

    20 Aug 2007

    A project manager at Lancashire Mortgage Corporation is to defy jellyfish and freezing temperatures to swim the English Channel and raise money for charity.

  • Market will emerge bloody but unbowed

    20 Aug 2007

    The impact of the US sub-prime crisis has reached our shores. Following mounting losses in the US, investors have recoiled from mortgage assets globally and investment banks have reappraised their exposure to the market.

  • Marketwatch

    20 Aug 2007

    Swaps continued to inch downwards last week. They had been edging up before the Consumer Price Index figure was issued, but once the information was released, they dropped significantly.

  • MBS to create massive network

    20 Aug 2007

    Mortgage Broking Services has acquired Professional Mortgage Partnerships to create what it says will be the UK's fourth largest mortgage network.

  • Me and My Car

    20 Aug 2007

    My yellow Volkswagen Beetle may not be the fastest car in the world but it allows me to zip around town, turns heads and can be seen from afar in a busy car park, says Caroline Havers

  • MEX takes the top spot as B2L market booms

    20 Aug 2007

    The buy-to-let market continues to boom, with 171,800 mortgages worth a staggering £21.2bn taken out in the first half of 2007.

  • Money Partners Touch makes appointment for the North

    21 Aug 2007

    Money Partners Touch has appointed Lina Pope to the new position of account development manager for the North of England.

  • Mortgage Times offers debt advice

    20 Aug 2007

    The Mortgage Times Group has linked up with the Debt Advice Portal to offer brokers debt solutions for their clients. Brokers can refer indebted customers to insolvency practitioners and will be kept in the loop about the solutions offered.

  • MPLC appoints new head of marketing

    22 Aug 2007

    Mortgages PLC has appointed Polly Hughes as its new head of marketing.

  • MPPI should be seen as risk management tool not cash cow

    20 Aug 2007

    In the throwaway commercial environment in which we live, presentation and packaging are often held in higher regard than the products being sold.

  • MT offers high LTVs in Spain

    20 Aug 2007

    The Mortgage Times Group is offering members the chance to provide clients with lending up to 90% LTV for house purchases in Spain, in conjunction with Viva Costa International Mortgage. The range features 40-year maximum terms, a 1.34% arrangement fee and a 1.66% higher lending charge.

  • N&P reduces five and 10 year fixed rates

    20 Aug 2007

    Norwich and Peterborough is reducing the rates on some of its five and 10-year fixed rate schemes with effect from Monday August 20.

  • NAEA reports drop in July figures

    23 Aug 2007

    Figures from the National Association of Estate Agents put July 2007 home buyer interest 18.9% lower July 2006.

  • Nationwide drops some fixed rate offerings

    21 Aug 2007

    Nationwide has decreased some of its fixed rate mortgages. The new rates are available from August 23 and include two, three and 25 year home mover products ranging from 5.78% to 6.34%.

  • Nationwide pulls out of PPI

    20 Aug 2007

    Nationwide has pulled out of selling payment protection insurance on secured loans and credit cards following a mystery shopping exercise, which revealed selling practices were not up to scratch.

  • Network Data reveals German backer

    20 Aug 2007

    Network Data Holdings has revealed the funder of its new lender Homeowner Mortgages as German lending giant HypoVereinsbank.

  • New chairman for Earl Shilton

    20 Aug 2007

    Rupert Clarke has been appointed chairman of Earl Shilton. Clarke, who has been a member of the mutual's board of directors for the past 11 years, succeeds fellow board member Michael Turnbull.

  • New comparison website launched

    20 Aug 2007

    Thomson Directories, the company behind the Thomson Local business directories, is taking on Moneysupermarket.com with the launch of a price comparison website.

  • Next base rate rise could hit hard

    20 Aug 2007

    We are not yet seeing signs of a crisis in the housing market but another base rate rise could push some borrowers over the edge and damage the first-time buyer sector, says Sally Laker

  • No quick fix to crisis, Hank Paulson admits

    21 Aug 2007

    Hank Paulson, the US treasury secretary, has admitted that there is no quick fix to the credit crunch brought on the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

  • NR hikes sub-prime fees by 1.25%

    23 Aug 2007

    Northern Rock is to reprice its sub-prime range on August 29 with rates hiked by up to 1.25%.

  • NR shares lose 23p in five weeks

    20 Aug 2007

    Northern Rock shares have sunk 44p since the beginning of the year and 23p in the past five weeks. Rumours are rife that investors are uneasy about the bank because about three-quarters of its funding comes from the wholesale market. The Daily Telegraph estimates that for every 0.1% LIBOR moves above the Bank of England base rate, NR pays an annualised £12m.

  • Ocean could dump PPI from lenders

    20 Aug 2007

    Ocean Finance has told lenders that it is considering no longer selling their payment protection insurance products. It is thought this is a result of growing regulatory pressure on PPI sales.

  • Older tenants can benefit from HIAs

    20 Aug 2007

    Continuing the theme of looking at the alternatives to equity release available from local authorities, this week I'll look at home improvement agencies and how they can help the elderly to maintain their homes.

  • One in five lenders charging fees based on loan size

    22 Aug 2007

    Nearly one in five lenders now offer mortgages which charge fees based on the size of the loan customers want, says mform.co.uk

  • Packager Power

    20 Aug 2007

    Sourcing systems have been slammed for allowing fast-track products to be listed as self-cert. Are lenders that register these products as self-cert breaching the principles of Treating Customers Fairly?

  • Patrick Day made Freehold MD

    20 Aug 2007

    Patrick Day, former managing director of Exclusive Connections, has been made managing director of packager association Freehold. He will take up the new role on September 1.

  • Paymentshield appoints insurance director

    21 Aug 2007

    Paymentshield has appointed of Neil Galjaard as insurance director. Galjaard will be an addition to Paymentshield’s existing management team.

  • Pink launches near-prime deals

    20 Aug 2007

    Pink Home Loans has launched a Platform-funded range of nearprime fixed rates to its appointed representative and directly authorised brokers. The three-year fixed rate products are available up to 95% LTV with rates starting at 6.14%.

  • Platform launches affordability based lending model

    20 Aug 2007

    Platform has switched from an income-multiple based approach to an income/debt ration affordability to gauge borrowers' ability to pay.

  • PMS to host Northern Irish roadshow

    21 Aug 2007

    Premier Mortgage Service is hosting a roadshow event for all Northern Irish intermediaries at the Hilton Templepatrick Hotel and Country Club on October 18.

  • Politicians must break the tax habit

    20 Aug 2007

    Inheritance Tax was back on the agenda last week with a call to axe the tax coming from the Conservative Party-backed Economic Competitiveness Po-licy Group. Although the Tories have been shy about officially backing the claims, some sources say the aim could be to eliminate IHT on primary residences.

  • Portman explains equity release exit

    20 Aug 2007

    Portman says it dropped its equity release offering in April because it had become like flogging a dead horse. Matthew Wyles, group development director, says: "We weren't writing much business in this area and we have better things to do than flog a dead horse."

  • Portman sounds valuation warning

    20 Aug 2007

    Exaggerated valuations won't be stopped until the failure to disclose sales incentives is made a criminal offence, Portman warns.

  • Premium rate numbers are about profits not service

    20 Aug 2007

    Julie Gaskin seems to have missed the point about 0870 and 0845 numbers.

  • Prestbury joins Kensington elite

    20 Aug 2007

    Prestbury has been named as one of Kensington Mortgages' top 15 packagers. It now has access to an exclusive range of products intended to complement its core offering.

  • Principality to pull mortgage range

    21 Aug 2007

    Principality has announced that it is withdrawing its mortgage range from sale at 5pm on Thursday August 23. It will relaunch a new range on Friday August 24.

  • Promise Group to expand staff

    21 Aug 2007

    The Promise Group is expanding its contact centre by recruiting 60 staff following a boom in business.

  • Property Investor Show reports rise in hotel investment

    23 Aug 2007

    Buying a hotel room as an investment has increased substantially this year, says the Property Investor Show.

  • PTP slams Infinity for not honouring applications

    20 Aug 2007

    Personal Touch Packaging has slammed Infinity Mortgages after the lender refused to honour in excess of £6m of its pipeline cases not yet ready for offer.

  • Rates yet to peak

    20 Aug 2007

    The Bank of England held interest rates this month but further rises are likely due to the government's inflation fears, say Stephen Gifford and Maurice Fitzpatrick

  • Redundancies not ruled out at LoanOne

    23 Aug 2007

    The Funding Corporation says it cannot rule out redundancies following its decision to temporarily withdraw its intermediary lender LoanOne.

  • Report raises Countrywide bankruptcy fears

    20 Aug 2007

    The US' largest residential lender, Countrywide Financial, has stopped funding most non-prime loans after a highly critical research report on the firm suggested it could file for bankruptcy.

  • Salt unveils shared option

    20 Aug 2007

    Salt has launched two and three-year fixed rate deals for multiple borrowers. Salt will take into account all incomes up to a maximum of four borrowers.

  • Scottish Widow launches key-worker range

    22 Aug 2007

    Scottish Widows has launched a key worker mortgage as part of its first-time buyer range.

  • Scottish Widows offers key worker mortgage

    20 Aug 2007

    Scottish Widows Bank is extending its first-time buyer range by launching a key worker mortgage.

  • Sellers plan to give HIPs the slip, warns Abbey

    21 Aug 2007

    Millions of home owners are planning to exploit a loophole in order to avoid Home Information Packs, reveals a recent study conducted by Abbey.

  • Setting the record straight on Manchester's long-term deal

    20 Aug 2007

    I was interested to read the comments in Mortgage Strategy last week about our long-term fixed rate mortgage, which we recently launched as an exclusive with London & Country. In response, I'd like to make the following points.

  • Smith move shocks industry

    20 Aug 2007

    Eddie Smith's move from op-erations director at AMPD to rival association PMPA as managing director surprised the industry last week, with sources suggesting it could re-open old wounds.

  • Smoothing the path to remortgaging

    20 Aug 2007

    Remortgaging will grow as interest rate rises start to bite, so brokers should make the process easier by using technology such as Halifax's product swap system, says Frank Eve

  • Society defends its 25-year deal

    20 Aug 2007

    Manchester has defended the 25-year fixed rate mortgage it launched through London & Country earlier this month.

  • Sourcing systems give good audit trails

    20 Aug 2007

    The main mortgage sourcing systems have been making forays into the world of secured loans but at the moment they are not doing what brokers need.

  • Specialist lenders must adapt, says Money Partners

    20 Aug 2007

    Money Partners says firms operating in the specialist lending sector need to adapt if they are to survive and thrive.

  • Specialist sector won't be complacent

    20 Aug 2007

    As the US sub-prime sector heads for disaster, I thought it might be a good time to provide a brief history of specialist lending in the UK.

  • Spinnaka reports 25,000 valuations through Quest

    22 Aug 2007

    Spinnaka says it has completed 25,000 mortgage valuations within a 12 month period using Quest’s DataWeb online mortgage valuation technology.

  • Star's reminder to keep things simple

    20 Aug 2007

    It must have been over 25 years ago when I first came across Norman Levine while watching one of his sales training videos. It made a big impression on me in the early days of my career. So it was a privilege to share a platform with him at a recent protection conference in Canada.

  • State Securities appoints commercial property surveyor

    21 Aug 2007

    Asset funder State Securities has appointed Graham Jacobs as commercial property surveyor.

  • Stronger mortgage lending in July, says BBA

    20 Aug 2007

    The British Banking Association says that net mortgage lending rose by an underlying £5.7bn in July.

  • Sub-prime borrowers unaware of broker advice, says edeus

    21 Aug 2007

    New research from edeus reveals a significant proportion of vulnerable borrowers are still not utilising the specialist advice available from mortgage intermediaries.

  • Sub-prime crisis means it's time for brokers to dig in

    20 Aug 2007

    Mortgage Strategy Online's Straw Poll in this issue is timely. It's clear that 90% of readers aren't fools and the other 10% must work for sub-prime lenders with US parents.

  • Sub-prime exodus predicted

    20 Aug 2007

    Pundits are predicting a significant shake-up in the sub-prime market, with an exodus of lenders, lower proc fees and higher rates all on the cards.

  • Sub-prime is down but by no means out

    20 Aug 2007

    In recent years the UK mortgage market has seen sub-prime lending grow at breakneck speed.

  • Sub-prime worry may be overblown

    20 Aug 2007

    Is the pulling of UK sub-prime deals a knee-jerk reaction or the return of prudent lending? I wrote a few weeks ago that this summer would go down in history as one of floods and terror attacks. Now add to that list major wobbles in world stock markets, caused by the meltdown in the US sub-prime sector.

  • Technology could offer Brown way out on HIPs

    20 Aug 2007

    Despite the predictions that Home Information Packs would create a worrying wobble in the housing market, the first few weeks post-HIPs seem to have passed without incident.

  • The Mortgage Mole

    20 Aug 2007

    Digging the dirt in the mortgage world...

  • The Yorkshire unveils trackers

    20 Aug 2007

    The Yorkshire has launched a range of tracker mortgages including capped deals from 5.99%. The society is offering two-year trackers at the Bank of England base rate minus 0.76% with a £2,495 fee, at base rate minus 0.26% with a £795 fee, or at the base rate with a £795 fee.

  • This Week's Dilemma

    20 Aug 2007

    I own a small directly authorised brokerage and before regulation we used to offer general insurance as an extra service. When Financial Services Authority regulation came in we opted to provide only mortgage business, as this was difficult enough to get to grips with post-Mortgage Day. But now we're having second thoughts and are looking at mortgage and house purchase-related insurance again. We want an easy entry route back into GI as we can't afford to lose focus on the mortgage side. ...

  • Thomson joins L&G

    24 Aug 2007

    Ben Thompson has joined Legal & General as mortgages director and will be responsible for managing L&G’s Mortgage Club.

  • Three-bed HIPs from September 10

    20 Aug 2007

    Home Information Packs will be rolled out to three-bed properties from September 10.

  • Time to get your cover story straight

    20 Aug 2007

    Brokers should brush up on their knowledge of protection products so they can sell on features rather than price to help their clients and reduce clawback, says Katie Tucker

  • Title Deed: Mortgage Options

    20 Aug 2007

    Having been made redundant from his previous job in estate agency financial services, Rob Everett launched Mortgage Options in January 1996, working as a broker out of Bews Brown estate agents in Sleaford, Lincolnshire.

  • TMB sets up helpline to fast-track Infinity cases

    23 Aug 2007

    The Mortgage Business has set up a broker helpline to fast-track cases originally submitted to Infinity Mortgages.

  • Tory think tank calls for mortgage deregulation

    20 Aug 2007

    A Conservative Party think tank has called for mortgage regulation to be scrapped.

  • Tudor warning on Facebook

    20 Aug 2007

    Tudor Mortgage & Finance has warned staff not to use its name when posting comments on web forums after an underwriter set up a Facebook group to criticise the industry. The employee, Scott Parker, is still working at the firm but it isn't known if further action will be taken against him.

  • UK market could soon need Lemsip

    20 Aug 2007

    I'm sitting here desperate to write something nice - to spread some good news for a change. But I'm struggling. The mortgage market seems to be dominated by rising repossessions, sub-prime woes, regulatory crackdowns and soaring interest rates that threaten to push more borrowers into debt.

  • UK professionals can take the strain

    20 Aug 2007

    For days, the press has been dominated by last week's rate increases and speculation about whether these are linked to sub-prime problems in the US.

  • UK sub-prime growth is likely to slow

    20 Aug 2007

    I racked my brain to come up with a topic other than the sub-prime crisis in the US this week but it's impossible to avoid. Things have reached melting point across the pond and this has been catastrophic for world markets.

  • We must appeal to X-Factor generation

    20 Aug 2007

    I always find it surprising that biology, chemistry and physics aren't the most popular subjects among students. After all, they teach them about sex and demonstrate how nuclear bombs work, so they sound exciting to me.

  • Webline allocates £250K to enhance service

    23 Aug 2007

    Webline has revealed it has allocated an additional £250,000 to develop specific features for its service offering.

  • Webster rumoured to be headed for edeus

    23 Aug 2007

    Gary Webster, head of sales and business development at UCB Homeloans, is leaving UCB Home Loans August 28.

  • What would you be prepared to sacrifice to get on the property ladder?

    20 Aug 2007

    Last week, a study by GE Money Home Lending confirmed that affordability is not the only factor keeping first-time buyers off the property ladder. It found that young people tend to prioritise leisure, travel and their social life before saving to buy a home.So this week Mortgage Strategy asks: What would you be prepared to sacrifice to get on the property ladder?

  • Women's hour

    20 Aug 2007

    Women make good mortgage brokers but they are under-represented in the industry so exploring barriers to their recruitment was the focus of a recent round table, says Clare Bettelley

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Should the Financial Conduct Authority be more intrusive than the Financial Services Authority?

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