Mortgage Strategy
21 January 2008

  • A Trip Out

    21 Jan 2008

    Deputy editor Robert Thickett was crushed to find himself barred from the party following Cobalt Capital and Square Mile Mortgage Finance's awards ceremony last Thursday night.

  • Abbey and PTFS team up on Toolbox

    21 Jan 2008

    Broker members of Personal Touch Financial Services can now directly link with Abbey for Intermediaries via PTFS' Toolbox back office system.

  • AFB responds to Hunt review

    21 Jan 2008

    The Association of Finance Brokers has accused the Financial Ombudsman Service of being in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.

  • AHIPP appoints OpenBook CEO to board

    24 Jan 2008

    OpenBook’s chief executive officer has been appointed to the Association of Home Information Pack Providers’ board of directors.

  • AMI and AFB secure EU commission change

    25 Jan 2008

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries and the Association of Finance Brokers have secured an amendment to the European Consumer Credit Directive allowing brokers to continue to receive commission.

  • AMI calls for EC broker panel

    21 Jan 2008

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has pitched the concept of an expert broker panel to the European Commission.

  • Apply now for Complete offer

    21 Jan 2008

    Complete Mortgage & Loan Services is reminding brokers that this is their last chance to take advantage of its free valuations offer on buy-to-let, self-cert, prime and sub-prime products. There is no limit on how many free valuations can be claimed and the offer applies to applications received up to January 31.

  • AToM adds igroup range to panel

    21 Jan 2008

    All Types of Mortgages has added GE Money Home Lending’s igroup product range to its lender panel. Dale Jannels, sales and marketing director of AToM, says that the new year has been a positive one for AToM, with enquiry growth strong.

  • AToM adds igroup to lender panel

    21 Jan 2008

    All Types of Mortgages has added GE Money Home Lendings igroup to its panel of lenders. Dale Jannels, sales and marketing director at AToM said the move reflected the distributor's desire to work with lenders that could meet its requirements and add value to its panel.

  • B2L specialist on recruitment drive

    21 Jan 2008

    Mortgages for Business is embarking on a major recruitment drive to appoint case managers to its packaging division. The buy-to-let specialist is looking to ramp up its packaging services and aims to nearly quadruple its 2007 business levels this year. The company plans to boost its monthly cases from 110 last year to 400 by the end of 2008.

  • Base Commercial heralds LIBOR drop good news

    23 Jan 2008

    Base Commercial Mortgages has proclaimed the recent reduction in LIBOR as good news for borrowers seeking commercial mortgages.

  • BBA reveals continued sluggish lending

    24 Jan 2008

    December’s monthly net mortgage lending growth remained weak at £4.7bn, reveals the British Bankers’ Association.

  • BDS adds Trigold's ETC system

    21 Jan 2008

    BDS Mortgage Group has added Trigold’s electronic trading centre and Dashboard’s back-office system.

  • BDS Mortgage Group and Trigold link up

    21 Jan 2008

    Trigold users can now send cases can now send electronically cases direct to BDS Mortgages' back office system.

  • Belfast brokers to flock to market performance seminar

    24 Jan 2008

    The future of the Northern Irish housing and mortgage markets has pipped the popularity stakes for the majority (63%) of registered visitors to Mortgage Business Expo Northern Ireland.

  • Blemain cuts maximum secured loans to £50,000

    22 Jan 2008

    Blemain Group has restricted the maximum value on its second charge loans to £50,000 with immediate effect.

  • BM launches online decision capability

    22 Jan 2008

    Brokers will now be able to get an online decision for all additional borrowing applications from BM Solutions. This makes BM one of the first lenders to have a completely paperless additional borrowing process. Previously, brokers have had to fill in a paper form for the second stage of the application.

  • Bond plan tipped to save Rock

    21 Jan 2008

    The funding package designed to secure a private sale of Northern Rock would see the bank's £25bn Bank of England loan converted into bonds and sold.

  • Brighton sparks most buyer interest

    22 Jan 2008

    Online traffic data from Propertyfnider.com has shown Brighton is the most viewed property spot in the country.

  • Brokers should re-evaluate lender loyalties, says SLS

    21 Jan 2008

    Secured Loan Services is advising brokers to reappraise their relationships with lenders as competition intensifies in 2008.

  • Brokers should respond to FOS plans

    21 Jan 2008

    Individual firms tend not to respond to consultation documents. This always surprised me during my time with the Mortgage Code Compliance Board's advisory committee. After all, regulators' consultation documents give firms the opportunity to shape the future.

  • Burgess' attack on Reeh is an ill-considered, futile exercise

    21 Jan 2008

    I read Simon Burgess' latest attack on Thomas Reeh (Mortgage Strategy Letters January 14) and it strikes me as a worthless and ill-considered exercise.

  • Buy multi-lets at auction now, say Property Show pundits

    24 Jan 2008

    Exhibitors at The Homebuyer and Property Investor Show are urging investors to take advantage of the current market turmoil by buying multi-lets, particularly at auction.

  • C2 extends proc fee guarantee

    25 Jan 2008

    C2-Financial is extending its proc fee guarantee beyond February 19 for a further three months.

  • Call for central flood authority

    21 Jan 2008

    The British Insurance Brokers' Association has published its inaugural manifesto, calling on the government to set up a body to oversee planning and defences to mitigate the risk of disruption from flooding.

  • Cenkos withdraws offer for Close Brothers Group

    22 Jan 2008

    Cenkos Securities has withdrawn a potential offer to buy up Close Brothers Group, which owns the Mortgage Intelligence network.A statement from Cenkos today reveals that following the announcement on January 14 that it was considering putting in an offer for Close, it has been unable to come to a satisfactory agreement.Cenkos says it no longer intends to make an offer for the firm.

  • Chancellor slashes small firm CGT

    24 Jan 2008

    Chancellor Alistair Darling has succumbed to pressure to reduce Capital Gains Tax for small firms. Entrepreneurs will pay 10% CGT on their first £1m in qualifying capital gains.The legislative changes, revealed today, apply to the a cumulative lifetime total of gains by small firms. Capital gains above £1m will be taxed at 18%.The changes supersede taper relief and take effect as of April 1.

  • Chancellor unveils new plan for Northern Rock

    21 Jan 2008

    Chancellor Alistair Darling has revealed plans to convert Northern Rock's £25bn Bank of England loan into bonds before selling them to investors.

  • Checklist for brokers to help them find the right packager

    21 Jan 2008

    David Wylie of c2-Financial is right to say that brokers should carefully check the financial stability of the packagers they use (Mortgage Strategy Online), but how should they do this?

  • CHL Commercial boosts title insurance business

    23 Jan 2008

    CHL Commercial has increased the level of title insurance it uses for commercial remortgages.

  • CHL unveils strong 2007 lending growth

    24 Jan 2008

    CHL Mortgages has unveiled strong business figures for 2007, with lending up 24% during December to £186m, compared with the same time last year.

  • Citigroup takes sub-prime hit

    21 Jan 2008

    Citigroup has revealed net losses of $9.83bn (5.02bn) in Q4 2007 as a result of significant sub-prime write-downs.

  • Commercial brokers tipped to flourish in 2008

    21 Jan 2008

    Base Commercial Mortgages has tipped 2008 as the year for commercial mortgage brokers to prosper, as businesses seek professional help in response to tightened lending terms.

  • Complete offers Advantage on-site underwriter

    23 Jan 2008

    Complete Mortgage and Loan Services is offering brokers access to an on-site underwriter for Advantage.

  • Complete offers brokers a romantic break

    22 Jan 2008

    Complete Mortgage and Loan Services has kicked off 2008 with the offer of a two-night break for two in a Paris hotel.

  • Confused rebuttal reinforces points made in my letter

    21 Jan 2008

    One of us is confused. Is it me or Andrew Botte (Mortgage Strategy Letters January 14)?

  • Couples have it better than singles

    21 Jan 2008

    It's hard to believe we're already a few weeks into January. Is it just me or do the years seem to go by faster as you get older? Well, they are now whizzing by, which is possibly a sign of my age.

  • Cover

    21 Jan 2008

    Shareholders pressed Northern Rock's board for information about its future at the lender's recent EGM, but didn't get much joy. Marcel Le Gouais reports from the meeting

  • CurriculumVitae: Owen Espley

    21 Jan 2008

    "They asked us to walk across 10 yards of burning coal to conquer our fear"

  • DAP bolsters debt solutions panel with Brightside

    21 Jan 2008

    Debt Advice Portal has added the BrightSide Group to its debt solutions panel.

  • Darling under attack for Rock rescue plan

    22 Jan 2008

    The chancellor yesterday came under fire today for a Northern Rock rescue plan that invokes the largest ever government funding for a private company.

  • Data shows rising employment

    21 Jan 2008

    Data from the Office of National Statistics reveals that employment levels remained strong in Q4 2007. The number of Britons claiming unemployment benefit also fell.

  • Dear Delia...

    21 Jan 2008

    My client John wants to buy a house with an annexe that's worth £595,000. He initially wants to live in the property but would like to rent it out in the near future. He can put down a 40% deposit, so what sort of mortgage product do you recommend for his needs? Is a tracker or fixed rate deal the best bet in the prevailing market conditions?

  • Dear strategy ... - 21 January 2008

    21 Jan 2008

    This week’s column is typed in the departure lounge at Delhi’s international airport as my world tour comes to an end. I’ve had an amazing time but I’ve come to accept that I’m not cut out for life as a long-term traveller.

  • Demand for IVAs could rocket 67% this month

    21 Jan 2008

    IVA.com is predicting a 67% rise in demand for individual voluntary arrangements this month compared with December, based on enquiries in the first two weeks.

  • Did you overspend at Christmas and are you still paying off the debt?

    21 Jan 2008

    More than half of consumers spend more than they can afford over Christmas, a survey of visitors to the Jobcentre Plus website reveals. Its poll found that 55% of consumers go over budget during the festive period while the remaining 45% plan ahead to prevent new year debts. So, this week Mortgage Strategy asks…

  • Different deals for different clients

    21 Jan 2008

    In several previous articles, I have dealt with the issue of brokers having to offer advice on both home reversion and lifetime mortgages when considering product suitability for clients.

  • Doubt cast over success of Lehmans' RMBS move

    21 Jan 2008

    An industry heavyweight doubts the ability of Lehman Brothers' loan modification programme to restore investor confidence in its residential mortgage-backed securities.

  • Dudgeon exit causes concern

    21 Jan 2008

    Industry pundits fear the future of DB Mortgages in the UK could be under threat after the ousting of managing director Bill Dudgeon last week.

  • Elite brokerage to launch this year

    21 Jan 2008

    Corporate restructuring specialist Steve Whatley is in the throes of setting up a dream team brokerage.

  • European White Paper is a curate's egg

    21 Jan 2008

    The European Commission's efforts to establish a single mortgage market have good and bad points but some of its provisions promise much for UK brokers and lenders, says Richard Farr

  • Expansion sees Salt move offices

    21 Jan 2008

    Salt Commercial has moved into a new office in the Derbyshire's premises toaccommodate the 50 workers it plans to take on this year. The firm hopes to grow its completed business volumes from £350m in 2007 to £1bn.

  • Fake document sites still support fraud

    21 Jan 2008

    Since the liquidity crisis took hold the mortgage industry has become a challenging environment and we occasionally hear about individuals who have been tempted into criminal activity to secure business or make extra cash.

  • Feature

    21 Jan 2008

    Offset's popularity is spiralling as brokers spread the good news about its competitive advantages to borrowers, says Julie Johnston

  • Fed drops base rate to 3.5%

    22 Jan 2008

    The US Federal Reserve has today slashed the base rate by 0.75%, bringing the official interest rate to 3.5%.

  • Fickle market demands robust evidence

    21 Jan 2008

    Tony Blair's famous exhortation of "education education education" is an increasingly apt mantra for brokers.

  • Fifth annual premier dinner

    21 Jan 2008

    Leading up to the extravaganza, the question was can-can BDS put on an event as good as last year? The answer was a resounding yes yes, as 150 guests, including directly authorised and appointed representative members, satellite packagers and lender attendees, revelled in the sumptuously themed setting.

  • Finance director earmarked for a nationalised Rock

    23 Jan 2008

    The man who would run a nationalised Northern Rock is reported to have lined up a finance director, if it is taken into public ownership.

  • Find green deals with online guide

    21 Jan 2008

    A guide to help identify environmentally-friendly lenders has been laun-ched on the back of research that reveals just 39 firms - 48% of the market - offer loans with green incentives.

  • Firms face 152bn worth of sub-prime losses

    25 Jan 2008

    Financial firms across the globe are facing further losses of around 152bn this year, claims a report by consultancy firm Oliver Wyman.

  • First-time buyers face soaring mortgage costs

    25 Jan 2008

    Average mortgage costs to income for first-time buyers are now higher than levels at the 1990s housing boom peak, says the Building Socieites Association.

  • Fit and Proper

    21 Jan 2008

    Hackette Leah Milner faced a test of honesty while taking the tube home from work one night last week.

  • FSA eyes quantitative liquidity rules

    22 Jan 2008

    The Financial Services Authority is looking to bring in quantitative liquidity regulations in a bid to prevent another bank plunging into the crisis engulfing Northern Rock.

  • FSA mulls price comparison site regulation

    23 Jan 2008

    The Financial Services Authority could review how it regulates insurance price comparison websites as a result of new research from the British Insurance Brokers’ Association.

  • FSA to kick off TCF visits in Northern Ireland

    22 Jan 2008

    The Financial Services Authority will launch its Treating Customers Fairly assessment programme in Northern Ireland this March.

  • FTSE plunges on US recession fears

    21 Jan 2008

    Shares on the FTSE 100 index have plummeted more than 300 points in today’s trading from over 5,900 yesterday, to below 5,600 at midday.Prices have rallied since then, with shares recovering to 5,610 at the time of writing.The plunge seems to have been triggered by reports that a US recession is looming.Reports claim that at one stage the drop was the biggest since 9/11 in 2001.

  • Fun Stuff

    21 Jan 2008

    What's your Favourite holiday destination?

  • Getting the relationship back on track

    21 Jan 2008

    Relations between lenders and brokers have become strained thanks to the liquidity crisis but better signs in the credit markets should help repair the damage, says Katie Tucker

  • Goldsmith appointed legal partner to Mortgages For Business

    21 Jan 2008

    Goldsmith Williams has been appointed as the first ever legal partner for buy-to-let and commercial mortgage specialists Mortgages for Business.

  • Goldsmith Williams appointed legal partner to Mortgages for Business

    21 Jan 2008

    Goldsmith Williams has been appointed as the legal partner for buy-to-let and commercial mortgage specialist, Mortgages for Business.

  • Gravity platform helps TFC complete cases faster

    21 Jan 2008

    TFC Homeloans reports it has been offering and completing cases faster as a result of its Gravity platform.

  • Gross lending hit record levels in 2007

    21 Jan 2008

    Last year was the strongest year ever for gross mortgage lending, reveals the Council of Mortgage Lenders today.

  • Hammondsdirect launches text service

    21 Jan 2008

    Hammondsdirect has launched a text message service to keep for its conveyancing clients.

  • Harsh times but the tough will make it

    21 Jan 2008

    The mortgage market will face further difficulties this year but as the cliché goes, when the going gets tough the tough get going and the fittest firms will survive, says Sally Laker

  • House prices up 5.2% last year, despite quarterly fall

    21 Jan 2008

    House prices increases were 5.2% higher in Q4 2007 compared with the same period in 2006, the latest index from Halifax has revealed.

  • Hypocrisy over consumer data lapses

    21 Jan 2008

    Kevin Paterson takes a weekly look at the latest developments in the market and brings you what's hot and what's not in the world of mortgages

  • IFAs expect growth in equity release sector

    21 Jan 2008

    The equity release market has been given a boost by an IFA survey, which found that 41% of respondents expect the sector to grow in 2008.

  • Industry welcomes improved access to property data

    22 Jan 2008

    The industry has welcomed new government guidelines to improve access to local authority property data.

  • IRS calls for over-65s to be exempt from moving taxes

    21 Jan 2008

    In Retirement Services is calling for all taxes associated with moving house to be removed for over-65s releasing equity from their property.

  • Is the consumer media helping or hindering the mortgage market?

    21 Jan 2008

    Informing consumers is important but too often, the media misrepresents the sector by failing to give a complete picture, say our experts

  • Job cut rumours at SMS

    25 Jan 2008

    Solent Mortgage Services is rumoured to have axed a number of staff today.

  • John Charcol keeps faith with commission

    21 Jan 2008

    John Charcol's new fees-free telephone advice service has been flagged as evidence that the commission-based ad-vice model still has a place in the broker market.

  • Jupp made executive chairman of OFM Group

    22 Jan 2008

    Rob Jupp has become executive chairman of intermediary firm OFM Group almost two years after he stepped down as managing director.

  • KFS and Thameside Investments merge financial expertise

    23 Jan 2008

    Kinleigh Financial Services has joined forces with Thameside Investments to offer clients a more complete range of financial planning services.

  • Largest one-day rise for FTSE 100

    25 Jan 2008

    The FTSE 100 experienced its biggest ever one-day points rise yesterday, closing 266.5 at 5875.80, newspaper reports reveal today. It came on the same day that the London Stock Exchange revealed that group revenues had risen 87% to £167.9m for the three months to December 31 2007, as part of its third quarter results statement.

  • LeadPoint launches Lead Packets

    21 Jan 2008

    LeadPoint has launched fixed price lead packages called Lead Packets.

  • Lenders must help brokers do right by their clients

    21 Jan 2008

    I read with interest Leah Milner's Six in the City article in which she wonders why lenders are reluctant to share client information with brokers (Mortgage Strategy January 14).

  • Lessons learnt from Northern Rock

    21 Jan 2008

    In a recent speech, the FSA's Clive Briault emphasised five issues that lenders must address to avoid an NR-style calamity, and brokers should pay attention too, says Bill Warren

  • Lib Dems demand more options for debtors

    21 Jan 2008

    THE LIBERAL Democrats are calling for alternatives to repossession after slamming the government for allowing what they call grossly irresponsible lending practices to proliferate.

  • London Scottish halts secured loans

    21 Jan 2008

    London Scottish Mortgages has suspended its secured loans business. The lender stopped accepting cases on January 16 and intends to focus on first charge business.

  • LSM staff face redundancy

    21 Jan 2008

    London Scottish Mortgages has confirmed that a number of its staff are in consultation over redundancies. A spokeswoman for LSM's parent London Scottish Bank could not confirm how many staff are affected or how long negotiations will last.

  • LTVs cut to offset price falls

    21 Jan 2008

    Lenders are slashing LTVs to offset the impact of falling pro-perty prices.

  • Market Watch 21 January 2008

    21 Jan 2008

    Swaps fell again last week after posting huge falls recently. Two, three and five-year swaps are at 21-month lows but lenders are only just beginning to cut their fixed rates. It'll be interesting to see whether arrangement fees come down as well - I suspect they will.

  • Mervyn King hints at further rate cuts

    23 Jan 2008

    Bank of England governor Mervyn King has given strong hints that more base rate cuts are to come in a speech yesterday.

  • Milton Homes appoints non-exec directors

    22 Jan 2008

    Milton Homes has appointed three non-executive directors to its board in order to grow its home reversions business. The new appointments are Harry Hill, who is also non-executive chairman of Countrywide, Edward Murray, who has more than 20 years experience as a corporate finance practitioner at British Linen Bank and David Hyams who was most recently director of Colliers Commercial Real Estate.

  • Misplaced words can move markets

    21 Jan 2008

    Financial journalism is powerful. Financiers realise this but journalists often do not. Ever since the UK abandoned the gold standard, our money itself has been an idea, its value based primarily on confidence that sterling will retain a stable value. Ideas and opinions matter.

  • Mixed market messages help no-one

    21 Jan 2008

    I'm confused. According to a recent episode of ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald called 'Britain's biggest house price falls', property values have toppled over the cliff edge and are now plummeting to earth at an alarming speed.

  • Moody's puts Derbyshire on review for downgrade

    21 Jan 2008

    Moody's has placed Derbyshire on review for a possible downgrade due to its sub-prime exposure.

  • Mortgage approvals drop 21% in December

    23 Jan 2008

    Mortgage approvals for UK home purchases dropped to 66,000 in December, reveals a report by Connells Survey & Valuation out this morning.

  • Mortgagematch adds Chelsea and Accord to panel

    21 Jan 2008

    Mortgagematch Homeloans has added Chelsea and Accord Mortgages to its panel, bringing it up to 21 lenders.

  • Mosaic appoints EQI Consultancy

    22 Jan 2008

    Mosaic Mortgage Club has appointed EQI Consultancy to its panel for compliance services. Mosaic's members will now have access to compliance advice from the consultancy and can choose between an intensive round of support visits or a lighter touch approach, depending on the needs of the business. EQI, which serves more than 250 clients nationwide, will be passing its customer base over to become Mosaic members.

  • Mosaic enters partnership with EQI

    22 Jan 2008

    The Mosaic Mortgage Club has entered into a strategic relationship with EQI Consultancy for compliance support services. Under the arrangement, EQI will be appointed to the club’s panel to offer compliance services to its members particularly in the key areas of treating customers fairly and training and competence.

  • MPC fails to do the politicians' bidding

    21 Jan 2008

    With Prime Minister Gordon Brown and chancellor Alistair Darling's recent warning that lenders should pass on December's base rate cut to borrowers, there was a risk that a further rate reduction in January would smack of the Bank of England doing the politicians' bidding.

  • MPC votes 8-1 to freeze base rate

    23 Jan 2008

    Minutes from the January Monetary Policy Committee meeting reveal a near unanimous decision to freeze the rate at 5.5%.

  • MS readers doubt lenders will share their data

    21 Jan 2008

    An overwhelming 74% of Mortgage Strategy Online readers doubt that lenders' stance on data sharing will change this year. The vote comes as Mortgage Strategy continues its In the Loop campaign to encourage lenders to share data with brokers.

  • MS takes two top gongs in a month

    21 Jan 2008

    Your number one mortgage must-read has been crowned industry king twice in the past month.

  • N&P reduces fixed rates

    21 Jan 2008

    Norwich and Peterborough has cut its three-year fixed rate deal with a £385 reservation fee available up to 90% LTV from 6.34% to 5.59%, while a similar product with a £475 fee has been reduced from 6.64% to 5.79%.

  • NAEA members see signs of market stability

    23 Jan 2008

    Members of the National Association of Estate Agents have seen certain sectors of the housing market start to stabilise.

  • Nationwide increases tracker rates

    22 Jan 2008

    Nationwide has increased rates on new tracker products by up to 10 basis points.

  • Newcastle revamps equity release service

    21 Jan 2008

    The Newcastle has revealed changes to its Equity Release Service in response to consumer feedback.

  • Nice Tints

    21 Jan 2008

    To publicise the imminent opening of mortgageforce's Chester branch, the franchise brokerage is employing three lovely ladies decorated in the company's colours, one of whom is pictured here.

  • NLA wants to stop unfair 'money for nothing' fees

    21 Jan 2008

    It seems Kate Whotton from Hamptons International has got the wrong end of the stick in the news story headlined 'NLA calls for tenancy renewal fees to be abolished' (Mortgage Strategy January 14).

  • No tie-in trackers most popular choice

    24 Jan 2008

    John Charcol has revealed that the three most popular mortgage products so far in January have all been trackers with no early repayment charges.

  • Oot of luck

    21 Jan 2008

    Mole felt particular sympathy for one unfortunate Northern Rock shareholder last week at the beleaguered bank's extraordinary general meeting in Newcastle.

  • Optoma founder buys conveyancer

    21 Jan 2008

    Harpal Singh, co-founder of Optoma Broker Solutions, has snapped up Conveyancing Alliance. This follows his departure from the packager in 2006. Online conveyancer CA offers brokers and estate agencies conveyancing services from a panel of solicitors. Singh says: "It takes less than two minutes to source a quote, and brokers can earn up to £200 per

  • Packagers have to stay focussed in a tough new world or get left behind

    21 Jan 2008

    I'm sure many of my industry colleagues read about the survey of 400 packagers that revealed average staff numbers climbed from 28 to 31 between October and December last year with incredulity (Mortgage Strategy January 14).

  • Paragon faces funding trauma

    21 Jan 2008

    Paragon Group may be forced to limit new business to further advances on existing mortgages after February. This is because the group's warehouse facility, which provides it with long-term funding, is unlikely to be renewed, so there will be limited funding for new business beyond that time. Paragon will continue to fund pipeline business until February 28 and further advances on existing loans beyond this point. The announcement follows a heavily discounted £287m share issue, which ...

  • Paragon reveals it will stop lending at end of February

    21 Jan 2008

    Paragon has warned it may cease new lending from February because of difficulty obtaining continued funding.

  • Paterson to run Enterprise Partners

    22 Jan 2008

    Kevin Paterson, commercial and marketing director of Enterprise Group has taken over responsibility for its satellite packaging operation.He takes over as director of partners within the Enterprise Partners Network proposition following the departure of Terry Young and will run the partners network in conjunction with his existing role.The network of satelite packagers currently has around 30 members but Enterprise says it plans to increase this to 100 by the end of the year.

  • Platform forms available on MTE

    21 Jan 2008

    Platform has launched its full mortgage application form on the Mortgage Trading Exchange. It previously made Key Facts Illustrations and agreement in principle forms available but this move allows brokers to complete the entire process via the MTE.

  • PMS hits 2007 target despite Q4 disappointment

    21 Jan 2008

    Premier Mortgage Service hit its lending target in 2007 despite experiencing lower than expected business volumes in Q4.

  • PNG launches website

    21 Jan 2008

    Premier Network Group has launched its website PNGlimited.com. It offers information on PNG's three mortgage propositions for self-employed brokers and a listing of all the services aimed at the group's appointed representatives and directly authorised firms.

  • Preferred cuts reversionary rates

    21 Jan 2008

    Preferred Mortgages has cut its reversionary rates across its product range by up to 0.85%.

  • Property transactions to be worst hit this year

    22 Jan 2008

    Industry stakeholders are predicting property transactions will be the worse hit than house prices this year.

  • Psychological hurdle for Nationwide candidates

    21 Jan 2008

    A three-hour psychological assessment is just one of the challenges awaiting candidates for the job of head of operations at Nationwide's specialist lending division.

  • PTP's Rob Jupp joins OFM board

    22 Jan 2008

    Personal Touch Packaging's managing director Rob Jupp has been appointed to the board of directors of brokerage OFM Group.

  • Public must know how deals are funded

    21 Jan 2008

    I was aghast to read the recent comments by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and chancellor Alistair Darling pressurising lenders to pass on rate cuts to borrowers as soon as they're announced by the Bank of England.

  • Rate cut benefits are not guaranteed

    21 Jan 2008

    Borrowers didn't receive a belated Christmas present from the Bank of England this month, as it decided not to cut the base rate from 5.5%.

  • RBSIP joins Paradigm panel

    21 Jan 2008

    RBS Intermediary Partners has joined Paradigm Mortgage Services' lender panel, giving Paradigm members access to RBS' four broker brands - First Active, NatWest, RBS and the One account.

  • Record gross lending in 2007 says CML

    21 Jan 2008

    Last year proved to be the strongest ever year for gross mortgage lending, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

  • Road to hell paved with good intentions

    21 Jan 2008

    I have a confession to make. Despite years of writing about mortgages and loans, until last week I'd never taken mortgage advice.

  • Rogue brokers are the problem, not proc fees

    21 Jan 2008

    I always turn to Mortgage Strategy's letters pages first and was glad to see the new year starting with some good ones.

  • S&S unveils details of lender

    21 Jan 2008

    Stroud & Swindon has unveiled details of its broker-focussed lending arm, the launch of which was exclusively revealed in Mortgage Strategy last June. With the provisional name of Stroud & Swindon for Intermediaries, the lender will be launched at the end of February.

  • Secured Loan Services teams up with Future

    24 Jan 2008

    Secured Loan Services has teamed up with Future Mortgages to offer a semi-exclusive deal at 7.89% fixed for three years.

  • Signs point to bright future for B2L

    21 Jan 2008

    Figures published in December by the Council of Mortgage Lenders revealed that in 2007 the number of buy-to-let landlords outstripped first-time buyers for the first time.

  • Six in the city - 21 January 2008

    21 Jan 2008

    A despondent Marcel Le Gouais goes to Newcastle Northen Rock's gloomy EGM

  • Smartnewhomes.com sees prices drop 0.3%

    24 Jan 2008

    New home prices dropped by 0.3% in December, indicates data by the Smartnewhomes.com new homes index and migration monitor saw.

  • Sourcing system's commission offer

    21 Jan 2008

    Secured loans sourcing system Seconds2seconds. com is offering brokers extracommission this month. Brokers submitting loans worth over £10,000 will receive an extra £100 per case. The service has signed up 40 users since its launch at the Mortgage Business Expo London last November.

  • Stealthy packagers get on with the job

    21 Jan 2008

    A recent survey by The Mortgage Business showed that despite the liquidity crisis employment figures among packagers were on the up.

  • Stock Picker

    21 Jan 2008

    Write-downs from US investment giants Merrill Lynch and Citigroup set the tone last week and UK banking stocks fell in their wake.

  • Sub-prime branded top PPI offender

    21 Jan 2008

    The sub-prime mortgage market has been branded the biggest offender when it comes to mis-selling payment protection insurance.

  • Subtle, legal ways to rip borrowers off

    21 Jan 2008

    With borrowers tightening their financial belts to deal with the onslaught of post-Christmas credit card bills and the payment shock of escalating mortgage payments, it would have been handy if the Monetary Policy Committee had voted for a base rate reduction in January.

  • Surveyors paint bleak picture

    21 Jan 2008

    Research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows that 49% of surveyors reported falling house prices in December - the most negative picture reported since November 1992, when the figure reached 60%.

  • Surveyor-speak under TV influence

    21 Jan 2008

    The property profession has always had its own language, but it's now being influenced by television shows from both sides of the Atlantic, says Simon White

  • Talk is cheap, just show us the facts

    21 Jan 2008

    Is the mortgage market's glass half full or half empty? It depends who you talk to among the industry's bigwigs.

  • The industry needs a mortgage tsar

    21 Jan 2008

    I'm fed up with lenders' platitudes about fixing their service problems and want someone with clout to sort out the mess we've got ourselves into, says Sue Read

  • TMB staffing survey slammed as sick joke

    21 Jan 2008

    The Mortgage Business' claims about a rise in packager recruitment at the end of last year have been slammed as a sick joke.

  • Tories attack Rock rescue package

    23 Jan 2008

    Tory leader David Cameron has branded the Northern Rock rescue package “a sub-prime deal from a sub-prime minister.”

  • Total returns for B2L tripled in 2007

    25 Jan 2008

    Total annual returns for buy-to-let investors tripled in 2007 to £34,000, research out from Paragon reveals.

  • Towergate named as Britishinsurance.com buyer

    23 Jan 2008

    Britishinsurance.com is understood to have been snapped up by Towergate, Mortgage Strategy can exclusively reveal.Towergate is the largest independently owned insurance brokerage in Europe, with 3,500 staff operating out of 100 UK offices. It was founded in 1997 to provide insurance in niche markets, such as holiday homes.The two firms are understood to have completed on the deal last night. Simon Burgess, managing director of Britishinsurance.com declined to comment.

  • Vision announces forum dates

    21 Jan 2008

    Vision Network, the network arm of the Mortgage Times Group, is to hold a series of sales and technology forums this year.

  • Vision Network unveils sales and technology roadshow

    21 Jan 2008

    Vision Network, the newly rebranded network arm of Mortgage Times Group, has unveiled a series of nationwide sales and technology forums.

  • Warning on risky clause in mortgage contracts

    22 Jan 2008

    Moneynet.co.uk has warned that a clause in many mortgage contracts could put borrowers’ homes at risk if they default on additional borrowing.

  • Welcome for plan to stall creditors

    21 Jan 2008

    Consumer groups have welcomed government proposals to help indebted consumers stall debt collectors.

  • Win the chance to party in style at MS awards

    21 Jan 2008

    The Mortgage Strategy Awards 2008 will take place at London's posh Grosvenor House Hotel on February 5 and we have a fantastic opportunity for you to attend the mortgage industry's number one event in style.

  • Yvette Cooper joins Treasury in ministerial reshuffle

    25 Jan 2008

    Former housing minister Yvette Cooper has become chief secretary to the Treasury in the reshuffle following the resignation of Peter Hain as pensions secretary.

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