Mortgage Strategy
23 February 2009
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56% boom in demand for rented accommodation
23 Feb 2009
Your Move says that demand for rented accommodation boomed 56% over the last year.
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A Day On The Rock
25 Feb 2009
Yesterday was one of those mad PR days which were very enjoyable but lots of rushing about and talking till my throat dried up. The subject? Good old Northern Rock.
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A glimmer of light at end of the tunnel
23 Feb 2009
With the latest figures from the British Bankers' Association showing lending in the personal loans sector was down again in December, it is perhaps a brave man who can predict that the future is going to turn rosy any time soon.
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Alliance & Leicester reduces rates
27 Feb 2009
Alliance & Leicester is reducing its rates by up to 0.2% and the fees by £300 on its two, three and five-year fixed rates from today.
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AMI welcomes Northern Rock’s return to lending
24 Feb 2009
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has welcomed the news that Northern Rock is to increase its mortgage lending, with up to £14bn in new loans by 2011.
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Ashdown Lyons goes into administration
23 Feb 2009
Ashdown Lyons has been placed into adminstration with all staff made redundant with effect from last Friday.
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AXA increases life cover age limit to 85
23 Feb 2009
AXA has increased the age limit on its life cover from 70 to 85 to reflect longer life expectancies.
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Ban on 100% loans signals ''first shot'' on government intervention
23 Feb 2009
Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s call to ban mortgages of over 100% LTV could mark the start of a slippery slope on government intervention in the mortgage market, industry insiders have warned.
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Barratt reports half-year loss of almost £600m
25 Feb 2009
Barratt Developments has posted a pre-tax loss of almost £600m for the second half of last year as it attempts to stay afloat in “an intensely difficult market.”
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BDS members see MPPI increase
23 Feb 2009
BDS network has conducted a survey among its appointed representatives which shows almost half reported an increase in the sale of mortgage payment protection insurance, while a third have increased income protection sales.
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Bear necessities
23 Feb 2009
The industry may be hard up but spare a thought for world famous bear Knut whose hard times are worst than most.
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Best buy tables bad for borrowers
23 Feb 2009
Email Mortgages has called on best buy tables to be scrapped because they are inflating consumer expectations and detracting from financial advice.
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Better news on repossessions
23 Feb 2009
The number of repossessions in 2008 hit 40,000, up 54% on 2007, but 5,000 less than the Council of Mortgage Lenders originally predicted.
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Blame Brown, don't bash the bankers
23 Feb 2009
While I won't claim to have watched the full three hours and 15 minutes of last week's Kangaroo Court - sorry, I mean the Treasury Select Committee's grilling of the naughty bankers from HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland - I watched enough to get annoyed.
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Boost for Intrinsic as turnover rises by 40%
23 Feb 2009
Intrinsic Financial Services has reported a turnover of £84m for 2008, a 40% increase on the previous year's figure of £58m.
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Bradford & Bingley announces bonus scheme
23 Feb 2009
Bradford & Bingley has revealed plans to reward around 800 junior staff bonus payment of just under 8% of their salary, at a cost of £1.7m.
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Britannia's profits take a hit
26 Feb 2009
Britannia has reported pre-tax profits of £23.8m for 2008, compared to £114.6m in 2007.
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Brokers to fight FSA over plan to raise fees
23 Feb 2009
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries is battling the Financial Services Authority over its proposed fee hikes and has formed an action group to tackle the issue.
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Buy-to-let lenders will need government help
23 Feb 2009
The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association has warned that buy-to-let lenders will not be able to cope with demand unless they are able to access government support.
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Cattles suspends lending to new customers
23 Feb 2009
Cattles has suspended lending to new customers within Welcome Finance.
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Christopher Rodgers goes into administration
23 Feb 2009
Architect and surveyor firm Christopher Rodgers Ltd has been placed into administration.
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Claims firms warned on mis-leading advertising
23 Feb 2009
The Ministry of Justice has warned claims firms of enforcement action if they make false claims in their advertising.
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CML welcomes Northern Rock plans
23 Feb 2009
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has welcomed Northern Rock's plans to increase its mortgage lending and hailed it as a positive step for the market.
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Communication is key to the future
23 Feb 2009
Cuba Gooding Jnr in his role as the loud-mouthed sports star in Jerry Maguire declared: "See, that's the difference between us. You think we're fighting, I think we're finally talking".
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Conveyancing Alliance revamps online portal
23 Feb 2009
Conveyancing Alliance has upgraded its online portal to give brokers more flexibility when choosing a solicitor.
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Countrywide's holding company completes debt for equity review
23 Feb 2009
Countrywide’s holding company has finished a review into a debt equity swap which would provide the group with £75m of fresh equity capital.
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Crisis has made us better advisers
23 Feb 2009
I was watching television recently and saw a Kwik-Fit advert with the catchphrase - 'What else can you do?'. This got me thinking about how much more we offer our clients these days and how the credit crunch has made us better advisers.
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Curriculumvitae: Nick Blunt
23 Feb 2009
Describe your current job I head the business-to-business division of Mortgages for Business, which includes our business partner packaging division, our brand new buy-to-let mortgage network, and the licensing of our recently developed buy-to-let sourcing tool Mortgage Flow. The job is varied - every day brings a new challenge - which is why I love what I do.
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Demand for rented accommodation up 56%
24 Feb 2009
Your Move says that demand for rented accommodation boomed 56% over the last year.
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Developers face buy-to-let crisis as values continue to tumble
23 Feb 2009
Commercial lender Business Lending says that with property values continuing to tumble, it has had to turn away an increasing number of developers looking to refinance their buy-to-let portfolios.
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Don't punish the front-line troops for fat cat follies
23 Feb 2009
Many of us in the financial services industry watched with considerable interest the former bank bosses and our illustrious Prime Minister being quizzed by the Treasury Select Committee this month.
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Don't tar all claims firms with the same brush
23 Feb 2009
I was reading with interest the story 'Networks told to steer clear of claims firms' (Mortgage Strategy February 9) and wondered if the lenders being accused of putting pressure on networks not to deal with claims management firms were guilty of tarring all companies with the same brush.
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Don't try to to cut corners on compliance
23 Feb 2009
Each February the Financial Services Authority looks at the issues coming up in the year ahead for markets, consumers and firms, and publishes its Financial Risk Outlook.
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Email Mortgages urges lenders to be more innovative
23 Feb 2009
Online mortgage advice service Email Mortgages is urging lenders to launch more innovative products to aid potential homeowners and home-movers.
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Encore to be integrated into Mortgage Brain
23 Feb 2009
Encore, Mortgage 2000’s sourcing system, is to be integrated into rival system Mortgage Brain.
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Enterprise offers the EDGE for free
27 Feb 2009
Enterprise Group, the provider of the EDGE search and apply online mortgage system, is offering UK brokers, including those affected by the withdrawal of Encore, its whole of market system for free.
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Evaluate calls on comparison sites to improve standards
25 Feb 2009
Evaluate Technologies has called for an urgent rise in the standards of mortgage comparison sites.
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Evaluate to boost broker partner panel
23 Feb 2009
Evaluate Technologies is looking to strengthen its broker fulfilment partner panel as demand for its comparison system rockets.
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Exclusive Connections takes over M2000's mortgage club
26 Feb 2009
Exclusive Connections has taken over Moneysupermarket.com's Mortgage 2000 mortgage club.
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First European Securities reassures brokers over funding
27 Feb 2009
Nik Barron, director at secured loan lender First European Securities, has reassured brokers that funding is on its way.
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Forum sounds call to action to speed up buying process
23 Feb 2009
The E-Homebuying Forum has released an industry blueprint to speed up and simplify the house buying process.
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FSA appoints chief operating officer
23 Feb 2009
The Financial Services Authority last week appointed Mark Norris as chief operating officer.
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FSA appoints Mark Norris as chief operating officer
23 Feb 2009
The Financial Services Authority last week appointed Mark Norris as chief operating officer.
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FSA bans single premium PPI for unsecured loans
24 Feb 2009
The Financial Services Authority has written to all firms still selling single premium Payment Protection Insurance with unsecured personal loans asking them to withdraw the product as soon as possible, and by no later than 29 May.
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FSA warns of more prosecutions as crackdown on fraud continues
23 Feb 2009
The FSA has warned that the industry can expect to see more serious mortgage fraud cases hit the courts in the coming months as it continues to work closely with the police.
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God, Gordon and the final reckoning
24 Feb 2009
Gordon Brown’s recent audition with the Pope teased my febrile brain.
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Goldsmith Williams offers HIP incentive
27 Feb 2009
Goldsmith Williams, the direct conveyancing firm is launching a special scheme which will enable homeowners to cut the cost of a Home Information Packs by up to £100, driving down the price to £99.
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Great chance to win customers for life
23 Feb 2009
Adverse credit is the former product of choice that advisers and lenders are now avoiding like the plague. But what has happened to all the people who still need advice?
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Guardian Debt Management highlights needs for broker advice
24 Feb 2009
Recently released Council of Mortgage Lenders arrears and repossession figures signify the continued need for broker assistance, claims Guardian Debt Management.
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Have Your Say
23 Feb 2009
What I love about the blog and Twitter is the interaction you begin to get with clients, other bloggers and the general public.
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Holistic approach needed for debtors
23 Feb 2009
Mortgage arrears and repossessions are likely to reach record levels in 2009. For those who were advising debtors in the late 1980s and early 1990s there is a sense of déjà vu.
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Home Buyer Systems offers free trial to Encore users
25 Feb 2009
Following the demise of Mortgage 2000’s Encore sourcing system, Home Buyer systems a sourcing, sales and compliance system for mortgage and general insurance brokers – is offering a 30 day free trial of its HBSLite system to all Encore users.
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Homes shortfall to hit one million
23 Feb 2009
The former chief executive of Barratt Developments has warned that the shortfall in housing in England is set to hit one million homes by 2010.
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Honesty is the best policy for insurance
23 Feb 2009
In recent weeks the issue of non-disclosure has reared its head in the consumer press. Cheltenham Borough Council has taken its former managing director, Christine Laird, to court, claiming she failed to disclose information about her health when she applied for the job.
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House buying process moves online
25 Feb 2009
Online estate agents Get-Set-Go have teamed up with Email Mortgages to allow buyers and sellers to find properties and arrange mortgages online.
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House prices fall £31,000 year-on-year
26 Feb 2009
The average house price has fallen by over £31,000 over the last year, figures from Nationwide reveal.
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HSBC launches direct only 2.99% fixed rate
24 Feb 2009
HSBC has launched a two- year fixed rate mortgage at 2.99%, as it reveals its mortgage application requests doubled in February compared with January 2009.
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IMLA calls on government to help specialist market
27 Feb 2009
The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association is calling on the government to extend its funding to cover sub-prime lenders.
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IMLA urges government not to ignore sub-prime
24 Feb 2009
The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association is calling on the government to extend its funding to cover sub-prime lenders.
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In safe hands
23 Feb 2009
Longevity - it's not a word bandied about much these days when established brands like Woolworths and Lehman Brothers have closed their doors.
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It's no time to be without insurance
23 Feb 2009
Financial worries are a source of stress for many and it's only natural in the current economic climate that consumers will have started to tighten their purse strings and be looking at ways of cutting their household costs.
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Just joking
23 Feb 2009
Following on from industry guru Ray Boulger's joke last week, Mole was inundated with a bevy of credit crunch-related jokes. One of the best asked what the difference was between an investment banker and a large pizza. The answer, of course, is that a pizza can still feed a family of four.
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L&G mortgage club offers exclusive with Chelsea
23 Feb 2009
Legal & General Mortgage Club is launching an exclusive five-year fixed rate deal at 4.29% with the Chelsea Building Society.
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L&G to help advisers sell protection
23 Feb 2009
Legal & General is to help mortgage advisers identify where they need to improve on their ability to sell protection.
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Lack of overseas tenants pushes down London rents
23 Feb 2009
London landlords are being hit by a fall in rental income as the numbers of applicants from overseas declines, figures from Hamptons International reveal.
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Leeds reports strong profits
26 Feb 2009
Leeds has reported a pre-tax profit of £20.3m after paying its Financial Services Compensation Scheme levy.
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Lib Dems miss the point
23 Feb 2009
They were almost there and we can see where they are going, but the Liberal Democrats were just a little too wide of the mark.
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Lib Dems propose no-fee, no-frills mortgage deal
23 Feb 2009
The Liberal Democrats have come up with the idea of a standard five-year fixed 'no fees, no frills' mortgage product aimed at providing long-term stability to the market.
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Lloyds Banking Group confirms asset protection talks
26 Feb 2009
Lloyds Banking Group has confirmed it is holding talks with the government to set down terms for its take-up of the Treasury’s Asset Protection Scheme.
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Lloyds sees 80% fall in profits
27 Feb 2009
Lloyds Banking Group says that profits before tax fell 80% from £4bn in 2007 to £807m in 2008 and warns that the switchover from single premium PPI to a monthly product will hit revenues in 2009.
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Lloyds TSB and BoS lose their AAA rating
23 Feb 2009
Moody's Investors Services has downgraded the credit ratings for Lloyds TSB and Bank of Scotland from AAA to AA3 as a result of HBOS' high exposure to risk.
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London Scottish Bank owed creditors £250m
23 Feb 2009
London Scottish Bank owed creditors over £250m when it went into administration.
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Manor Mortgages marks 15 years in the business
23 Feb 2009
Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday… Manor Mortgages is 15 this week.
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Marketwatch 23/02/2009
23 Feb 2009
Swaps increased pretty significantly. Most of the rise came after the inflation figure and the Monetary Policy Committee's announcement about quantitative easing.1-year money is up 0.27% at 1.92%2-year money is up 0.24% at 2.23%3-year money is up 0.21% at 2.53%5-year money is up 0.12% at 3.01%
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Moneysupermarket weighs up options for intermediary arm
25 Feb 2009
Comparison website Moneysupermarket.com says it's considering a number of options for its intermediary business after the division saw a 41% fall in profits in 2008.
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Mortgage activity sees slight increase in January
24 Feb 2009
Mortgage approval activity for January increased slightly to £7.6bn but fell almost 60% from the same time last year, figures from the British Bankers’ Association reveals.
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Mortgage approvals down almost 60% year-on-year
24 Feb 2009
Mortgage approval activity for January increased slightly to £7.6bn but fell almost 60% from the same time last year, figures from the British Bankers’ Association reveals.
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Mortgage lending down to £12.4bn
23 Feb 2009
The Council of Mortgage Lenders last week revealed that gross mortgage lending in January declined to an estimated £12.4bn.
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Mortgage overpayments soar 50% as base rate plummets
25 Feb 2009
The number of home owners making overpayments on their mortgages has gone up by 50% in the last year, figures from The Co-operative Bank Mortgages reveal.
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MPC voted 8-1 to cut interest rates by 0.5%
23 Feb 2009
Minutes from the Monetary Policy Committee meeting show it voted 8-1 to cut interest rates by 0.5% in February.
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MPs call for tough sanctions on repossessing lenders
24 Feb 2009
Lenders that repossess too quickly should face tough sanctions from the government, a government committee has recommended.
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MPs call for tougher sanctions for lenders who repossess
24 Feb 2009
Lenders that repossess too quickly should face tough sanctions from the government, a government committee has recommended.
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No bonuses as RBS bows to pressure
23 Feb 2009
Royal Bank of Scotland has bowed to government pressure and conceded there will be no bonuses or pay increases for staff associated with the losses suffered in 2008.
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Northern Rock could offer 90% LTV
23 Feb 2009
Northern Rock is to boost its mortgage lending, with up to £14bn in new loans by 2011, a move which could see it return to the 90% LTV market.
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Norwich & Peterborough profits down by around 76%
25 Feb 2009
Norwich & Peterborough's pre-tax profits for 2008 were £5.9m, after a £5.5m reduction for its Financial Services Compensation Scheme levy, compared with £24.3m profits for 2007.
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Not-so in the pink
23 Feb 2009
Pink Home Loans is treating its top Diamond Club achievers to a trip to Chepstow Races with luxury accommodation and the opportunity to play golf at the hotel's championship golf course.
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OFT launches market study into buying and selling
25 Feb 2009
The Office of Fair Trading has today formally launched its market study into home buying and selling.
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Orbiter integrates 40 affordability formulas
23 Feb 2009
Orbiter, the free online service for brokers, has integrated over 40 lenders' affordability calculations within its online system.
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Orbiter offers help to Encore users
27 Feb 2009
Orbiter has invited the Encore adviser users currently being transferred to Mortgage Brain to switching to their free sourcing engine.
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Paymentshield to offer debt advice
23 Feb 2009
Members of Paymentshield Mortgage & Protection Club will be able to offer their clients free debt advice through a deal with Newtomorrow Broker Services.
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Pink to hold equity release roundtable
23 Feb 2009
Pink Home Loans is holding an equity release roundtable to get feedback on its equity release referrals service.
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Portal revamp will aid brokers
23 Feb 2009
Conveyancing Alliance has revamped its online portal to help brokers source solicitors.
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Principality reveals pre-tax profit of £14.5m
25 Feb 2009
Principality, the parent of secured loan lender Nemo Personal Finance has reported pre-tax profits of £14.5m for 2008.
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PTFS launches enhanced ASU comparison system for brokers
23 Feb 2009
Personal Touch Financial Services is rolling out an improved accident, sickness and unemployment quote engine for its appointed representatives and directly authorised brokers.
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RBS commits £25bn to new lending
26 Feb 2009
The Royal Bank of Scotland has pledged £25bn to new lending as it injects £325bn of dodgy assets into the Treasury's Asset Protection Scheme.
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Regulation of HBOS was wrong admits FSA
25 Feb 2009
Lord Adair Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, says that in retrospect the supervision of banks like HBOS was wrong.
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Right formula vital for equity release
23 Feb 2009
As equity release plans are taken out by older home owners, the chance of clients suffering from poor health inevitably increases.
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Rightmove reveals underlying profit of £41m
27 Feb 2009
Rightmove has reported its underlying profit for 2008 grew by 33% from £30.7m to £41m.
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Robyn Hall to step down as editor of MS
23 Feb 2009
After nearly eight years at the helm of Mortgage Strategy Robyn Hall is stepping down as editor to pursue other opportunities.
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RPI drops to lowest rate since 1960
23 Feb 2009
Depreciation in house prices and lower mortgage payments led to the Retail Prices Index falling to 0.1% in January, the lowest rate since 1960.
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Rumours of internal turmoil at Cobalt
27 Feb 2009
Rumours abound that serious cracks are beginning to appear at London-based mortgage broker Cobalt Capital.
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S&P warns of weak profitability for Clydesdale Bank
26 Feb 2009
Standard & Poor’s has revised its outlook on Clydesdale Bank from stable to negative against a risk of rapidly deteriorating profitability for the bank.
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Secured loans offer an opportunity not to be sniffed at
23 Feb 2009
As the head of a mortgage club it is important to keep a variety of sectors of the market on our radar to ensure our members are being well serviced.
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Select & Protect strengthens board
24 Feb 2009
General insurance provider Select & Protect has appointed Paul Firkins to the board of Select & Protect, following a stint as its head of sales.
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Sellers still being too optimistic when setting their asking price
23 Feb 2009
Sellers are continuing to demand high asking prices that buyers are not prepared to pay, latest figures from Rightmove reveal.
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Sex and the city
23 Feb 2009
It seems not even Hugh Hefner and his Playboy bunnies are immune to the credit crunch. The iconic Playboy brand is suffering at the hands of the economic crisis after posting huge losses in Q4 2008.
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Shareholders have right to be angry
23 Feb 2009
The shocks keep coming. As the City reels from the enormity of HBOS' losses and the subsequent market reaction that sent Lloyds Banking Group's shares tumbling surely shareholders are entitled to question what happened to due diligence.
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Shares in Lloyds Banking Group fall 15%
27 Feb 2009
Shares in Lloyds Banking Group are taking a hit this morning as talks continue over the value of assets to be placed in the Treasury’s Asset Protection Scheme.
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Sir James is just the whipping boy
23 Feb 2009
I had been puzzled how Sir James Crosby, who collected a gong and then went on to become deputy chairman of the Financial Services Authority and was commissioned by the chancellor to rehabilitate the mortgage market, escaped the flak following the fall of his former financial empire.
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Skipton profits plummet by 86%
25 Feb 2009
Skipton has revealed pre-tax profits of £22.5m for 2008, a staggering fall from its £163.9m profit in 2007.
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Societies' profits hit by FSCS levy
27 Feb 2009
Building society’s profits have taken a hit because of the heavy Financial Services Compensation Scheme levys they are being made to pay.
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Solicitors launch HIP refund plan
23 Feb 2009
A firm of solicitors is offering to refund clients the cost of their Home Information Pack when their sales complete.
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Stop playing with interest rates and try to free up cash
23 Feb 2009
When is the Bank of England going to listen to what businesses are telling it? What is hammering them is not the cost of getting hold of funds, but the availability of funds.
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Target loan servicing wins servicing contract
24 Feb 2009
Target Loan Servicing has won a significant contract to service loans for Park Motor Finance, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Credit Suisse.
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Tesco could squeeze small banks
23 Feb 2009
Tesco could dominate the financial services sector and potentially push out smaller banks and societies, says Datamonitor.
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The eco-house concept is finally coming of age
23 Feb 2009
Variety is the spice girl of life I believe and last week there were a number of interesting property related stories knocking around.
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The Mortgage Works withdraws product range
23 Feb 2009
The Mortgage Works is withdrawing its product range today and announcing a new range of products within the next few days.
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Time for a rethink on business model
23 Feb 2009
Figures published recently by the Council of Mortgage Lenders which detail the number and value of mortgage advances in 2008 paint a stark picture of just what has happened to activity in the mortgage and housing markets.
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Time to review your customers' redundancy cover
23 Feb 2009
If you have not yet contacted your client database regarding redundancy cover, now is the time to do it.
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Too few people understood the activities of HBOS
23 Feb 2009
A comment from KPMG might be enlightening on whether it sticks by its 2006 conclusions about the process for the assessment of candidates for the role of head of group regulatory risk at Halifax.
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Toxic sweets
23 Feb 2009
There was an article last week in the Daily Mail in which children were asked to give their take on the credit crunch and what they thought the various terms meant.
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Trigold integrates with Mortgage Brain's Key system
26 Feb 2009
Trigold has integrated with Mortgage Brain’s point of sale system The Key for Sesame members.
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Trigold offers Encore users free trial
24 Feb 2009
Trigold is offering brokers affected by the withdrawal of Encore, Mortgage 2000’s sourcing system, a free two-month trial of its software.
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Updated HIP code set for April launch
23 Feb 2009
The Association of Home Information Pack Providers is to launch an updated version of the HIP code on April 6.
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uSwitch teams up with EDGE
23 Feb 2009
Enterprise Group, provider of EDGE mortgage system, has announced that another branded version of its consumer proposition has gone live, this time with comparison service www.uSwitch.com.
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Valuers report on state of market, but don't influence it
23 Feb 2009
I sympathise with Jonathan Burridge's concern that he was quoted out of context in the February 9 issue of Mortgage Strategy (Mortgage Strategy Letters February 16).
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Vision Network adopts holistic planning
24 Feb 2009
Vision Network has extended its financial services offering to include investments and pensions via the Crystal’s new Momentum Financial Planning software.
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Vision quashes single-tie protection rumour
23 Feb 2009
Mortgage Times’s Vision Network has quashed rumours that it is looking to sign a single-tie agreement with Legal & General for protection products.
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We must deal with toxic assets issue
23 Feb 2009
It seems governments across the world feel they will be judged by how well they stay ahead of the curve in trying to avoid financial meltdown.
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Xit2 launches early pay for surveyors
24 Feb 2009
Property and mortgage outsourcing specialist Xit2 is launching a special liquidity scheme designed to pay surveyors faster once they have carried out instructions.
