Mortgage Strategy
26 January 2009
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£60,000 A year is an odd definition for vulnerable families
26 Jan 2009
Regarding the extension of the mortgage rescue scheme (Mortgage Strategy Online January 16), the comments from the government always make me chuckle.
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A&L reduces rate on PMS exclusive
29 Jan 2009
Alliance & Leicester has lowered the rate on its exclusive remortgage deal with pms to 3.34%.
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Abbey committed to competitive rates for all clients
26 Jan 2009
It was disappointing to read the comments by an unnamed broker regarding Abbey's remortgage offering (Mortgage Strategy January 12). We are committed to offering competitive rates to new and existing customers and our remortgage range is designed to address the needs of existing customers.
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AMI disappointed by PPI findings
29 Jan 2009
AMI is disappointed the Competition Commission's final report into the sale of payment protection Insurance has not made a separation between brokers selling the cover and it being sold direct.
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AMI welcomes IMLA's pledge
27 Jan 2009
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has welcomed the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association's claim today that lenders still see brokers as the primary route to market.
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AToM relaunches its appointed representative offering
26 Jan 2009
Mortgage packager and distributor, All Types of Mortgages is relaunching its broker proposition known as the AToM Introducer Appointed Representative offering.
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Average first-time buyer putting down £20,000 deposit
27 Jan 2009
Almost two fifths of prospective first-time buyers are increasing the rate at which they save towards a deposit in 2009, with the average saving £20,000, shows research from Abbey Savings.
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B&B appoints brokers for ERC waiver clients
30 Jan 2009
Bradford & Bingley has named the two specialist brokers that will deal with borrowers taking up the lender’s waiver on early repayment charges.
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Banks to stop selling single premium PPI
26 Jan 2009
The Financial Services Authority has revealed that Alliance & Leicester, Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, Royal Bank of Scotland and the Co-operative Bank will no longer sell single premium payment protection insurance.
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Barclays' shares jump 57% after move to calm investors
26 Jan 2009
Barclays’ shares are surging in response to an open letter to shareholders aimed at reassuring investors of the bank’s financial position.
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Beware storing up insurance time bomb for the future
26 Jan 2009
In these difficult times, mortgage brokers are turning to other things to try to keep their businesses afloat.
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BM Solutions pulls out of sub-prime and self-cert
30 Jan 2009
BM Solutions has today informed staff that it is pulling out of the sub-prime and self-cert markets.
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Boost for Openwork as GHL joins network
26 Jan 2009
Openwork’s share of the mortgage market has been boosted with the addition of GHL Group as an appointed representative.
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Bright Grey slammed over 80% clawback
26 Jan 2009
Bright Grey has been slammed over the lack of clarity of its clawback commission.
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Britannia and Co-op to create super-mutual
26 Jan 2009
Britannia and Co-operative Financial Services are to merge to create a super-mutual.
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Broker angst over BM changes
30 Jan 2009
Brokers are deeply anxious over the knock-on effect of the changes announced today to the Birmingham Midshires and Bank of Scotland specialist mortgage range.
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Broker share of market to drop
26 Jan 2009
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has warned that net mortgage lending will decline further in 2009 and brokers' market share could be squeezed to less than 50%.
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Brokers boost equity release market share
26 Jan 2009
Brokers accounted for almost two thirds of equity release sales last year, the latest figures from Safe Home Income Plans reveal.
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Brokers may be left out in cold as NR does U-turn on mortgage book
26 Jan 2009
Northern Rock's plans to halt the reduction of its mortgage book are expected to leave its panel of secret brokers out in the cold.
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Brokers need to boost qualifications
26 Jan 2009
Oh no, not another broker fined for mortgage fraud? Yes, I am afraid so and another six-figure fine handed out too.
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Brokers selling gas and electricity to boost income
28 Jan 2009
Mortgage brokers are turning away from their standard business model and looking at cross-selling in areas such as electricity and gas, shows a report from Datamonitor.
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BSA reveals gross mortgage lending at £2.4bn
30 Jan 2009
Gross mortgage lending by building societies fell by £1.27bn during the course of 2008, the latest statistics from the Building Societies Association reveal.
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Bye Bye Dubya
26 Jan 2009
Mole was teary-eyed last week following the extraordinary events across the pond.
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Call for reform as repossessions rocket by 92%
26 Jan 2009
Repossessions shot up by 92% in 2008, figures from the Financial Services Authority reveal.
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Cattles calls on government to guarantee loans
27 Jan 2009
Cattles has asked the government to consider it for its loan guarantee scheme.
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Cattles withdraws banking licence application
26 Jan 2009
Troubled lender Cattles, the parent of Welcome Finance has withdrawn its application to the Financial Services Authority to take retail deposits.
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Checkmate picks DPR to support operations
26 Jan 2009
Checkmate Mortgages has selected DPR, a mortgage processing solutions provider, to support its new lending operations.
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Clarity on taxpayer bill urged
26 Jan 2009
The government was last week urged to come clean on how much taxpayers have coughed up to bail out some of the UK's biggest banks.
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Common sense creeps into FSA-land
26 Jan 2009
Just before Christmas the Financial Services Authority launched a discussion paper on how much responsibility consumers should take when making financial decisions.
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Competition Commission bans PPI at point of sale
29 Jan 2009
The Competition Commission is banning the sale of single premium payment protection insurance and PPI at the point of sale.
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Competition Commission bans PPI at point of sale
29 Jan 2009
The Competition Commission is banning the sale of single premium payment protection insurance and PPI at the point of sale.
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Credit where it's due for helping our customer
26 Jan 2009
Amid the doom and gloom in our business I always try to give credit where it's due.
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Curriculumvitae: David Bitner
26 Jan 2009
Describe your current job To identify and develop new equity release and annuity partnership opportunities for the Just Retirement Group.
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Developers would need to change strategy for rentals
26 Jan 2009
I am writing regarding the article headlined 'Renting may be the new buying' on the Mortgage Strategy website.
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Development director role for Reynolds at PMS
26 Jan 2009
Premier Mortgage Service has appointed Martin Reynolds to the position of development director after a brief stint as corporate manager.
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Doh!
26 Jan 2009
Sticking with our friends in the US, Mole and the Strategy crowd have been tickled pink by some of the classic Bush quotes doing the rounds on the internet.
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DWP to be grilled over SMI reforms
30 Jan 2009
A House of Lords Committee is set to question the Department for Work and Pensions over changes to the way Support for Mortgage Interest is paid.
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Edge goes DIY with Stelios
29 Jan 2009
Enterprise Group's mortgage sourcing software Edge will be used in easyJet founder Stelios' new do-it-yourself consumer venture easyMoney.com.
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Email Mortgages woos estate agents
26 Jan 2009
Online advice service Email Mortgages has launched a proposition exclusively for estate agents looking to provide clients with mortgage advice.
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Equity release legal group officially launches
26 Jan 2009
The Equity Release Solicitors’ Alliance has today officially launched as a means of ensuring that all equity release customers have access to independent, specialist legal advice.
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Equity Release Solicitors' Alliance launches
27 Jan 2009
The Equity Release Solicitors’ Alliance has officially launched as a means of ensuring that all equity release customers have access to independent, specialist legal advice
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Evaluate sees firms embrace online technology
28 Jan 2009
Financial services firms are increasingly looking to capture the growing number of consumers searching for products online, claims Evaluate Technologies.
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Exact hits £2.5bn in due diligence
26 Jan 2009
Exact has revealed that it has now carried out due diligence on £2.5bn worth of assets.
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Firms told to prepare for FSA stress testing
27 Jan 2009
Financial services firms are not adequately prepared for proposed changes to stress testing requirements, warns BDO Stoy Hayward’s Financial Services Group.
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First-time buyer applications on the up, claims mform
27 Jan 2009
First-time buyer applications have shot up at least 30% in the space of three months, data from mform.co.uk reveals.
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Fluent Money growing 100% month-on-month
29 Jan 2009
Internet secured loan broker, Fluent Money is growing 100% month-on-month and has made eight new appointments since its launch in October 2008.
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FSA bans Liverpool mortgage adviser
26 Jan 2009
The Financial Services Authority has banned John David Cook from giving financial advice and stopped his Liverpool-based firm, Stone Financial Management Limited, from conducting any further business.
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FSA chairman calls for banking reform
26 Jan 2009
Lord Adair Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, has called for far-reaching reforms of the banking system to stave off another financial crisis.
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FSA fines broker for self-cert mis-selling
30 Jan 2009
The Financial Services Authority has fined Nottingham mortgage broking firm Gillen Farrelly Independent Advisers £17,500 for self-cert mis-selling.
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FSA may take action on non-paying networks
26 Jan 2009
Appointed representatives stranded by non-payment of commission by networks could be given a lifeline by the Financial Services Authority.
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Get in touch with non-smoking clients
26 Jan 2009
Industry research shows that 11% of consumers choose to give up smoking as their new year resolution.
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Get your online strategy right
26 Jan 2009
As we drift into 2009 there is still a constant flow of bad news for most of us in the financial services sector, with no light at the end of the tunnel.
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Growing need for remortgage advice
26 Jan 2009
Every day we hear reports of lenders going out of business and products being pulled, so many advisers are seeking clients with whom they can write immediate business.
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Guarantee does not go far enough
26 Jan 2009
I was good to see the government take action to restore confidence in mortgage-backed securities last week.
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Heartless
26 Jan 2009
Is no-one safe from the wrath of the regulator? It would seem not. Children's television favourites Rupert Bear, Postman Pat and Basil Brush have all been on the receiving end of the Financial Services Authority's rage.
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Home Buyer Systems reveals top six direct only deals
29 Jan 2009
Home Buyer Systems has used feedback from users of its HBSLite sourcing system to compile a list of the the top six direct-to-lender mortgage products that brokers are using for both purchase and remortgage.
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House prices fall 16.6% from last year
29 Jan 2009
House prices in January fell by 16.6% year-on-year against a backdrop of low mortgage approvals and uncertainty over future incomes, reveals the latest data from Nationwide.
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IFAs to foot compensation bill for mis-sold shares
28 Jan 2009
The Association of Independent Financial Advisers is worried that brokers face a huge bill to compensate customers who have been mis-sold high risk shares.
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IMLA slams AMI market prognosis as bleak
27 Jan 2009
The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association says the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries forecast for 2009 is bleak and says that it predicts demand for brokers will remain high.
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Insolvency isn't the end of the line for directors
26 Jan 2009
In this article I will look at what happens if your business fails. The most common questions I am asked are:
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Insurance firms struggle to stem the rising tide of fraud
26 Jan 2009
Uberrima fides - no, it's not a typo but as many readers will recognise, it is the Latin phrase that forms the foundation of insurance underwriting - utmost good faith.
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It feels like we're led by Dad's Army
26 Jan 2009
As the economic mire worsens around us and taxpayers' bailout money seems increasingly destined to be seed corn sewn on stony ground, it must be of great comfort to see that housing minister Margaret Beckett is retaining such a firm grip on the situation.
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Job losses show why credit is vital
26 Jan 2009
The measures announced by the government to provide further support to the banking sector seem robust and represent a statement of intent in terms of funding being committed to the sector.
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Kebab King
26 Jan 2009
It was a sad week at Strategy Towers as the news broke that one of our all-time heroes had passed on. Mehmet Aygun, the genius who devised the concept of the takeaway of all takeaways, the donor kebab, came up with the idea in 1971 after seeing customers at his Berlin restaurant trying to eat in a hurry.
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Latest bailout may turn the tide
26 Jan 2009
The government's latest bailout plan may be the turning point we have been waiting for.
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Life saver
26 Jan 2009
So here it is. The last roll of the dice. After months of unhelpful speeches and useless initiatives the government has made a last-ditch attempt to jump-start the market. Now it's double or nothing, but is it too late? And if not, is it enough?
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Marketwatch 26/01/09
26 Jan 2009
Swaps continued to plummet last week but as we have seen recently, the correlation between swaps and fixed rates ended a long time ago.
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Matthew Wyles appointed CML chairman
30 Jan 2009
Matthew Wyles, group distribution director of Nationwide has been appointed chairman of the Council of Mortgage Lenders for 2009.
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MEX defends its ERC waiver
26 Jan 2009
Mortgage Express has slammed criticism that its waiver of early repayment charges was of no use to borrowers.
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MoneyQuest places staff into consultation
28 Jan 2009
MoneyQuest Mortgage Brokers has placed over 20 of its staff into consultation as part of a wider review of the business.
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Mortgage Intelligence opens training courses to all
26 Jan 2009
Mortgage Intelligence has extended its training course opportunities to the wider broker market.
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Mortgage Next signs up exclusively to Trigold
26 Jan 2009
Mortgage Next has signed an exclusive two-year deal with Trigold, making it the only sourcing system for the network's members.
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Mortgage Promotions partners with Mortgages.co.uk
28 Jan 2009
Mortgage Promotions has signed an exclusive deal to distribute to its members the Premier Profile broker listing that Mortgages.co.uk offers on its website.
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MPs urge government to restore credit flow
28 Jan 2009
The Treasury Select Committee is calling on the government to address “the single most critical problem in the economy” and restore the flow of lending.
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NAEA calls for regulation of estate agents
26 Jan 2009
The National Association of Estate Agents is calling for mandatory regulation of estate agents after publication of the government's research paper - Review of Regulation and Redress in the UK Housing Market.
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Nemo’s commission cut divides brokers
26 Jan 2009
Nemo’s decision to take £495 from brokers commission has sparked anger amongst some brokers.
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Network Data confirms acquisition approach
28 Jan 2009
Network Data's share price has rocketed by 45% this morning as it officially confirmed that it had received a preliminary approach to buy the firm.
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Network Data denies £5m offer claim
26 Jan 2009
Network Data has disputed the report last week that it has received an acquisition offer of £5m, claiming that the business is worth more.
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Network has not paid me proc fees since September
26 Jan 2009
I have just read the latest copy of Mortgage Strategy and feel compelled to write to you.
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Network nightmare
26 Jan 2009
Many thanks for publishing your articles about late paying networks in the latest issue of Mortgage Strategy. I am a broker with a network that falls into the category you have highlighted.
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One-day course to help brokers move into debt management
26 Jan 2009
Mortgage brokers suffering from a lack of remortgage business are being offered the chance to turn their hand to debt management instead.
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Overseas buyers reap benefits from weak pound
27 Jan 2009
Foreign investors are piling into the UK housing market as the value of the pound continues to deteriorate, figures from Hamptons International show.
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Pantomime season is not quite over
26 Jan 2009
The pantomime season isn't quite over, or if it is the news hasn't quite reached Gordon Brown and Alistair 'Eyebrows' Darling as they played out a clich?idden performance at their Downing Street press conference last week.
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Paradigm launches Sharia'a compliant products
27 Jan 2009
Paradigm Mortgage Services is to be the Islamic Bank of Britain’s exclusive directly authorised distributor for its Sharia’a-compliant products.
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Paradigm offers Sharia'a-compliant products
26 Jan 2009
Paradigm Mortgage Services is to be the Islamic Bank of Britain’s exclusive directly authorised distributor for its Sharia’a-compliant products.
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Paradigm to host Partner meetings
29 Jan 2009
Paradigm Mortgage Services has announced a series of Partner meetings for members to give feedback and get up to speed with industry developments.
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Paragon launches tax guide for landlords
27 Jan 2009
Paragon Mortgages has produced a buy-to-let tax guide for landlords to ensure that they hit the January 31 deadline for filing their tax return.
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Paragon posts pre-tax profit of £7m
29 Jan 2009
Paragon Group has posted a pre-tax operating profit of £7m for the three-month period to December 31.
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Paragon secures ''strategically important'' TBMC
29 Jan 2009
Paragon Mortgages has now bought the remaining stake in "strategically important" buy-to-let and commercial specialist broker The Business Mortgage Company.
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Paragon to curb secured lending
29 Jan 2009
Paragon will limit its secured loan lending to existing customers only from April 2009.
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Passport panic
26 Jan 2009
Mortgage Strategy HQ was in a state of panic last week when editor extraordinaire Robyn Hall lost his passport just hours before he was due to fly out to Cape Verde, off the west coast of Africa.
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Paymentshield hikes MPPI premiums by 20%
26 Jan 2009
Paymentshield last week revealed it was upping the cost of its mortgage payment protection insurance by 20% and that it would only be available within 30 days of taking out a mortgage or remortgage.
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Proof that banks haven't become more responsible
26 Jan 2009
Just in case you thought banks had become more responsible in their lending here is proof they haven't.
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Protection is good value at the moment
26 Jan 2009
Recent research shows the cost of life cover has more than halved in the past decade.
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Ratings issue crucial to bailout
26 Jan 2009
The inherent problems with ratings agencies need to be addressed for the latest government bailout to stand any chance of success.
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RBS Intermediary Partners joins HomeBuy Direct scheme
27 Jan 2009
RBS Intermediary Partners has joined the government's HomeBuy Direct scheme through its Royal Bank of Scotland purchase brand.
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Remortgage enquiries still high
26 Jan 2009
Remortgage and first-time buyer enquiries continued to remain high and accounted for more than two-thirds of enquiries to IFA website Unbiased.co.uk in December.
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Rental demand continues to soar
27 Jan 2009
Rental demand in December soared 63% year-on-year as the lettings market continued to reap the benefit of falling mortgage approvals, data from Your Move shows.
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Rental demand for December jumps 63% year-on-year
26 Jan 2009
Rental demand in December soared 63% year-on-year as the lettings market continued to reap the benefit of falling mortgage approvals, data from Your Move shows.
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Sesame offers Marsden fixed rate exclusive
26 Jan 2009
Sesame has joined forces with Marsden to offer the society an exclusive fixed rate residential mortgage product, available for house purchase and remortgages.
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Sesame offers online loan tranche system
26 Jan 2009
Sesame is launching an online mortgage tranche management system to help lenders control funding.
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Sharia-compliant deal from Paradigm
26 Jan 2009
Paradigm Mortgage Services has been chosen as the sole distributor of Sharia-compliant products for the Islamic Bank of Britain.
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SHIP welcomes official launch of ERSA
27 Jan 2009
The Safe Home Income Plans group has welcomed the official launch of the Equity Release Solicitors' Alliance as a step in the right direction for the industry as a whole.
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Simon Conn leaves Conti Financial
26 Jan 2009
Simon Conn, sales and marketing director at Conti Financial Services, has decided to leave the overseas mortgage company after 15 years with the firm.
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Slum clearances that changed the face of London
26 Jan 2009
Last week I wrote about Right to Buy and how as a piece of legislation The Housing Act 1980 changed the face of property in the UK.
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Society decides to put more brokers In The Loop
26 Jan 2009
Stroud & Swindon's broker-facing brand In The Loop last week launched to the wider broker market at a time when other lenders are cutting distribution.
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Stop digging us into a base rate hole, Gordon
26 Jan 2009
A new year brings fresh challenges and everyone is likely to be facing 2009 with some trepidation.
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Stricter fines for late company accounts
26 Jan 2009
Company directors are set to face even harsher penalties for failing to file their accounts on time.
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Struggling consumers turn to financial management
26 Jan 2009
Consumers are increasingly turning to financial management firms to handle negotiations with creditors, feedback from the Guardian Financial Group reveals.
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Thrift is in vogue so start cashing in
26 Jan 2009
I am not planning to follow business minister Baroness Vadera and make inappropriate comments about being able to see green shoots of economic recovery but not all news is necessarily bad at the moment, even in the financial services sector.
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Time for brokers to start getting choosy
26 Jan 2009
In my last article I focussed on why brokers should be getting closer to their customers. In this one I want to relate that piece of advice to what's happening at the moment in the network market.
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Time to start lending again
26 Jan 2009
Confirmation that Britain is now officially in a recession was the icing on the cake of a pretty miserable week.
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TMA links up with Goldsmith Williams
26 Jan 2009
The Mortgage Alliance has partnered with Goldsmith Williams as part of TMA’s conveyancing initiative.
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Top sales manager buys 95% of Fuel Investments
26 Jan 2009
Scott Winskell, senior sales manager at buy-to-let brokerage Fuel Investments, has bought a 95% stake in the firm and will become managing director.
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UK recession on track to be deepest of G8 economies
29 Jan 2009
The International Monetary Fund has predicted that the UK's recession is on track to be the worst of the G8 economies, with growth plunging to - 2.8% in 2009.
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Unbiased relaunches to include broker searches
29 Jan 2009
Unbiased.co.uk has brought together its ‘Find an IFA’ and ‘Find a mortgage adviser’ online searches under one portal.
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With ever lower interest rates we’re all losers
27 Jan 2009
For the last few months I felt like I was marching to my own time rather than keeping in step with the rest of the regiment, at least on the issue of interest rates.
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Woolwich launches fixed rate at 2.29%
28 Jan 2009
Woolwich is launching its lowest ever fixed rate deal at 2.29%, 1.5% lower than its previous rate for the same product.
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Woolwich to boost market share through 10 select distributors
26 Jan 2009
Woolwich says it plans to increase its share of the intermediary mortgage market in 2009 through a select number of distributors.
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Wyles becomes group director at Nationwide
26 Jan 2009
Matthew Wyles, non-retail director of Nationwide, is to become group distribution director of the mutual.
