Mortgage Strategy
3 May 2004

  • 84% of firms want government help to battle late payers

    5 May 2004

    Research from Equifax reveals that 84% of businesses want government support in the battle to reduce commercial late payment. In the lead up to the 2004 Credit Show, the industry's biggest event, Equifax reveals that a staggering 53% of businesses have experienced a noticeable increase in the number of latepayers in the last year. The figures come from a new survey conducted by Equifax, which show that late payment is a burning issue for businesses in the UK. Equifax ...

  • A novel look at rules and readability

    3 May 2004

    In Victorian times, aged spinsters seemed to think nothing more thrilling than writing a three-volume novel. Characters in Trollope, Dickens and Austen would regularly run up what Blackadder's Baldrick called a 'magnum octopus' - with as much chance of getting one published as he had. More recently, it's the FSA that has put pen to paper and the Guide to the FSA Handbook for Small Mortgage and Insurance Intermediaries is the result. Now available free on the ...

  • A view from the floor

    3 May 2004

    Dunfermline's 2004 annual general meeting was held on a beautifully sunny evening, reflecting the disposition of members as they mingled with directors and staff prior to the meeting proper. Reporting stronger than anticipated growth of 54% in lending, chief executive Graeme Dalziel outlined to a full house of members a number of milestones for the society. The two most important were the customer service results from an independent survey and the Moody's upgrade Independent ...

  • ABI consulting on guide to critical illness definitions

    7 May 2004

    The ABI is consulting on a user-friendly reference guide to critical illness insurance definitions to help IFAs, customers and claims assessors understand the meanings of the medical definitions. The guide should result in: ? Fairer and more consistent treatment of customers by insurers at the point of claim ? Improved information through advisers at the point of purchase and the point of claim about what is and is not covered by policies ? Fewer disputed ...

  • Accounting change could add up to rate rise

    3 May 2004

    Fixed rate mortgage prices could climb this summer as a result of changes to rules on accountancy standards, KPMG economist Simon Walker is warning. The result of financial institutions having to switch to the International Accountancy Standards which come into effect from January 1 2005 could be to make the funding of fixed rates more expensive. Walker, a partner at accountancy firm KPMG, explained the changes to a conference of mortgage lenders last week. When ...

  • Advert slated for misleading brokers

    3 May 2004

    An advertisement for mortgage support provider SimplyBiz that boasts of a 100% success rate on all applications sent to the FSA has been criticised for potentially misleading brokers. The advert, printed throughout the financial press, boldly states that SimplyBiz has "100% success rate on all applications already sent to the FSA". The compliance and mortgage support provider, which offers to help brokers complete their FSA applications, says the 100% claim refers to ...

  • All for one...

    3 May 2004

    How do you square the cut-throat business approach needed to compete in an over-supplied mortgage market with the 'share and share alike' values of mutuality? Carving out strategies that both abide by the core values of member organisations and guarantee future profitability is not the only challenge facing the mutual sector. The pledge of Europe's largest mutual, Standard Life, to review its status after defending it so jealously for many years, also threatens ...

  • All your network questions answered by the industry's leading experts

    3 May 2004

    Will I still get compliance visits if I join a network? Vic Jannels is managing director of All Types of Mortgages As an AR you can expect to receive compliance visits from your chosen network's own compliance function or directly from the FSA as they will have to visit those ARs acting under the aegis of a principal. The frequency of visits will depend on the network's audit programme and in all cases the resources available. Richard Griffiths ...

  • Alliance forms largest Scots packager

    3 May 2004

    Four packagers in central Scotland have joined forces to form the Mortgage Packagers Alliance, which will now be the largest packager of non-conforming mortgage business north of the border. It aims to complete between £150m and £200m of mortgages in its first year. The four companies are Express Mortgage Packagers based in Motherwell, Alternative Mortgages in Hamilton, If Serve in Livingston and The Loan and Mortgage Processing Centre in Hillington, formerly ...

  • Amity appoints Heigho as business development director

    7 May 2004

    Amity Direct has appointed Peter Heigho as business development director to lead its new London office and spearhead sales development. Heigho is a former sales director with intermediary software provider Trigold. As one of the founders of Trigold's mortgage sourcing software, Heigho was actively involved in the development of both the product and the business. Julie Hamilton, marketing manager of Amity, says the appointment will improve its market coverage ...

  • B&B is voted the UK's best broker

    3 May 2004

    The Bradford & Bingley Group scooped the gong for Best Overall Mortgage Broker at the Mortgage Strategy Awards 2004. The group, which includes Charcol and The MarketPlace, received the highest number of votes from lenders who saw it as offering the best service to them and to consumers. Other contenders in the prestigious category included Robert Clifford's mortgageforce, Kevin Paterson's Park Row Independent Mortgages and Peter Brodnicki's Mortgage Advice ...

  • BANK OF ENGLAND RAISES INTEREST RATES BY 0.25%

    6 May 2004

    The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee today voted to raise the Bank's reporate by 0.25% - citing an increase in earnings growth and a rise in commodity prices as just two of the reasons why. The Bank says that the global economic upswing has been maintained and that in the United Kingdom, output growth has been at or above trend and business surveys are consistent with further strengthening. Retail spending also continues to be robust, underpinned ...

  • Bank to announce rate decision later today

    6 May 2004

    The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee announces its interest rate decision at 12 noon today. City speculation has been rife that the Bank will raise rates by .25% in a bid to stem rising house prices. Yesterday Halifax reported house prices rose by 1.8% in April, taking the average UK house price to £154,304 and said today's decision promises to be finely balanced. Rates are still historically low though and the cumulative effect of the ...

  • BMS celebrates online success

    3 May 2004

    BM Solutions is celebrating the fact that 85% of its total business is now conducted online. It says that at a time when many lenders in the market are becoming increasingly picky about the type of business they deal with - especially online - for service or regulatory reasons, BMS is committed to doing business with all brokers. BMS spokesman Matt Grayson says: "Life is going to be tough enough for smaller brokers after N4 without major players making their lives even ...

  • Brentchase forms local broker group in Essex

    3 May 2004

    Brentchase Financial Services has formed the Essex Mortgage Brokers' Association to provide assistance and locum support to local broker firms. So far eight companies have joined including The John James partnership and Brentbaker. As the group grows EMBA will offer locum support to sole traders to cover illness and holidays. The group will take appointed representative status with Personal Touch Insurance as its principal. Mike Fitzgerald, sales director ...

  • Brokers snub DA deadline

    3 May 2004

    Less than half of the expected numbers of mortgage firms have registered to be directly authorised by the latest deadline of April 30, says broker Cartel. The Manchester-based brokerage commissioned research among IFAs and brokers in April and found that less than 50% of the number expected by the FSA had decided to be directly authorised or be exempt after M-Day. The FSA initially expected to attract 29,000 applications for authorisation in total by April 30. This was ...

  • Brown backs rate rise this week if needed

    3 May 2004

    Swap rates continued their upward movement last week making it more expensive for lenders to buy tranches of money. • One-year money is up 0.09% to 4.84% • Two-year money is up 0.09% to 5.03% • Three-year money is up 0.08% to 5.14% • Five-year money is up 0.07% to 5.24% It was a quiet week on the rate front compared with the frenetic activity of the past couple of weeks, though The Mortgage Works and Portman have repriced. Portman has pulled ...

  • BSA CONFERENCE LATEST: Another mortgage misselling scandal

    6 May 2004

    Concerns were raised by delegates at yesterday's Building Societies Association conference in Manchester that there could be a future mortgage endowment misselling scandal as a result of people who have not complained this time around ending up with shortfalls. Yorkshire Building Society operations director Rob Jackson raised the issue to the Ombudsman of whether people who may be due compensation but do nothing about it will complain when their endowment does not eventually ...

  • BSA CONFERENCE LATEST: Brokers unlikely to be burden on Ombudsman

    6 May 2004

    It is unlikely that mortgage intermediaries will be a major source of complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service once they fall under its remit from October, says principal Ombudsman David Thomas. Speaking yesterday at the Building Societies Association conference in Manchester,Thomas says he does not expect mortgage intermediaries to have a "significant economic impact" on the Ombudsman. Although he admits it is difficult to estimate what the actual affect will be since any ...

  • BSA CONFERENCE LATEST: It's time to raise the roof over Stamp Duty

    7 May 2004

    Andrew Messenger, chief executive of the West Bromwich, has issued a battle cry to the nation to join him in his crusade to persuade Chancellor Gordon Brown to "raise the roof" on Stamp Duty in his next budget. Messenger was bitterly disappointed for first-time buyers and people on low incomes after the level at which Stamp Duty is paid was, once again, frozen by the chancellor in this year's budget. He says: "At present, the first band of Stamp Duty is charged at ...

  • BSA CONFERENCE LATEST: Nationwide points to record levels of UK household debt

    7 May 2004

    Nationwide chief economist Alex Bannister highlighted the potential problems of households loading up on debt, speaking at this week's Building Societies Association conference in Manchester. Bannister pointed out that UK households are experience the highest ever debt levels and that mortgage liabilities dominate. He says that because interest rates remain close to a 50-year low, despite recent hikes, initial low mortgage payments are creating a "money illusion." He ...

  • BSA CONFERENCE LATEST: Ombudsman admits overlap and confusion

    6 May 2004

    The Financial Ombudsman Service admits the way it was created is often seen by some in the industry as a "fuzzy compromise". Speaking at the Building Societies Association conference in Manchester yesterday, principal Ombudsman David Thomas says there was discussion before it was set up as to whether it should be a department of the FSA or have nothing to do with the regulatory body. He says: "Being the UK we ended up with a fuzzy compromise somewhere in between...overlap ...

  • BSA CONFERENCE LATEST: Slowdown in house price growth inevitable

    7 May 2004

    Building Societies Association outgoing chairman John Goodfellow has warned a slowdown in house price growth is inevitable. In his chairman's address to yesterday's BSA conference in Manchester he says: "There is no doubt Dr Doom is right. There will not be a collapse but house price growth cannot go on at the pace it is now." Commenting on the state of the housing market Goodfellow noted that the rate of price increases will slow, but given low unemployment, ...

  • BSA CONFERENCE LATEST: Tiner warns of dangers of lending to "distressed" borrowers

    7 May 2004

    FSA chief executive John Tiner has reminded lenders that one of the key elements of its forthcoming mortgage regulation regime will be responsible lending. Speaking at yesterday's Building Societies Association conference in Manchester he told delegates that he wanted to "unpick the very important aspect" of responsible lending and "relate it to its mirror image - that of responsible borrowing." He warned societies of the dangers of being attracted to ...

  • Building societies have their say

    3 May 2004

    David Webster, chief executive, Hanley Economic The challenges faced by Standard Life centred on its with-profits fund and its investment strategy. No such tensions exist for a local building society and the mutuality model remains relevant to us because it enables us to offer consistently strong products to our members without building in the added costs of shareholder dividends. Our challenge is to continue to demonstrate to our members that mutuality provides tangible benefits for them. ...

  • CA tells financial advisers to stop blaming the media

    4 May 2004

    Financial advisers should stop blaming the media for their poor public image and address the reasons why people do not trust them, the Consumers' Association's Mick McAteer told an industry confidence. He told the LIA conference in London last week that whinging and blaming the media is going to get financial advisers nowhere and urged them to 'grow up pretty quickly'. The CA's principal policy adviser on financial services was speaking during a question ...

  • Call for transparency in personal loan rates

    6 May 2004

    A survey by Nationwide has found that consumers would like to see more transparency in the personal loans industry. In 2003, over £37bn worth of personal loans were issued to customers and yet the survey shows that half of people who currently have a personal loan couldn't explain what a typical rate is. Typical rates mean that the loan provider must offer the advertised rate to only a proportion of their customers, however many borrowers may be offered a ...

  • Carpetbagging is now a thing of the past

    3 May 2004

    Paul Winter, sales and marketing director of Ipswich I believe mutuals often offer better products and service than their larger competitors. The public now is much better informed about the benefits of mutuality than it was two or three years ago. The times when a windfall payment was enough to secure the undisputed demutualisation of a society are long gone. The proposed demutualisation of Standard Life, for example, is far from being a done deal. Its members are aware that ...

  • Chelsea appoints next chief executive

    5 May 2004

    Chelsea has appointed Richard Hornbrook as chief executive in anticipation of the retirement of Michael Bage. Currently director and general manager of administration and communications, Hornbrook will take over as chief executive at the beginning of 2005. Aged 51, he joined the society in 1981 and spent a number of years as head of internal audit before joining the senior management team in 1996 as general manager and secretary. Hornbrook's current areas ...

  • Chelsea launches fixed rate mortgages

    5 May 2004

    Chelsea has introduced a range of fixed rate mortgage products effective from Saturday May 1 2004, with the existing fixed rate mortgage products having already been withdrawn. The new products include a two-year fixed rate; a three-year fixed rate; a five-year fixed rate and a five-year fixed rate buy-to-let mortgage.

  • CII exam success continues

    4 May 2004

    The Chartered Insurance Institute has revealed a further 618 candidates passed the savings and investments exam and 264 completed the Financial Administration Foundation Certificate. The numbers passing exams are: Financial Planning Certificate Paper 1: 1167 Financial Planning Certificate Paper 2: 935 Life Office Administration: 156 Pensions Administration: 160 Savings and Investments: 618 Lucy Courtenay, director of CII qualifications , says: "It ...

  • Clydesdale deal with Charcol is designed to buy support

    3 May 2004

    From Greg Ayres Isn't it nice to hear that Clydesdale Bank has decided to enter the intermediary market with a 4.49% fix, exclusive to Charcol? I'm sure there are plenty of other small brokers as thrilled as I am that a massive bank-owned operation been given a competitive advantage over me because of an exclusive deal so ridiculously cheap that it can only be designed to buy support. No doubt other small brokers will, like me, bear this in mind if and when ...

  • CML mulls over packager status

    3 May 2004

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders is understood to be considering whether packagers should be regulated. The suggestion has emerged that packagers should be classified as 'arrangers' to end ambiguity over their role in the mortgage process. But a CML spokesman tells Mortgage Strategy that there have been no internal discussions. Industry figures say they have heard these talks are happening and have welcomed any discussion about regulating the industry. Such ...

  • Complex deals baffling borrowers

    3 May 2004

    Complicated product information is confusing borrowers and keeping them focussed on headline rates, says the Consumers' Association. Laurence Baxter, senior policy adviser of personal finances at the CA, attributes consumers' short-term thinking to the fact that lenders present a mass of confusing information. He says: "Consumers throw their hands up in frustration and run to the things they are familiar with, so you get the predominance of the high street. People ...

  • Confusion over Portman deals

    3 May 2004

    A broker who sent six cases to the Portman for its fee-free fixed deals has slammed the lender for failing to inform him that the products were branch-only deals. Coventry-based broker Emmanuel Hemmings says the cases had progressed toward completion before he was informed that he would not receive a proc fee as the deals were only available through its branches. Hemmings says Portman failed to put on its website that the deals, including a fixed rate at 4.99%, are branch-only ...

  • Conti urges caution on 'eastern eight' properties

    4 May 2004

    Caution is being urged by leading overseas mortgage specialists Conti Financial Services before rushing into property purchases in the so-called `eastern eight` group of new EU states. Simon Conn, senior partner of CFS, based in Hove, East Sussex, says that would-be buyers must do their homework before being tempted to capitalise on the opportunities that will develop after Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovenia and Slovakia joined the EU last ...

  • Coventry expands product range

    4 May 2004

    Coventry is expanding its mortgage product range specifically for first-time buyers.  No higher lending fee will be charged on any of the products - a saving of £2,175 on a £120,000 mortgage at 100% loan to value - a substantial sum if you are about set up your first home.      The new portfolio includes highly competitive fixed and discounted products offering up to 100% LTV.  The new products have been designed to help first-time buyers step ...

  • CRE seeks employers views to eliminate discrimination

    7 May 2004

    The Commission For Racial Equality yesterday called on employers across Britain to take part in a consultation on its revised code of practice in employment. The three-month public consultation has been launched to gain feedback on the updated code which sets standards for achieving racial equality at work. Sheila Rogers, director of strategy and delivery at the CRE, says: "The CRE is not in the business of placing extra burdens on organisations. Although workplace equality ...

  • Curriculum vitae - Tony Jones

    3 May 2004

    Name: Tony Jones Age: 46 Company: Pink Home Loans Job Title: Director Where do you live? Gloucestershire Describe your current job: I am responsible for setting the strategic direction of the company. Since joining Pink Home Loans in 2002 I have focused on changing Pink from a pure mortgage packager to a broader-based mortgage distribution company offering a wider range of products and services. ...

  • Dear Dippy

    3 May 2004

    Dear Dippy Miss McLaughlin and Mr Power have a joint income of around £55,000. They want to buy a one-bedroom flat in London for £145,000. They have no deposit and debts between them amount to £12,000. They have no CCJs but Miss McLaughlin has missed payments on loans and credit cards in the past. Their parents cannot act as guarantors as they are retired. What are their options ? Dippy says: This case is tricky as the lack of deposit is compounded by the debt ...

  • Direct Line predicts MPC rate rise

    4 May 2004

    As May's Monetary Policy Committee meeting draws nearer, there is widespread speculation that the Bank of England will take this opportunity to increase mortgage interest rates. RBS group chief economist Jeremy Peat says: "With house prices still picking up, retail sales and household borrowing strong, the MPC looks set to act earlier rather than later and islikely to raise UK interest rates by 0.25% to 4.25%." In advance of May's MPC meeting, Direct Line Financial ...

  • Does the withdrawal of GMAC's 25-year deal show that the market is not yet ready for such products?

    3 May 2004

    Kevin Paterson is managing director of Park Row Mortgages The Miles report held few surprises for most of us. The mortgage market is sophisticated so simply saying that there should be more long-term fixed rates and then launching a few was never going to have any real impact. I commend GMAC-RFC for its speed in bringing its long-term fixed rate to market but it was a little premature. There are fundamental issues that must be addressed before these products increase ...

  • Don't forget insurance regulation

    3 May 2004

    With all the talk about mortgage regulation it's easy to overlook the incoming FSA regulation of insurance sales which starts on January 14 2005. The products are protection-only with no investment element, the most common being buildings and contents insurance, payment protection and term assurance, with or without critical illness. As in the mortgage market, you can only carry on writing insurance business by becoming directly regulated or by being an appointed representative ...

  • Dunfermline see record month of lending

    7 May 2004

    Residential loans from Dunfermline hit a record £40m last month. The figures for April mark the latest increase in mortgage lending for the largest building society in Scotland. Brian Morton, Dunfermline's sales and marketing director, says: "There is no doubt that the housing market remains buoyant north of the border. But there is no room for complacency. "It is essential to offer products and services that are the most appropriate for people in ...

  • Enterprise says networks is the way to go

    6 May 2004

    Enterprise Homeloans says that it is convinced that with regulation on its way, network status is right way for many to go and the most productive use of their time. The company says that mortgage brokers are business people first and foremost and maximising the time spent in front of clients has to be the most efficient use of their time. However, for any business new to the FSA compliance regime, it will require time and money to implement the procedures necessary ...

  • Ethical IFAs to merge

    6 May 2004

    Bromige and Partners is to merge with the Manchester-based GÆIA Partnership. Founded by Brigid Benson in 1993 with the aim of encouraging more people to invest their money in an ethical direction, the first phase of the merger will take place in June 2004. Both companies will initially retain their separate identities, but investment administration and compliance monitoring will be based at Bromige and Partners in East Sussex. The second phase will take place ...

  • Ethical policies help profits at the Co-operative Bank

    7 May 2004

    The impact of ethics on the profitability of the Co-operative Bank increased from less than a quarter to almost a third in 2003, figures released yesterday show. The annual customer value analysis shows that in 2003 up to 30% of the bank's £130.1m profits can be attributed to the bank's ethical and sustainability policies, compared with 24% last year. This increase has resulted from an increasing number of loan accounts and Visa credit card accountholders ...

  • Exclusive: Coughtrie turns up in Glasgow

    6 May 2004

    Edwin Coughtrie, one of the businessmen behind failed London packager The Mortgage Placement Company, is back in action - in Scotland. In what was one of the biggest scandals of 2003 Coughtrie and fellow business partner Hassen Draper went bust owing nearly £1m between them. But Mortgage Strategy can reveal that Coughtrie is now working from the offices of Glasgow Mortgage Company (GMC), based in Bath Street in the city's centre. Glasgow Mortgage ...

  • Exclusive: Nationwide warns equity release is potentially the next mis-selling scandal

    7 May 2004

    Nationwide has predicted that the next potential big mis-selling scandal could be equity release and has confirmed it has no plans to become involved in this market. Nationwide commercial and treasury director Stuart Bernau tells Mortgage Strategy Online: "Equity release is taken out by people who are cash poor and without much income, sometimes to support healthcare or because their pension is not adding up to enough. It is attractive to a vulnerable group of people - you ...

  • Focus Solutions to provide free software to mortgage lenders

    6 May 2004

    Focus Solutions will be providing free software to mortgage lenders as part of an initiative to drive down industry costs. Nigel Smith, director of market propositions at Focus Solutions, says that mortgage lenders can get significant benefit from electronic trading and Focus is determined to help accelerate this process. He says: "By investing in the provision of goal:technology, Focus' XML toolkit, to the mortgagesourcing and distributor channels the company aims ...

  • Freedom launches its own products into intermediary sector

    5 May 2004

    Freedom Finance, the Wilmslow based financial services group, has launched its own range of lending products into the intermediary mortgage market. This latest development follows the company's recent acquisition of a majority shareholding in Mortgage Next and expansion into both Spain and Sweden. The product range, which will initially be marketed via Pink Home Loans Premier panel of brokers and then rolled out to Mortgage Next's membership base, includes self-cert, ...

  • Freedom launches own product range via Pink

    3 May 2004

    Freedom Finance, the Wilmslow-based financial services group, today launches its own range of lending products into the intermediary market through Pink Home Loans. This move follows Freedom's acquisition of a majority shareholding in Mortgage Next and expansion into Spain and Sweden. The product range, which will initially be marketed via Pink's premier panel of 2,000 to 3,000 brokers and then rolled out to Mortgage Next's membership base, includes self-cert, ...

  • FSA clarifies its position on brokers' independence after Mortgage Day

    3 May 2004

    The FSA has published a Guide to the FSA Handbook for Small Mortgage and Insurance Intermediaries. It comes in three parts which add up to 137 pages. So not exactly a quick read but it does contain a number of useful points which clarify some of the material in the Mortgage and Insurance Conduct of Business rulebooks. Not least is the rule on being able to call yourself 'independent' in the mortgage market. This applies across the board to both directly regulated brokers ...

  • FSA has got DA figures wrong, says Cartel research

    4 May 2004

    Mortgage broker Cartel has revealed that less than 50% of the numbers expected by Financial Services Authority have decided to be directly authorised or be exempt after Mortgage Day. The research was collated from IFAs and mortgage brokers throughout April. This survey followed another by commissioned by Cartel for January to March of this year - it revealed that 80% of 2,000 IFAs and brokers questioned were either leaving the industry or actively considering leaving ...

  • FSA receives just 3,684 applications from mortgage firms

    7 May 2004

    The FSA yesterday reported that by April 30 it had received 15,046 registrations to obtain an application pack and 5,580 applications for authorisation. 8,675 registrations related to insurance business and 6,371 to mortgages, while for applications for authorisation the breakdown was 3,684 from mortgage firms and 1896 from general insurance firms. By the end of 30 April, 1,135 letters had been sent to applicant firms indicating that the FSA was minded to authorise them ...

  • Get covered on buildings insurance

    3 May 2004

    It is in the interests of both the borrower and the lender that a property subject to a mortgage is adequately insured. In either case, the damage or destruction of the property will have serious consequences. The question of the insurance of a property raises other potential insurance requirements including contents cover, permanent health insurance and accident, sickness and redundancy cover, as well as life assurance issues. All of these matters are dealt with in the syllabuses for ...

  • GMAC-RFC sells £140m portfolio to Derbyshire Home Loans

    6 May 2004

    GMAC-RFC has revealed its third portfolio sale to Derbyshire Home Loans. Completed on April 30, the £140 million deal comprises of a blended pool of buy-to-let, self-cert and mainstream products.   Stephen Hynes, capital markets director at GMAC-RFC, says: "GMAC-RFC continues to lead the UK market in the creating and trading of assets. "This example of a blended portfolio sale reinforces GMAC-RFC's position as an all status lender providing mortgages ...

  • GMC director: "Coughtrie nothing to do with my business"

    7 May 2004

    James Sharp, director of Glasgow Mortgage Company, has emphatically denied that Edwin Coughtrie, the former boss of failed London packager TMPC, is involved in his business in any way shape or form. In a call to Mortgage Strategy yesterday Sharp, boss of the Glasgow Mortgage Company, said that although Coughtrie had been his friend for over 15 years he has had no business dealings with him whatsoever. He told Mortgage Strategy: "I would like to set the record straight ...

  • House prices rise 1.8% in April, reveals Halifax

    6 May 2004

    The Halifax has revealed that house prices rose by 1.8% in April, taking the average UK house price to £154,304. The total value of private sector housing assets was equivalent to 3.2 times the value of total household debt at the end of 2003 - a much healthier position than both five and 10 years ago when the ratio was 2.7 times. This improvement in the wealth to debt ratio is largely attributable to rising house prices, which have caused the value of housing ...

  • Internet Insite

    3 May 2004

    I'm in Suffolk this week on my round Britain tour of broker websites, with one company with branches in Newmarket and Brandon and two companies based in Ipswich. From the menu for Bright Mortgage Advice, there is an option to find out "what our customers think of us". As a strategy consultant, I'm always interested in customer views and attitudes but this page just gave a brief explanation of how Bright goes about asking their customers for their opinions without including any actual ...

  • Just 12 days to Mortgage Expo Manchester

    7 May 2004

    With just six months to go until Mortgage Day there's a growing sense of urgency in the industry for intermediaries to make the decisions that will affect the way their businesses are run under the new regime. ? Will you become directly regulated or an appointed representative? ? Which network will you join? ? Whose technology will you rely on to ensure your transactions are compliant? ? Who will you turn to for legal advice? Answers to all of these ...

  • Laker scoops our top award

    3 May 2004

    Sally Laker, managing director of Mortgage Intelligence, picked up the prestigious Mortgage Strategist of the Year award at last week's Mortgage Strategy Awards 2004 - the mortgage industry's equivalent of the Oscars. Laker is the first female to win the accolade and faced stiff competition from the likes of John Malone at Premier Mortgage Services, Richard Coulson at Zurich Mortgage Network and Kevin Paterson of Park Row Independent Mortgages. Laker says: "I'm ...

  • Lawyers slammed in assertahome survey

    4 May 2004

    House-hunters voted lawyers bottom in a survey by assertahome.com to compare how well surveyors, estate agents, lawyers and mortgage lenders perform in the house buying process. Respondents voted lawyers as providing not only the poorest quality of service but also as the most obstructive in the buying/selling process. They also scored badly on value for money. Women were particularly hostile to the legal profession: 60.4% of female respondents thought they were bad or terrible ...

  • Lender aiming to reap a commercial reward

    3 May 2004

    Commercial First Mortgages was founded in October 2002 by David Johnson and Martin Finegold. Its head office (pictured above) is based in Brentwood, Essex. The company operates and lends on a UK-wide basis through a network of intermediaries. The senior management team - chief executive David Johnson, managing director Philip George, finance director Keith Millward, underwriting director Marc Parrot and sales director Stephen Johnson - is based in Brentwood. Q: How is Commercial ...

  • Lender panels will put mutuals under pressure

    3 May 2004

    Kevin Paterson, managing director, Park Row Independent Mortgages I believe that mutual lenders have an important part to play in a mature, sophisticated and well-balanced mortgage market. Unlike their cousins in the investment business they are not under financial pressure to conform. However, there is a new threat looming with the introduction of mortgage regulation. The presence of mutual lenders in an independent market is good for the competitive nature of the business. They ...

  • Lenders sectioning rates is a worrying trend for brokers

    3 May 2004

    From Claire Allen Over the past few weeks I have noticed a worrying change in the way lenders are doing business. It is a trend that will affect our company and many others and I think it's about time we had an explanation. I recently called Newcastle for a requote on an equity release mortgage and was told rather glibly that unfortunately we are not on its panel and could not join its panel. It would only accept business from large introducing companies such as Charcol ...

  • Lib Dems plead with Brown for decisive action

    6 May 2004

    The Liberal Democrats have written to chancellor Gordon Brown, pleading with him to act more decisively over any threat to Britain's economic stability. Amid concerns over spiralling household debt and the house price boom, Vince Cable MP, shadow chancellor for the Liberal Democrats, says the Bank of England is in danger of being compromised by heavy pressure from the chancellor, who is using interest rates to deal with the consumer debt and the housing bubble. He ...

  • Market Harborough to develop MIAS exclusive

    3 May 2004

    Market Harborough is developing a product exclusively for the Mortgage Intermediary Alliance Scotland which launched last Wednesday. MIAS, created by AMI Scotland regional chairman Colin McCallum and The Mortgage Operation Scotland former general manager Kevin Friend in alliance with Glasgow-based mortgage administration company Opus and IT firm Adventi, aims to build the profile of brokers in Scotland and develop a service 'kite mark'. Market Harborough chief executive ...

  • Marketing Brief

    3 May 2004

    I have a pile of lenders' intermediary marketing material on the floor of my attic office. And it's growing inexorably as more lenders are reviewed for each edition of Mortgage Strategy. This week I've added material from Nottingham and The One account to the pile. The Nottingham, with its measly two pieces of A4, hardly made any impact at all on the pile but The One account, with its wide range of support and marketing material, is a different kettle of fish. The amount of stuff ...

  • MI to hike proc fees after business boost

    3 May 2004

    Mortgage Intelligence will be increasing broker procuration fees for a number of mainstream lenders by 0.025% from May 1 for applications and from July 1 for completions, due to increased volume of business. Managing director Sally Laker says: "Because of the size of Mortgage Intelligence and the levels of business we place with our panel lenders we are able to ensure that brokers enjoy attractive proc fees as well a broad range of products from leading suppliers. Recent Council ...

  • Moneyquest steps ahead of the pack with major award

    6 May 2004

    Mortgage broker Moneyquest has won the financial services industry equivalent of an Oscar for its innovative use of technology to provide the best possible deal for customers. The Glasgow-based company picked up the 'Best Broker for use of Technology' prize at the prestigious Mortgage Strategy Awards. Moneyquest operations director Paul Reynolds accepted the award during a glittering ceremony at London's Grosvenor House Hotel. Moneyquest is now one of ...

  • Mortgage Excellence signs up armed forces

    5 May 2004

    Mortgage Excellence has announced a distribution deal with the Armed Forces Financial Advisory Service and Affinitas. Both AFFAS and Affinitas provide Insurance and financial services exclusively to members of the armed forces and their families. Under the terms of the arrangement, Mortgage Excellence will offer both AFFAS and Affinitas members a range of lending products including mortgages and personal loans. A spokesman for Mortgage Excellence says: "We ...

  • Mortgage Trust announces BDM appointments

    6 May 2004

    Mortgage Trust has appointed William Lee and Paul McKelvey as business development managers with immediate effect. Lee will cover the Home Counties and north London, and McKelvey will cover south-east England.  Both will report to Austin Jelfs, head of sales and marketing.   Both have extensive experience in the mortgage industry. Lee joins Mortgage Trust from Royal Bank of Scotland where he worked for three years as a business manager.  He previously spent seven years ...

  • Mortgages Direct to use Competent Adviser's T&C service

    5 May 2004

    Mortgages Direct is to deploy the Competent Adviser training and compliance service throughout its financial services arm as part of its preparations for mortgage and insurance regulation. The fully online software addresses the requirements of both the MCCB and FSA fitness andcompetence regimes for ongoing monitoring of all advisers and for the delivery of appropriate ongoing training. The Competent Adviser software utilises a comprehensive database of syllabus-based ...

  • Mutuality is a differentiator that is in the mortgage market to stay

    3 May 2004

    Adrian Coles, director-general, Building Societies Association All 63 building societies in the UK are committed to remaining mutual. Societies continue to show that mutuality is not only a viable business model but also one that delivers real benefits to members. Societies, both national and regional, regularly appear at the top of the performance tables. This is due to the fact that plcs and demutualised institutions have to pay dividends to shareholders. Someone has to pay for this ...

  • Network rules will be more onerous than FSA ones

    3 May 2004

    From Nick Baxter I read with interest your Network Strategy article and the answers to the question 'Will the compliance requirements of a network be more onerous than direct regulation?' (Mortgage Strategy April 26). The common view of your panel members was either 'no' or 'others might but we won't'. Well, they would say that wouldn't they, as they want to dupe advisers into being ARs rather than being directly regulated. Of course, the rules ...

  • Networks face FSA hold-up

    3 May 2004

    Networks are fuming over the FSA's admission that principal firms will have to wait longer for their 'minded to approve' letters than directly authorised brokers. The FSA began issuing minded to approve letters to firms last Friday but has admitted these will probably not be going to networks as their applications will take longer to assess. But many networks feel they should get their letters first as their minded to approve status is crucial to brokers in deciding ...

  • New-build activity up in 2004, reveals B&B

    5 May 2004

    Research out from Bradford & Bingley has revealed that activity in the new-build housing market has increased during the first quarter of 2004 compared with the same period last year. The Land & New Homes report shows that the number of units sold between January and March has increased by 33% against 2003 figures, demonstrating continued confidence in the new homes market. Regionally, the new build market paints a mixed picture. In the South-East, planning restrictions ...

  • Platform to offer mini-moto bike at Money Marketing Live

    5 May 2004

    Platform is running a competition to win a mini moto-bike at Money Marketing Live in London on Thursday May 6, and Manchester on Tuesday September 28. The company will be displaying the mini moto-bike at its stand at both the London and Manchester shows. The winner will be selected at random from a prize draw following the Manchester show. Guy Batchelor, sales and marketing director of Platform, says: "Money Marketing Live is one of the most respected events in the financial ...

  • Poor pay more tax than the rich

    7 May 2004

    Tax fairness figures published yesterday show that the poor pay more tax than the rich. But Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor, says: "It is simply not fair that the richest people in Britain pay a higher proportion of their incomes in tax than the poorest. "A major reason that the system is so unfair is Council Tax - which is not related to ability to pay. The best way to make the system fairer is to scrap the unfair Council Tax and replace it with a ...

  • Portman members back board

    4 May 2004

    Members of the Portman have given their overwhelming support to the board of the society at its Annual General Meeting. The six existing Portman directors who stood as board candidates, were all elected with significant majorities. The voting was as follows:                                                 % Votes For Tony Prestedge                              94.7% Robert Sharpe                                93.9% Bill Snaith                                      94.9% Bill ...

  • Potential homebuyers are basing decisions on dubious evidence

    3 May 2004

    These days everyone has a view on the UK housing market and whether, or indeed when, there will be a crash - even in Washington. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank held their spring meetings last weekend and the IMF's financial committee warned in its closing statement that rising interest rates pose the one of the biggest threats to the global economy. This comes hot on the heels of the same body's warning that a steep fall in house prices is the biggest risk facing ...

  • Preferred chief exec announces retirement

    6 May 2004

    Dennis Pitocco, chief executive officer of Preferred Mortgages, yesterday announced his intention to retire at the end of 2004. Under Pitocco's leadership, the company has made significant strides in achieving its goal of establishing itself as the first choice in the non-conforming mortgage market. Pitocco helped establish Preferred Mortgages in early 1996 and has since played an integral role in its accelerated expansion. In 2003, the company delivered ...

  • Reckless lending fuelling house price boom, warn Lib Dems

    5 May 2004

    The Liberal Democrats have warned that the rise in lending is recklessly fuelling the housing boom. Vince Cable MP, Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor, says: "Large numbers of people are gambling on the house price boom - a gamble they may regret if house prices start to fall or interest rates rise. "It is time for the government to take action to protect ordinary homeowners against irresponsible lending."

  • RICS publishes guides for tenants and landlords

    6 May 2004

    Two guides aimed at helping tenants and landlords avoid the pitfalls of renting are published today by the property and construction organisation, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Both RICS leaflets give a step-by-step guide to understanding the basic legal and practical issues involved in renting a flat or house. Written from either a tenant's or landlord's perspective, they offer a checklist of what to consider and who to go to for professional advice. The ...

  • Rival PRS indices square up

    3 May 2004

    The Association of Residential Letting Agents has slammed the government for stating that its experimental quarterly buy-to-let index is the first reliable index on the private rental sector. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister last week published its first quarterly private rental index. It states that there is no official published index of private rental rents and that there are no official statistics on PRS rent levels other than on an annual basis. It says: "It ...

  • Rock is Lifetime Lender for second year running

    3 May 2004

    Northern Rock has won the Mortgage Strategy Lifetime Lender of the Year award for the second year in a row. The Rock took the lion's share of the votes in the category, coming in ahead of Mortgage Express, Portman and Norwich Union. The One account secured Lifestyle Mortgage Lender of the Year, again for the second year running, beating Intelligent Finance, Standard Life Bank and Northern Rock to the title. BM Solutions also held on to the accolade of Self-cert ...

  • S&P adds Life-Link to its key accounts

    6 May 2004

    Select & Protect has added Life-Link to its rapidly expanding number of key accounts. Simon Hood, chief executive of Select & Protect, says: "With regulation getting ever closer many mortgage providers are seeking to link with quality insurers. S&P is delighted to be able to supply Life-Link with its products and hope that this will contribute to their growth asthey attract new members. "One of the advantages of coming to S&P is that the firm does not demand high initial ...

  • Scarborough launches its first offset mortgage

    6 May 2004

    Scarborough has launched its first offset mortgage product. Further extending its mortgage portfolio, the product gives customers the freedom to offset their personal savings against their mortgage, thus reducing their monthly interest mortgage costs. Designed for customers who have both a mortgage and savings account, Scarborough's offset provides a simple solution in a marketplace filled with often complicated alternatives. Features include daily interest, no arrangement ...

  • Scottish pricing is different

    3 May 2004

    From Mike Yeoman I read with interest the responses to the Dear Dippy case in MS April 19. I have no problem with the comments except that they do not take into account how things are in Scotland - which is where the scenario is set. The case in question assumes that the property is on the market at a fixed price. Possible, but in reality not likely at present. Almost all properties in Scotland are advertised 'Offers Over'. This can mean that the final sale price could ...

  • Solent appoints two BDMs

    7 May 2004

    Solent Mortgage Services has appointed Ken Pomeroy and Rohan Hardeman to the position of BDM in two separate roles. Pomeroy will cover the Berkshire and M4 corridor area while Hardeman will take responsibility for the south-west of England. Pomeroy brings to his new role a wealth of industry experience, having worked in nearly all sectors of the mortgage industry from mortgage packaging and lending to property services and the IFA market. He says: "I am looking ...

  • SPML revamps range and plans prime market blitz

    3 May 2004

    Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited has revamped its range and says it is taking a more aggressive approach to sales, aiming to do £2.5bn of lending this year. It plans to extend its presence in the prime market with the launch of its first buy-to-let product in that area - a two-year fix at 5.75% with no redemption penalty overhang. SPML sales and marketing director John Prust says: "Our first prime buy-to-let product has been launched at the request of introducers. ...

  • Start applying now or lose out later

    3 May 2004

    Regulation came a significant step closer last week. On Friday the FSA issued over 1,000 'minded to authorise' letters - the first batch to be sent out. The MTA letter sets out the scope of permission the FSA is minded to grant to the particular firm including any requirements and/or limitations. The letter also sets out the list of individuals the FSA is minded to approve to carry on controlled functions on behalf of the firm. Firms receiving MTA letters will receive ...

  • Suitability letters still suit you, sir

    3 May 2004

    With the FSA's final rules now published it seems a foregone conclusion that the recent commentary on suitability letters will be largely overlooked. But it is noteworthy that bodies experienced in adviser issues such as the MCCB and AMI continue to remind advisers that the strange decision by the FSA not to make suitability letters mandatory could come back to bite it and that it should remain common practice to issue such documents. The extraordinary thing to me is that the ...

  • The Marketplace launches remortgage exclusive

    5 May 2004

    The MarketPlace at Bradford & Bingley has launched an exclusive, flexible Open Plan, low fee two-year stepped tracker mortgage, specifically for the remortgage market. The product, funded by The Woolwich, has an initial pay rate of 4.00% (5.2% APR). Key features include: ? Bank base rate for year one is currently 4%. ? Bank base rate plus 0.6% in year two. ? Reverts to Bank base rate plus 1.50% for the rest of the term. ? Max LTV 90%. ? £100 ...

  • The Mortgage Mole

    3 May 2004

    Strange do Last week's industry highlight was, of course, the Mortgage Strategy Awards 2004. Things got off to a promising start on Thursday with everyone finding their seats. Everyone, that is, except Charcol's Adrian Vickery. In fact our man hadn't even managed to pin down the right ceremony, opting instead for an investment awards do next door. It wasn't until three awards in that eagle-eyed Vickery suspected something was amiss. He told Mole he'd been wondering ...

  • The notes that make insurers feel sick

    3 May 2004

    Norwich Union Healthcare has conducted a survey on the integrity of sick notes by questioning more than 250 GPs and 1,000 members of the public. The conclusion is hardly surprising, suggesting that as many as nine million sick notes out of the annual total of 22 million are suspicious. I say hardly surprising as for many years some doctors have been known for issuing sick notes to patients as soon as they walked through the door - not because they are unprofessional but ...

  • They can't shield you and they know it

    3 May 2004

    Will I still get compliance visits if I join a network? That was this week's straightforward question that we put to 13 networks of various sizes. OK, so it was an open-ended question that doesn't quite differentiate between compliance visits only from the network concerned and those from the FSA as well. But open-ended or not, confusion reigned in the answers, highlighting the shocking misinformation being distributed by networks. Take for instance our answer from ...

  • Thinking ahead with your clients

    3 May 2004

    There have been some interesting comments recently from Michael Coogan, director-general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, regarding the upswing in the housing market in the first quarter of 2004. In March alone a total of £24.5bn of gross advances was lent, an increase of £4.9bn over March 2003. Coogan urges borrowers to think about how they would cope with higher interest rates and expresses surprise at borrowers not latching onto fixed rate deals. Following on from last ...

  • VIP treatment from Mortgage Strategy

    3 May 2004

    Mortgage Strategy is offering four readers the chance to travel in comfort and style to Mortgage Business Expo Manchester 2004 in the company of the industry's leading players. Register to attend in advance and you will be entered into a draw to win a first class seat in the special Clarion Events Carriage. Over breakfast you will have the time to read our show guide and plan your day at the show. On arrival in Manchester guests will be transferred by luxury ...

  • Want my advice, Julie? Find another lender

    3 May 2004

    From Dermot Brannigan It's at it again! I wonder how many remember Alliance & Leicester back in the early 1990s. The housing market was in a slump and arrears were booming. A&L decided this was the fault of introducers. It held that all the introduced cases were 'dodgy' (A&L's word not mine) and went into arrears whereas direct applications and branch-advised ones were perfect. So it stopped accepting introduced business. This lasted about ...

  • We tell clients we will drop providers who give bad service

    3 May 2004

    From Dean Mirfin In our experience as specialist advisers on equity release, once a client has made the decision to go ahead with a scheme they want the money as quickly as possible. To this end we have strict processes that our advisers follow and a dedicated team that chases every case through to completion. Why is it then that providers themselves do not appear to give this level of attention to processing the introduced business through to completion? Not surprisingly ...

  • Welsh homes out of reach for average earners

    4 May 2004

    The average cost of a house in Wales has increased by 32.2% in the last 12 months making homes too expensive for the average earner in Wales, research by the Principality reveals. The society's latest house price survey shows that the average house in Wales has increased in value during the last year from £87,238 to £115,287. This means an average house is now worth the equivalent of more than five times the average annual earnings in Wales of £21,398. The ...

  • Which? accuses lenders of trapping unwary customers

    7 May 2004

    Mortgage lenders are still trapping unwary consumers through several unfair practices, says a Which?investigation published yesterday. The magazine says its campaign for an end to unfair mortgage practices has succeeded in virtually stamping out some of the worst, such as extended early repayment charges and conditional insurance. But it warns that big lenders are still operating expensive traps that can catch consumers out, including mortgage indemnity guarantees. ...

  • Which? urges government to clear up long-term care confusion

    7 May 2004

    Over-complex and ambiguous systems for funding long-term care are causing vulnerable older people and their carers to miss out on thousands of pounds, says Which?. There's clear evidence that the current system results in unfair decisions yet the government doesn't believe the system needs changing. When Which? contacted the Department of Health with its concerns, minister Stephen Ladyman said: "We do not accept the situation is confused." Which? is now calling ...

  • Will more lenders restrict their panels?

    3 May 2004

    Last week Mortgage Strategy reported that Alliance & Leicester is restricting the panel of introducers it does business with. So, Mortgage Strategy asks: Will other lenders now only use brokers who guarantee to deliver certain volumes? Kevin Duffy, Hamptons International Mortgages Sadly, in business life you cannot afford to look after everybody. It is best to use your resources to look after people who give you most business. It is great to see ...

  • Win a rugby shirt!

    3 May 2004

    Packager and distributor Mortgage Choice is offering the chance for someone to walk away with an Irish national Rugby Union team shirt signed by the Triple Crownwinning squad at the Manchester Mortgage Expo. The only other similar shirt, auctioned in March, raised £700 for Cancer Research. The show is on May 19 and 20 at GMEX and everyone who visits Mortgage Choice on stand A26 and puts their business card in the box has a chance of winning.

  • Youngsters suffer from lack of communication about savings

    5 May 2004

    Research from Nationwide shows that although 80% of 11 to 16 year olds are savers, 51% of young people say that no-one talks to them about saving. Of the 49% that do talk about saving with others, 96% talk with their parents and just 2% speak with teachers at school. When asked about who they would ask for advice about money, 80% said their mother compared with just 54% who would talk to their father. Only 2% would quiz their teachers at school, whereas 14% would happily ...

  • Zurich appoints Platform to panel

    5 May 2004

    Platform has been appointed to the Zurich mortgage panel. Available through Zurich Advice Network and Zurich Mortgage Network advisers, the lending panel gives 4,000 intermediaries direct access to Platform's improved range of products and services launched at the beginning of the year. Richard Coulson, director of the Zurich Mortgage Network, says: "ZMN is delighted to welcome Platform on board. With its new, highly competitive mortgage range, Platform brings a ...

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