Mortgage Strategy
30 June 2008

  • Free access to Minute Man

    30 Jun 2008

    Members of Paradigm Mortgage Services will get free access to the Minute Man sourcing system courtesy of emfinancial and Open Door Solutions. In addition to Paradigm's services, brokers will get access to a panel of lenders in the adverse and niche markets.

  • 40 Employees facing redundancy at M2000

    30 Jun 2008

    Mortgage 2000 has placed 40 staff in consultation as part of a restructure which saw the redundancy of lender relationship manager Alan Collinson earlier this month.

  • A case of all task forces and no action

    30 Jun 2008

    After a year with Gordon Brown as our Prime Minister one thing is certain - you don't get any quick fixes from this man.

  • A house divided will crumble

    1 Jul 2008

    Chris Cummings, director-general of the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries, says mortgage lenders and brokers should learn the lessons of the pensions industry and continue to work together in these difficult times

  • A state of uncertainty

    1 Jul 2008

    Gary Styles, strategy, risk and economics director at Hometrack, says that the UK economy and mortgage market face the most challenging and uncertain outlook for over 15 years

  • A&L launches two-year tracker

    30 Jun 2008

    Alliance & Leicester has launched a two-year tracker deal at 5.98%. New and existing clients can borrow up to £1m or a maximum LTV of 75% via brokers or branches.

  • Abbey launches 10-year fixed rate

    1 Jul 2008

    Abbey has launched a 10-year fixed rate at 6.24% with a £999 fee, as its research claims that demand for long-term fixed rates remains strong.

  • Abbey says it pays to buy

    30 Jun 2008

    A survey from Abbey has revealed that buying is £10,500 cheaper than renting over 25 years. The lender says that buying was just £5,800 cheaper six months ago.

  • Abbey treated my elderly customers with contempt

    30 Jun 2008

    I read with interest the recent letter entitled 'FSA plans to eradicate small firms' (Mortgage Strategy June 16) and agree with the sentiments expressed by the writer.

  • Advice remains strongest broker asset

    30 Jun 2008

    Dual pricing has sparked much debate in recent weeks. While many lenders have, to their credit, narrowed the margin between products available direct and those via brokers, this is a debate that isn't going to disappear.

  • Affordability the big issue in N Ireland

    1 Jul 2008

    Housing affordability and supply are the greatest challenges to borrowers in Northern Ireland, said CML Northern Ireland's incoming chairman Trevor James.

  • AfI goes Green for key accounts role

    30 Jun 2008

    Abbey for Intermediaries has app-ointed Sara Green to the role of national key accounts manager.

  • AfI hires national key account manager

    30 Jun 2008

    Abbey for Intermediaries has taken on Sara Green as key account manager to strengthen key relationships with brokers.

  • AHIPP calls for Stamp Duty suspension

    30 Jun 2008

    The Association of Home Information Pack Providers is calling for the government to suspend Stamp Duty on all house purchases under £200,000.

  • AIM suspends Prestbury

    30 Jun 2008

    Prestbury Holdings has been suspended from the Alternative Investment Market amid rumours of a standoff between bosses over its future.

  • AMI ditches director role as part of major restructure

    1 Jul 2008

    The Association of Mortgage intermediaries is restructuring - a development that will see the departure of director Richard Farr at the end of July and the appointment of a policy director.

  • AMI sounds structured deal warning

    30 Jun 2008

    Kensington has welcomed the Association of Mortgages Intermediaries' warning to brokers over structured investment products.

  • Assurant looks to recruit more staff

    3 Jul 2008

    Assurant Solutions Intermediary is bucking the market trend and embarking on a recruitment drive as it officially opens its new HQ in York today.

  • AToM wins top award as business of the year

    1 Jul 2008

    All Types of Mortgages, the mortgage packager and distributor, has been named Business of the Year in this year’s West Sussex County Times business awards, whilst AToM’s chairman, Vic Jannels, has also been named Entrepreneur of the Year.

  • B&B shareholders told to oppose rights issue

    30 Jun 2008

    The UK Shareholders Association remains unconvinced by the proposed Bradford & Bingley rights issue and is explicitly advising shareholders to consider voting against it.

  • B2L benefits from crunch

    30 Jun 2008

    Landlords are reaping the benefits of the housing market slump, with reports of soaring tenant demand and rental yields hitting a two-year high.

  • Barclays offers free online security software to customers

    1 Jul 2008

    Barclays has become the first UK bank to offer all its two million online banking customers free internet security software covering not only anti-virus software but also spyware, adware, firewalls, parental controls and spam filters.

  • Beacon and Bananas rebrand as one

    30 Jun 2008

    Beacon Mortgages and Bananas Inc will be rebranded as Beacon Mortgage Packaging.

  • BM launches guaranteed equity bonds

    2 Jul 2008

    Birmingham Midshires has launched a series of guaranteed equity bonds that offer customers rates of interest based on the performance of the FTSE 100 Index over a defined period.

  • Bradford & Bingley rejects Resolution bid

    1 Jul 2008

    After initially rejecting a £400m rescue package by four major City investors led by Clive Cowdery's acquisition vehicle Resolution, it looks like Bradford & Bingley may now open its books to the company for the purposes of due diligence.

  • Bristol - shopping centre of the world

    3 Jul 2008

    I am sitting in our plush offices in Bristol on the top floor of Colston Tower and looking out across the city and all the building work that is going on.

  • Brokers face VAT bombshell

    30 Jun 2008

    Brokers could face losing thousands of pounds in tax payments because of their assumptions about VAT, industry sources claim.

  • Brokers told to get back to basics

    30 Jun 2008

    Brokers are being urged by network Positive Solutions to get back to basics and widen the scope of the financial services products they offer.

  • Brokers warned over distribution panels

    4 Jul 2008

    Mortgage Next is warning brokers not to take distributor’s lender panels for granted as more lenders cut back on distribution partners.

  • BSA chief hints at mutuals exodus from CML

    30 Jun 2008

    Adrian Coles, director-general of the Building Societies Association, is predicting an exodus of mutuals from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

  • BSA to focus on mortgage issues

    1 Jul 2008

    The Building Societies Association has broken its understanding with the Council of Mortgage Lenders and plans to expand the work it does on behalf of building societies by representing their interests in the mortgage and housing markets.

  • C&G appoints intermediary sales manager

    1 Jul 2008

    Cheltenham & Gloucester has appointed Jon Farley to the role of intermediary sales manager from July 7.

  • Caffrey resigns from c2-financial

    3 Jul 2008

    C2-financial managing director Justin Caffrey has resigned his post for family reasons.

  • Careless banks blamed for Ireland's housing crash

    1 Jul 2008

    Indiscriminate lending by banks is to blame for the collapse of the Irish housing market, said Owen O'Callaghan, managing director of O'Callaghan Properties, a Cork-based firm that has developed 6,000 residential units and 14 shopping centres in the Republic.

  • Catholic to merge with Chelsea after falling victim to regulatory burden

    1 Jul 2008

    Catholic Building Society has fallen victim to the rising cost of regulation and has agreed to merge with the UK's fifth largest building society, Chelsea.

  • CBI and PwC predict 10,000 financial job losses

    30 Jun 2008

    A survey has predicted 10,000 job losses across the financial services sector during the next three months, as the effects of the credit crunch continue to take hold.

  • CHL committed to commercial

    1 Jul 2008

    CHL Commercial has reasserted its commitment to the commercial mortgage market and stressed it is actively seeking new business.

  • CHL seeking new business

    1 Jul 2008

    CHL Commercial is stressing it is keen to lend and actively seeking new business despite the downturn in the market.

  • CII launches TCF podcasts

    4 Jul 2008

    The Chartered Insurance Institute has launched a series of podcasts to help insurers, brokers, and financial advisers get to grips with the Treating Customers Fairly regime.

  • CML hits back at Darling criticism

    30 Jun 2008

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has defended members against claims made by chancellor Alistair Darling that lenders are taking advantage of home owners by charging them excessive arrangement fees. Darling attacked lenders that charge up to £2,500 in fees in a newspaper last week. The CML says customers continue to benefit from hundreds of fees-free mortgages.

  • CML working hard on 100 policy areas

    1 Jul 2008

    Michael Coogan isn't bluffing anymore. He bring us up-to-speed on the formidable challenges facing the industry and how the CML is tackling them

  • Cock fight

    1 Jul 2008

    We received a wealth of caption competition entries this week, from Leeds-based broker John O'Hearne's 'By day he was Gordon Brown, by night he was COCK - not your average superhero' to Evesham-based Jonathan Smith's 'James May opens new store'.

  • Commercial EPCs enter second phase

    2 Jul 2008

    The second phase of commercial Energy Performance Certification begins today with buildings over 2,500 square metres now needing an EPC when built, sold or rented.

  • Companies expect crunch to go on

    30 Jun 2008

    Nine out of 10 financial services firms predict it will take more than six months for conditions in the sector to return to normal.

  • Consumer confidence sinks to near-recession levels

    1 Jul 2008

    Consumer confidence has dropped to similar levels seen when the UK was in the grip of a recession, a confidence index from market researcher GfK NOP reveals.

  • Consumers expect prices to fall

    30 Jun 2008

    The first quarterly price tracker survey commissioned by the Building Societies Association reveals that 74% of consumers polled believe property prices will fall next year. The average forecast is a drop of 7.1% but Yorkshire and Humberside residents expect a 4.8% reduction.

  • Conveyancing firm reports rise

    30 Jun 2008

    Scotlands largest firm of conveyancers has reported a 24% increase in new instructions for residential sales, purchases and remortgages for the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same period last year.

  • Co-op unveils three-year tracker

    30 Jun 2008

    The Co-operative Bank has launched a three-year tracker mortgage that is only available to its current account customers. The fees-free deal is available at base rate plus 0.99% for deals up to 75% LTV and base rate plus 1.24% up to 90% LTV.

  • Councils help home owners

    30 Jun 2008

    Home owners in West Yorkshire facing repossession could be offered emergency loans by their local authority under plans tabled by the City of York Council.

  • Councils slated for search practices

    30 Jun 2008

    Home Information Pack providers Simply HIP and OneSearch Direct have launched a campaign against councils for anti-competitive practices over property searches.

  • Credit cards won't help pay mortgages

    30 Jun 2008

    A recent article in the Guardian suggested that paying one's mortgage with a credit card makes sense. The author did point out that "it sounds bad, even irresponsible" but concluded that "it certainly can't make your situation any worse".

  • Credit sans frontières

    1 Jul 2008

    Karen Strugnell, director for credit and lending solutions at Paris-based ILOG, argues that Brits could learn from France's more conservative approach to consumer lending

  • Don't cut corners on compliance

    1 Jul 2008

    Sally Laker, managing director of Mortgage Intelligence, says that although brokers account for a small proportion of complaints to the FOS, recent FSA actions show it is important for them to remain focused on compliance

  • Don't sneak

    30 Jun 2008

    Mortgage Strategy's ace online editor Natalie Martin never stops working, even when she's shopping for pants.

  • Dunfermline offers lifetime equity release deals

    1 Jul 2008

    Dunfermline Building Society has increased its involvement in the equity release market by launching a suite of interest roll-up lifetime mortgages.

  • E2M cuts HIP fee

    3 Jul 2008

    Easier2Move is cutting its Home Information Pack fees by more than 10% from July 7.

  • EC commissioner slams revised ratings code

    30 Jun 2008

    The European commissioner for internal market and services has branded the revised code of conduct for ratings agencies impotent.

  • Evaluate upgrades mortgage matrix

    30 Jun 2008

    Evaluate Technologies has stepped up its compliance support to brokers by enhancing its mortgage comparison matrix. It now displays all information relevant to the selection of deals.

  • Fees for advice may replace proc fees

    2 Jul 2008

    Fees for advice will become more important to brokers than proc fees, says the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association.

  • Firm for sale on eBay

    30 Jun 2008

    A mortgage firm in Warrington, Cheshire has been made available to the highest bidder on eBay.The mortgage and insurance brokerage can be bought immediately for £24,995. A client list with 200 active residential and buy-to-let leads is part of the deal.The firm says it has established relationships with two local estate agency offices and there have been no complaints about its services.Bidders must be regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

  • FISA supports PPI proposals to help consumers

    3 Jul 2008

    The Financial Industry Standards Association has supported proposals to standardise information available to consumers over payment protection insurance at point-of-sale.

  • Four board members resign in UBS overhaul

    2 Jul 2008

    Four members of the board of directors at UBS have resigned as part of an overhaul of the investment bank’s corporate governance structure.

  • Fraud crackdown continues

    30 Jun 2008

    Three east London brokers have been banned by the Financial Services Authority as part of its ongoing crackdown on mortgage fraud.

  • Freak show

    30 Jun 2008

    Is the mortgage market in a coma or back in time? Stephen Knight, executive chairman of Checkmate Mortgages, says the truth is out there and explains how we got here and where we're going

  • Freehold and FT Partners announce merger

    30 Jun 2008

    Freehold has merged with finance broker network FT Partners.

  • FSA to protect 100% of £50,000 in deposits

    1 Jul 2008

    The Financial Services Authority will propose an increase in deposit protection to cover £50,000 per consumer per bank in the autumn, a consultation document reveals.

  • FSA urges industry to commit to risk management

    30 Jun 2008

    The Financial Services Authority has reiterated the importance of risk management and stress testing in its annual report released today.

  • FSA's PPI tables under fire

    30 Jun 2008

    The Financial Services Authority claims its new payment protection insurance tables will help empower consumers.

  • FSPP launches FSA survey

    30 Jun 2008

    The Financial Services Practitioner Panel has launched its biennial performance assessment survey of the Financial Services Authority. The independent survey gathers industry views of the regulator's performance.

  • GEMHL to make redundancies

    30 Jun 2008

    GE Money Home Lending has confirmed it will make redundancies to adapt to falling demand in the market but says the number of staff affected will be minimal.

  • GHL incentives for recruitment

    30 Jun 2008

    GHL Group is rewarding members for recruiting directly authorised brokers. The network has set up a scheme that allows brokers to collect up to 30% of the profits from the deals completed by brokers they introduce to GHL.

  • Good news from Newcastle

    1 Jul 2008

    Colin Seccombe celebrates his second anniversary as chief executive of Newcastle Building Society having achieved record profits in 2007 and with plans to create 500 jobs in the North-East

  • Happy birthday to HIPs

    1 Jul 2008

    Home Information Packs have made it to their first birthday so Laura Howard asks those in the industry if they regard this as a cause for celebration

  • HBOS rejects website's fee criticism

    30 Jun 2008

    HBOS has hit back at Moneysupermarket.com's claim that its new mortgage account fee is more expensive than its old exit fee.

  • HIPs won't last long after polling for the next general election closes

    30 Jun 2008

    With regard to Trevor Kent's letter 'Even providers agree that HIPs don't cut the mustard' (Mortgage Strategy June 2), I don't see how it benefits anyone to continue discussing Home Information Packs' merits or otherwise because they are here to stay and have to be dealt with according to the legislation.

  • HML awarded special servicer ranking

    2 Jul 2008

    International ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has assigned an ‘average’ ranking to HML as a residential special servicer in the UK and affirmed the ‘above average’ servicer rating assigned last year, with a positive outlook.

  • Home owners to become borrowing underclass

    1 Jul 2008

    Over half of home owners with fixed rate mortgages due to end this month have not started looking for a new mortgage deal, reveals Moneysupermarket.com.

  • Homebank to bolster sales team

    2 Jul 2008

    Mortgage brokerage Homebank Financial Services is looking to recruit 15 sales consultants from around the UK to bolster its national sales team.

  • House prices fall 0.9% in June

    1 Jul 2008

    House prices fell by 0.9% in June and are now 6.3% lower than this time last year, says the latest Nationwide House Price Index.

  • House prices fall again in June

    30 Jun 2008

    Hometrack's latest housing survey reveals house prices fell for the ninth consecutive month in June. Average prices were down 1% over the month and by 2.5% over the first half of 2008. Hometrack adds that new buyer registrations were down 5.7% in June and have now fallen by 52% since August 2007.

  • House prices fall for nine consecutive months

    30 Jun 2008

    House prices fell for the ninth month in a row in June, says the latest national housing market survey from Hometrack.

  • HSBC is most competitive lender in H1

    1 Jul 2008

    HSBC was the most competitive mortgage lender in H1 2008, reveals research from Mform.co.uk.

  • International lawyer who helped revolutionise UK mortgage market

    1 Jul 2008

    Fredrick M Kerr, an international lawyer, pioneered the introduction of title insurance in the UK and mainland Europe.

  • Irish borrowers fear ECB's revenge

    1 Jul 2008

    In Ireland they are calling it Europe's revenge. The European Central Bank's warning that it is considering a hike in interest rates may be aimed at curbing inflation not punishing those who voted down the Lisbon Treaty, but that's not how the country's struggling borrowers see it.

  • Italian bank Banca closes securitisation

    3 Jul 2008

    Italian bank Banca 24-7 S.p.A has closed its first residential mortgage-backed securitisation, a €2.5bn ($3.9bn) deal backed by prime mortgages originated by Banca 24-7 on homes across Italy.

  • John Charcol to lose 69 staff

    30 Jun 2008

    John Charcol is set to lose 69 staff and will close offices in Birmingham, Guildford and Manchester, after finishing a strategic review.

  • Johnston joins BuildLoan

    30 Jun 2008

    BuildStore's broker arm BuildLoan has boosted its broker team with the appointment of Julie Johnston as key relationship manager.

  • Kensington to cut 75 jobs but gets ratings upgrade

    1 Jul 2008

    On June 16 Kensington informed its staff that up to 75 jobs were at risk of redundancy.

  • King destroyed the world to save NR

    1 Jul 2008

    He made over $35m on Black Monday with a not insignificant investment in currency options and more recently he's fleeced us again with Black Swans, a book in which conspiracies of circumstances lead to a new pantheon of post-event analysis in which he takes on the role of an enigmatic guru.

  • LeadPoint launches protection leads

    1 Jul 2008

    LeadPoint has today launched protection leads in a bid to establish itself in the insurance market.

  • Leadpoint looks at lenders' leads

    30 Jun 2008

    Leadpoint is considering offering leads to lenders in a bid to open up the lead generation market.

  • Lender deal does not help most needy

    30 Jun 2008

    Deals such as that by Lloyds TSB may appear attractive to consumers but don't go far enough and brokers need to respond by highlighting the importance of their services, says Rob Clifford

  • Let's not overegg the mortgage crisis

    30 Jun 2008

    Twenty years ago the British egg industry was facing a tough time when the then health minister Edwina Currie told the press that "Most of the egg production in this country, sadly, is now affected with salmonella".

  • LEX pushes the boundaries

    1 Jul 2008

    The research and metrics that inform our LEX Awards have been further augmented by awards partner Capital Blue, so you can now measure your performance as a responsible lender, the way you manage arrears and whether or not you're treating customers fairly

  • Lib Dems warn of mass repossessions

    30 Jun 2008

    The Liberal Democrats have urged the government to act now in a bid to stave off the mass repossessions experienced in the last recession.

  • Loans Etc has successful May

    30 Jun 2008

    In May Loans Etc recorded its highest month-on-month broker registrations for secured loans since 2005. It attributes the growth to less competition.

  • LSE and Lehmans launch platform

    30 Jun 2008

    The London Stock Exchange is teaming up with Lehman Brothers to launch an asset trading platform. The technology will allow anonymous trading in the form of what the LSE calls dark liquidity pools. Anonymity will allow firms to offload and pick up assets without alerting the market.

  • LV= launches Flexible Lifetime Mortgage

    30 Jun 2008

    LV= has launched a flexible equity release product giving home owners a 15-year guarantee on the maximum amount that can be drawn down.

  • Marathon Money 30 June 2008

    30 Jun 2008

    Mortgage Strategy brings you a rundown of the industry figures putting their bodies on the line in September's Berlin Marathon to raise money for charity

  • Market downturn set to slash government's Stamp Duty revenues

    1 Jul 2008

    The government is set to lose £5bn in Stamp Duty revenue as a result of the UK's flagging property market, research claims.

  • Market watch 30 June 2008

    30 Jun 2008

    Swaps edged up a bit but nothing like the massive increases seen in recent weeks. At one point I thought I was going to have to increase the y axis of the graph as swaps were surging above 6.5%.

  • Market will return to the 21st century

    30 Jun 2008

    In this week's Mortgage Strategy we take inspiration from David Bowie's song Life on Mars, which also inspired the now classic TV show of the same name.

  • Marketguard launches interest rate insurance

    2 Jul 2008

    Marketguard has launched an interest rate insurance product to help borrowers coming off fixed rates onto SVRs.

  • Masochist

    1 Jul 2008

    Mortgage Strategy editor Robyn Hall has been so fired up by his training regime for the Berlin Marathon in September that he's signed up to do a 10k run on July 6. He will be raising money for Marie Curie Cancer Care, which looks after the terminally ill.

  • Media is damaging fragile market

    30 Jun 2008

    The consumer media is spinning housing market statistics into sensational doom and gloom headlines, which is undermining confidence and making matters worse, says Gemma Harle

  • MEX cuts packager panel by more than 50%

    30 Jun 2008

    Mortgage Express has removed the three major packager associations from its distribution panel, cutting it by more than half.

  • MEX retains BDS

    30 Jun 2008

    The BDS Mortgage Group has confirmed that it is one of only a handful of distribution routes currently being retained by Mortgage Express.

  • More lenders to take up title insurance

    30 Jun 2008

    London & European has today forecast a surge in the uptake of title insurance policies by prime lenders.

  • Mortgage approvals drop to record low

    1 Jul 2008

    The number of new mortgage approvals for house purchases plunged to a record low of 27,968 during May, figures from the British Bankers' Association reveal.

  • Mortgage availability to fall further in Q3

    3 Jul 2008

    The amount of mortgages available on the market is expected to drop even further in the next three months, a Bank of England survey shows.

  • Mortgage Next launches proc fee guarantee plan

    3 Jul 2008

    Mortgage Next is launching a scheme in which brokers are guaranteed to receive proc fees as soon as their clients exchange contracts.

  • Mortgageforce signs up Duffy

    30 Jun 2008

    Mortgageforce has contracted Kevin Duffy, former managing director of Robert Sterling, as a consultant as it undergoes a strategic review.

  • Most buyers dissatisfied with new property

    30 Jun 2008

    The Office of Fair Trading says seven out of every 10 buyers of new homes have found defects in their property.

  • Most home owners to avoid negative equity

    3 Jul 2008

    House prices would need to fall by almost a fifth before home owners experience negative equity, research from GE Money Home Lending reveals.

  • Movers and Shakers

    1 Jul 2008

    Bradford & Bingley's chief executive Steven Crawshaw, who restructured the former building society as a mortgage lender after it was reinvented as an intermediary business by Chris Rodrigues, stepped down at the beginning of June.

  • Mutual and edeus launch account

    30 Jun 2008

    Edeus and Newcastle have launched their 50:50 balanced FTSE account. Brokers can earn up to 2.75% of the amount deposited and clients have instant access to half of the funds without penalty. The remaining 50% is locked into a FTSE tracker deposit account.

  • Mutuals see £853m savings inflow in May

    30 Jun 2008

    Building societies attracted savings inflows of £853m during May - the highest figure for May since 2002.

  • My Anti-Bullshit Indicator tells me we're in a recession

    30 Jun 2008

    It looks like a recession. It smells like one, it feels like one, it tastes like one, it is one.

  • My case shows Halifax is only broker-friendly when it suits it

    30 Jun 2008

    I want to tell Mortgage Strategy's readers about a recent situation I was in-volved in with Halifax, which I think does it no credit in these difficult times for the industry.

  • Naked man is not John Rowland

    1 Jul 2008

    Nothing excites the financial world like nudity. Take this picture that we featured in our June issue as a bit of light-hearted fun to illustrate our political column by John Rowland, analyst at Cicero.

  • Nationwide launches first ever broker BDMs

    3 Jul 2008

    Nationwide is rolling out its first ever broker-facing BDMs as part of its revamped focus on brokers.

  • Networking day proves commercial market is still fighting

    30 Jun 2008

    The National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers has held its third ‘Meet the Patrons’ Networking Event at the National Motorcycle Museum in Solihull.

  • New mortgage approvals fall 16,000

    30 Jun 2008

    The number of new mortgages approved for house purchase fell from 58,000 to 42,000 in May compared to the previous month, Bank of England data reveals.

  • New residential approvals slump

    30 Jun 2008

    Plunging consumer appetite for house purchases was laid bare last week as figures revealed new mortgage approvals have hit a record low.

  • Nigel Payne appointed MD at BM Solutions

    1 Jul 2008

    Nigel Payne has been appointed managing director of BM Solutions in addition to his role as managing director of The Mortgage Business.

  • Northern Rock plans exit route for borrowers

    1 Jul 2008

    Under pressure from the European Commission to repay the government its £27bn loan and reduce its market share (see pages 12-13) Northern Rock is working with Lloyds TSB to offer an exit route to borrowers.

  • OFT bans debt advisor

    30 Jun 2008

    The Office of Fair Trading has revoked the consumer credit licence of a debt advisor who received thousands of pounds from home owners then failed to make payments to consumers’ creditors.

  • OFT highlights consumer importance

    4 Jul 2008

    The chairman of the Office of Fair Trading has highlighted the need for the financial services industry to work together to ensure that consumers can drive market development.

  • One rule for the big boys and to hell with the rest of us

    30 Jun 2008

    We've heard plenty from both sides about dual pricing but Nationwide has also decided to use data protection to disadvantage its brokers.

  • Online marketer offers training

    30 Jun 2008

    Online property marketing firm The Home Portal is running a series of sessions to train brokers to become its agents. Brokers will be able to provide marketing, Home Information Packs and legal services for clients while acting as the firm's agents.

  • Only 13% of firms meet March TCF deadline

    30 Jun 2008

    The Financial Services Authority has revealed that only 13% of firms it assessed met its March deadline for Treating Customers Fairly.

  • Paaleads moves into overseas leads sector

    30 Jun 2008

    Paaleads.com is diversifying into the provision of overseas mortgage leads, claiming it is the first major player in the lead generation sector to do so.

  • Packager resigns from PMPA

    30 Jun 2008

    Premier Mortgage Packagers has resigned from the Professional Mortgage Packagers Alliance. Insolvency procedures began at the packager earlier this month.

  • Paradigm adds Bridgewater to panel

    2 Jul 2008

    Bridgewater Equity Release has been added to Paradigm Mortgage Services’ preferred equity release panel.

  • Paragon to launch EPC service

    2 Jul 2008

    Paragon is launching an Energy Performance Certificate service to landlords to ensure they are ready for the coming EPC legislation.

  • Poetic justice

    1 Jul 2008

    Mole was treated to a day out at the England vs New Zealand one-day international last week, courtesy of the kind folk at Royal Bank of Scotland Intermediary Partners.

  • PTP offers brokers an extra £100 per case

    2 Jul 2008

    Personal Touch Packaging is offering brokers the chance to earn an extra £100 per case on top of their usual proc fee, in a new Summer Bonus Scheme.

  • PTP retained by MEX

    1 Jul 2008

    PTP is another among just a handful of packagers that have been retained by Mortgage Express.

  • Ratings agencies agree to improve transparency

    1 Jul 2008

    The major ratings agencies have agreed to a revamp of their fee structures in an effort to improve transparency and avoid conflicts of interest.

  • RBS Intermediary Partners launches fixed rate deals

    3 Jul 2008

    RBS Intermediary Partners will add two fixed rate products to its portfolio tomorrow.

  • Readers think top bods deserve FSA scrutiny

    30 Jun 2008

    SOME 74% of Mortgage Strategy Online readers believe the Financial Services Authority is right to target senior managers for serious business failures.

  • RICS calls for Stamp Duty reform

    1 Jul 2008

    The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the current residential Stamp Duty system is no longer fit for purpose and is calling for the land tax to be fundamentally reformed.

  • Rocks set scene at Newcastle

    1 Jul 2008

    Twin brothers Steve and Chris Rocks have been spending time in Iceland courtesy of Newcastle Building Society, which has commissioned them to create a semi-abstract triptych of paintings to adorn the atrium of the society's new offices at the Cobalt Business Park in North Tyneside.

  • Saffron chief joins BSA council

    30 Jun 2008

    Saffron chief executive Andy Golding has been elected to the Building Societies Association's council. Golding will hold the seat for three years.

  • Schoolboy errors must end

    1 Jul 2008

    Philip Tebbatt warns that the information you provide in letters to your customers might be intercepted and used to access accounts for the purpose of fraud

  • Scot Prov joins Paradigm's dual protection proposition

    30 Jun 2008

    Scottish Provident has today joined Paradigm Mortgage Services’ dual protection proposition.

  • Shelter report exposes payment crisis

    30 Jun 2008

    A recent report by Shelter exposed the fact that around 4.1 million households used credit cards to pay their mortgage or rent in the past 12 months. To anyone knowledgeable about borrowing issues this would be absurd, but it shows the desperate level to which many have sunk.

  • SMS launches B2L exclusive with Kensington

    1 Jul 2008

    Solent Mortgage Services is launching a buy-to-let exclusive 6.99% three-year fixed rate from Kensington.

  • Study on web's impact on lending

    30 Jun 2008

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders and the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association have linked up with Frank Eve Consulting to analyse how lenders and brokers use the internet to speed up the lending process. The study will focus on how lenders integrate their technologies into brokers' point-of-sale systems and their priorities in terms of third party integration.

  • TBMC selected for First National's distribution

    1 Jul 2008

    The Business Mortgage Company has been selected as one of only two buy-to-let distribution channels for First National - GE Money Home Lending’s buy-to-let brand.

  • TFC deals on Mortgage Brain

    30 Jun 2008

    TFC Homeloans' products are now available on Mortgage Brain Premier.The specialist mortgage distributor has made products available on Trigold for several years but wants to increase its exposure.

  • The fish house and other challenges

    30 Jun 2008

    It's not just the credit crunch that affects house prices, as proven by some of the more unusual properties I've surveyed during the course of my career, says Simon White

  • The month at a glance

    1 Jul 2008

    June started badly and got worse. When it came to delivering solutions to the problems afflicting the mortgage market, we still appeared to be in going-around-the-houses mode, with lots of consultation and little action

  • The way forward

    30 Jun 2008

    Brokers struggling with lower mortgage volumes could sell low-risk investment products to make up the shortfall until the good times return, says Charles Morley

  • Time to rehabilitate RMBS

    1 Jul 2008

    Cicero analyst John Rowland says the time has come for lenders to engage with the government to rehabilitate the reputation of the securitisation model, which is not fundamentally flawed as critics would have us believe

  • TMA launches semi-exclusive with AfI

    4 Jul 2008

    The Mortgage Alliance has launched a three-year semi-exclusive fixed rate product funded by Abbey for Intermediaries.

  • TMB on a stroll to help hospice

    1 Jul 2008

    Staff at TMB recently completed the Sunrise Stroll to help raise over 100,000 to fund the running costs of the Hospice of the Good Shepherd, the lender's chosen charity for 2008.

  • TPG pulls out of B&B deal

    4 Jul 2008

    US investment firm TPG Capital has withdrawn its £179m offer to back Bradford & Bingley.

  • Treasury needs security clean-up

    1 Jul 2008

    Executives responsible for anti-money laundering functions in banks and building societies must be wondering why they bother after Treasury papers including assessments of commercial websites and payment systems' vulnerability to terrorists were found on a commuter train in Surrey last month.

  • Trigold entertains sales bids

    30 Jun 2008

    Martin Colyer, managing director of Trigold, has confirmed the sourcing system is open to sales bids in an exclusive interview with Mortgage Strategy.

  • Turn Of The Tide

    2 Jul 2008

    To quote the album title of Barclay James Harvests 1981 long player,now there's one for the musos out there, there are lots of littlethings happening at the moment that could point to a 'Turn Of The Tide'in the mortgage industry.

  • UCC sees 25% rise in broker applications

    1 Jul 2008

    The Unsecured Credit Company has seen a 25% rise in applications from brokers since the start of the year, compared to the same period last year.

  • Unleash becomes Paradigm partner

    30 Jun 2008

    Unleash Advice Partnership has signed up as a partner with Paradigm Mortgage Services. An IFA network, Unleash Advice was set up by Andy Adewale, former co-founder of Mint Financial Services.

  • US sub-prime bubble finally bursts

    30 Jun 2008

    In this final edited extract from his new book Chain Of Blame, Mortgage Strategy's US editor Paul Muolo considers whether there was a conspiracy that helped bring down the industry

  • Ussher to announce increased credit access plan

    30 Jun 2008

    Kitty Ussher, economic secretary to the Treasury, has announced reforms to provide wider access to affordable credit for UK families.

  • Viva Espana

    2 Jul 2008

    Seeing Torres score the goal that ensured a glorious Euro 2008 win forSpain last weekend was great, a well deserved win for those who play thebeautiful game as it was meant to be played.

  • We must not forget NR's good times

    30 Jun 2008

    Northern Rock is apparently gearing up to test how watertight the pay-off arrangements for former chief executive Adam Applegarth are.

  • We must reassess our expectations

    30 Jun 2008

    Given the economic situation in the UK and around the world, setting a higher inflation target would be more realistic and could lead to confidence returning, says Sue Read

  • What a comedy of errors

    1 Jul 2008

    Can things get so bad that it's no longer possible to laugh at them? Apparently the mortgage market has hit that sad watershed and proof can be found on page 14, where Coogan's Bluff has been replaced by a more responsible piece by Michael Coogan, director-general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

  • Your Shout

    30 Jun 2008

    Question: An increasing number of clients are asking me about fixed rate mortgages, particularly longer term ones. I can see the attraction of knowing how much repayments are going to be, but I don't know whether to advise them to take out fixed rate deals or not as it depends on interest rate movements. So which way are rates likely to go, and if fixed rates are advisable, are short or long-term deals best?

  • You're fired but here's a nice card

    1 Jul 2008

    According to the Card and Gift Company, corporate greetings cards are the latest trend from the US to cross the Atlantic, but given its stock-in-trade it would say that, wouldn't it?

  • You've got to score to win

    1 Jul 2008

    Graham Llewellyn-Berry, business consultant at Target Group, has some radical views on how and why lenders should credit score their existing customers

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