Mortgage Strategy
30 October 2006

  • Ipswich scheme fund is allocated

    30 Oct 2006

    Assetz' Ipswich property fund has allocated most of the £9.5m required to provide finance for the development of mixed use scheme The Mill in Ipswich.

  • MortgageClearingOnline.co.uk launches

    2 Nov 2006

    New sourcing system MortgageClearingOnline.co.uk has launched to the industry.

  • Paymentshield sale rumour

    30 Oct 2006

    It was rumoured last week that Paymentshield had been bought by insurance company Towergate for £180m. Towergate, one of the largest privately-owned insurance organisations in the UK, is believed to be in due diligence with Paymentshield. Paymentshield has had an ambitious growth strategy since 2004, when CEO Stuart Pender led it through a management buy-in. It has trebled the number of policies sold in the past three years and saw profits of £11.5m in 2005, up from £2.4m ...

  • 100% B2L deal from Unity

    30 Oct 2006

    Unity Homeloans has launched a prime buy-to-let product with 100% rental calculation.

  • 17.3m people locked out of housing market, says Abbey

    30 Oct 2006

    Abbey says a whopping 17.3 million people cant get on the property leader, with 7.4 million citing house prices as the primary reason.

  • 75% Of brokers are in favour of trail commissions

    30 Oct 2006

    A whopping 75% of Mortgage Strategy Online readers are in favour of lenders paying trail commissions. Just 25% say they prefer the old system.This week Mortgage Strategy asks: "Should the government put the final nail in the coffin of Home Information Packs?"Q: Do you think lenders should pay trail commissions?

  • A happy Xmas for remortgage clients

    30 Oct 2006

    A number of pointers begin to creep in at this time every year to remind us that it's not long until Christmas.

  • A step towards e-conveyancing

    30 Oct 2006

    Goldsmith Williams has launched an online system which it says moves the industry a step closer to instant conveyancing.Titled GWLive, brokers can use the system to access their clients' cases online and receive 24-hour access to the same information as solicitors, allowing them to control the processing of cases.Goldsmith Williams has designed the software on the back of lenders' efforts to provide instant transactions and mortgage offers. By logging on to the system brokers ...

  • Abbey mortgage must be kept in perspective says My Mortgage Direct

    2 Nov 2006

    Abbeys move to retain its share of the mortgage market by increasing homeowners borrowing power must be kept in perspective, according to broker My Mortgage Direct.

  • Abbey warned to be wise when lending 5X income mortgages

    1 Nov 2006

    John Postlethwaite, consultant at Punter Southall financial management, has warned Abbey that its new scheme, however helpful, must be regulated strictly to avoid pushing the market beyond its limits.

  • Advantage in Positive tie-up

    30 Oct 2006

    Advantage has linked up with Positive Solutions to introduce its pipeline system into its servicing centres.

  • Affirmative Finance launches easy pay scheme

    2 Nov 2006

    Affirmative Finance has launched a scheme designed to make monthly repayments more manageable.

  • AHIPP reassures industry over Energy Performance Certificates

    1 Nov 2006

    The Association of Home Information Pack Providers is reassuring the industry there will be enough energy assessors to carry out Energy Performance Certificates on houses by June 2007.

  • Alexander event to mark international launch

    30 Oct 2006

    Alexander Finance Services has launched into the international mortgage market and will be hosting an event for brokers eager to get involved in this area.AFS will be packaging for Conti Financial and other brokers, and intends to package mortgages for anywhere in the world.The event will be held on November 6, with presentations from Conti Financial, Goldsmith Williams, Commercial First and paaleads.com.At the event AFS will give every 10th visitor a free bottle of champagne ...

  • ARs have to obey principals and that's a fact of agency law

    30 Oct 2006

    From Nick Baxter In his letter last week (Mortgage Strategy October 23), Richard Griffiths seems upset that I mention the fact that appointed representatives have to follow instructions of their principals in my column. I'm sorry Richard, but this is a fact of agency law. He also states "we do not interfere in ARs' choice of mortgages". If he looks at his own off-panel lender request form (reference NDL043 07/05 live on his website on October 23 2006) the final boxes state 'AR ...

  • ARs who are treated shabbily should vote with their feet

    30 Oct 2006

    Name and address supplied It's always interesting to hear networks defend accusations that they treat their appointed representatives like sheep. For most networks, this is a fallacy and easily rebuffed. Most networks are independent and working for the benefit of their ARs. Not so, it would appear, for the industry giant, Friends Provident, and the new kid on the block, Intrinsic. It appears Friends Provident de-cided that its loyal ARs were a small part of what it does ...

  • B&B suspends new business

    30 Oct 2006

    Bradford & Bingley closed its doors to new business last week and will re-open to consumers on November 13. This follows an announcement that the group will only sell its own products. Staff in the branch network will undergo training for the next two weeks.

  • Battle of the brands makes this an interesting time

    30 Oct 2006

    From Julian Wells I was interested to read Sally Laker's article about brands in the October 16 issue of Mortgage Strategy. She quite rightly highlights the growing importance of brands in the intermediary market. I've spent six years in this business and never have the marketing and branding elements of the mortgage market been such an interesting subject. The new lender brands have grabbed many headlines but there has been a big push by existing lenders too. And then there are ...

  • BDM of the week

    30 Oct 2006

    Name: Rebecca NichollsAge: 32Company: Bananas IncAREa: London and EssexNominated by: Steve Yee, mortgage adviser, Premier Financial Planningreasons for nomination: Bananas is unusual among packagers in that it has a dedicated team of BDMs covering the country. It does not believe in dealing with its broker partners only on the phone and uses its BDMs to develop face-to-face relationships with them wherever possible. Rebecca has been with the company for three years ...

  • BDS adds First National to packager panel

    1 Nov 2006

    BDS Mortgage Group has added First National to its satellite lender panel taking the total lenders available to 17, of which seven offer onsite underwriting resource.

  • BDS appoints four new recruits

    2 Nov 2006

    BDS Mortgage Group, the south coast packager and network has appointed four new underwriters to its team.

  • Blackandwhite defends its motorway ad campaign

    30 Oct 2006

    Blackandwhite.co.uk has defended its roadside brand awareness campaign following complaints that it brings the industry into disrepute.The posters are 40ft long and are displayed on stationary trailers alongside several motorways. The adverts state: "Debt to clear?" above the firms' web address and a picture of a Dalmatian dog.Simon Burgess, managing director of britishinsurance.com, spotted one advert by the M6 and has reported it to the Financial Services Authority and the ...

  • Bridgewater reversion deal gives clients extra

    30 Oct 2006

    This week I return to a provider that revamped its product range just over a year ago, positioning it squarely as one of the leading home reversion providers.

  • Bright Grey extends maximum term of CI cover

    30 Oct 2006

    Bright Grey is to extend the maximum term of its critical illness cover.The move is in response to more advisers seeking to meet the longer term protection needs of their clients - particularly those taking out mortgages over extended terms.Bright Grey's critical illness cover term will increase to a maximum of 40 years as well as its life or critical illness cover with reviewable rates, which also increases to 40 years. Life or critical illness cover with guaranteed rates increases ...

  • Brits undervaluing contents of their homes

    30 Oct 2006

    Brits are displaying a lack of understanding of the actual value of the contents they have in their home, says Legal & General.

  • Brits waste 1.3bn in poor Inheritance Tax planning

    30 Oct 2006

    UK adults will waste 1.3bn through poor Inheritance Tax planning this year, reveals annual research by unbiased.co.uk.

  • Brokers can cut out the middle man

    30 Oct 2006

    Brokers should be able to cut out lead generators and provide a one-stop shop for consumers who search for mortagage information on the internet, says Frank Eve

  • Brokers devided over next MPC vote

    1 Nov 2006

    Research by Mortgage Express reveals brokers are divided over which way the next Monetary Policy Committee vote will go, with roughly the same numbers expecting an increase as a hold.

  • Brokers should note that fees-free deals are not always best solution for clients

    30 Oct 2006

    From Eddie Goldsmith I read with interest the letter from Andrew Botte of Chase Evans Homeloans in the October 16 issue of Mortgage Strategy in which he highlighted his frustrations about solicitors who do not disburse on free legals offered by lenders. This comes as no surprise. I have been quoted in the press on more than one occasion speaking about the problems that may arise when dealing with fees-free legal services from lenders. The crux of the matter is that these solicitors ...

  • Brokers taking advantage of EDGE

    1 Nov 2006

    Enterprise Group has reported an increase in broker’s using its EDGE system, since the launch of its Q4 incentive scheme.

  • Brokers want B2L regulated

    30 Oct 2006

    A massive 70% of brokers would like the buy-to-let market to be regulated just like the mainstream mortgage market.This finding comes from research by Alliance & Leicester to mark the second anniversary of regulation. A&L says the call to regulate buy-to-let is due to the rise in the number of people wanting to cash in on this sector.But Mehrdad Yousefi, head of intermediary mortgages at A&L, says he is surprised by brokers' reactions.He says: "Buy-to-let has been a success ...

  • Brown and Cameron to top CBI conference

    31 Oct 2006

    Gordon Brown and David Cameron are to present their pro-businesscredentials to Britain's corporate leaders at the CBI annual conference next month.

  • Brown stays cool as debt row hots up

    30 Oct 2006

    Chancellor Gordon Brown has dismissed political concerns that the country's consumer debt problem is spiralling out of control.James Clappison, Conservative MP for Hertsmere, and Vincent Cable, Liberal Democrat shadow chancellor, recently aired concerns about the debt problems faced by millions in the UK.Cable says: "The government has overlooked what is becoming a serious problem. We have been calling for a network of centres to give independent financial advice, as well as ...

  • Bungling lenders should cough up

    30 Oct 2006

    If a lending organisation makes a mistake that could jepordise a customer's credit status it should make recompense in full and acknowledge its error, says Ray boulger.

  • C&G unveils new-look website

    30 Oct 2006

    Cheltenham & Gloucester is launching a redesigned intermediary website featuring an affordability calculator, a personal news alert service and a sales force locator.

  • Capital rule changes could boost market

    30 Oct 2006

    The Financial Services Authority published a consultation paper last month about changing the rules on reserving and capital requirements for life insurers.This will affect protection policies and could be good news for the market.

  • CHL deal to cash in on B2L boom

    30 Oct 2006

    CHL Mortgages has launched a 90% LTV product fixed at 4.74% for two years to capitalise on the buoyant buy-to-let market.The deal has 115% rental cover based on the pay rate and matures on January 31 2009. There is no personal minimum income requirement for the product and no income checks are carried out.CHL also offers lending on up to 25% of flats within the same block or 10, whichever is the higher number. This would allow landlords to borrow on 10 flats in a 12-flat block.Trevor ...

  • Christmas cheer could cost borrowers dear

    30 Oct 2006

    I am aware that Christmas should not be mentioned before November but there are only a couple of days to go and anyway, the Yorkshire started it with the launch of what I called its Scrooge mortgage.

  • Clients will want to fund extensions

    30 Oct 2006

    Recent statistics from the Department for Communities and Local Government show that 645,000 planning applications were lodged in the past year. Half of these were for things such as loft conversions and conservatories, and around one-third of those came from people in London and the South-East.

  • Climate change begins at home, says Tories

    30 Oct 2006

    The Conservative Party has called on the government to put Britain's environmental house in order first, before seeking to lead an international effort to combat climate change.

  • CML shops government to regulatory body over HIPs

    30 Oct 2006

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders has attacked the government for "policy schizophrenia" and shopped it to the Better Regulation Commission over Home Information Packs.Speaking at the Property Forum's annual dinner last week, CML director- general Michael Coogan slammed the HIP infrastructure as a "costly indulgence" and urged the government to reconsider whether the initiative can be justified.He says: "This infrastructure seems a costly indulgence. It is also a clear example ...

  • Complete links up with GMAC-RFC

    31 Oct 2006

    Complete Mortgage and Loan Services has become the latest GMAC-RFC packager partner to offer the lender’s point-of-sale offer facility to its brokers.

  • Connells Group appoints conveyancing services director

    30 Oct 2006

    Connells Group has appointed Roger Wilson to the newly created role of conveyancing services director.

  • Credit Action reveals latest UK debt figures

    1 Nov 2006

    The total UK personal debt exceeded £1 ¼ trillion and at the end of September 2006, with the growth rate increasing to 10.3% for the previous 12 months which equates to an increase of £109bn.

  • CurriculumVitae

    30 Oct 2006

    "Climbing, fell walking and most elements of the arts appeal to me."

  • DCA reveals rise in mortgage possession figures

    3 Nov 2006

    The Department for Constitutional Affairs has revealed that the number of possession orders on mortgage arrears has risen by 15% in the last year.

  • Dear Delia

    30 Oct 2006

    Dear Delia My client is a secondary school teacher earning a basic salary of 36,000 and an extra 8,000 from private tutoring.

  • Demand for IFA services rises

    30 Oct 2006

    IFA Promotion's quarterly study Advice Drivers reveals that the demand for independent financial advice was 13% higher this summer than in the previous quarter.

  • Does negative press about PPI put you off taking out MPPI?

    30 Oct 2006

    Last week the Financial Services Authority and the Office of Fair Trading release two damning reports on the mis-selling of payment protection insurance, with recommendations that both PPI and MPPI be transferred to the Competition Commission. This evoked fears that consumers could be put off MPPI. So this week Mortgage Strategy asksDoes negative press about PPI put you off taking out MPPI?

  • Easier2move agree deal with retirementhomesearch.co.uk

    31 Oct 2006

    Easier2move has announced a new deal with retirementhomesearch.co.uk provide conveyancing services to their clients. The service will be white-labelled under the retirementhomesearch.co.uk corporate umbrella.

  • Edeus recruits Pritchard as consultant

    1 Nov 2006

    Edeus has revealed that Terry Pritchard will be working with it as a consultant to develop its strategy and direction in the sub-prime market.

  • edeus signs servicing contract with HML

    31 Oct 2006

    HML has signed a servicing contract with edeus to service its mortgage business.

  • Edeus to join Openwork panel

    30 Oct 2006

    Openwork will add edeus to its lender panel on November 1. The move will take Openwork's panel to 39 lenders and will mean that edeus can offer its specialist lending products to Openwork's nation-wide distribution network.HIP firm links with IT provider Home Information Pack provider Now Hips has formed a partnership with technology provider Quest Associates.

  • Equity release market seeing steady growth

    30 Oct 2006

    Norwich Union says the equity release market is seeing steady but not dramatic growth, as figures reveal a 0.51% increase in business on last year.Safe Home Income Plans has re-leased its Q3 figures which show the total value of new business written was £295m, up 0.51% on last year.The number of drawdown plans sold was up 32.6% from 1,362 in Q2 2006 to 1,806 in Q3 2006 and the value of written lifetime mortgage business rose from £276.3m to £276.9m. Home reversions showed a ...

  • Estate agents still not ready for HIPs

    30 Oct 2006

    One in Five estate agents are unwilling to trial HIPs before their introduction next summer.The findings come from Easier2-move's Home Information Pack awareness index and although nine out of ten agents are aware of what a HIP is, some are still woefully unprepared for the scheme's introduction.Just under half the estate agents surveyed knew the key change to HIPs was making the Home Condition Report voluntary. But the remaining respondents showed a frightening lack of knowledge, ...

  • Fair treatment confusing to customers

    30 Oct 2006

    Docucorp International has conducted in depth research with a number of leading insurers and brokers in the UK into the Treating Customers Fairly Initiative.

  • Figures tell history of pain for FTBs

    30 Oct 2006

    The ratio of house prices to income has widened by 60% since 1970, a study by the Alliance Trust Research Centre has revealed.Alliance looked at the differences between house prices and incomes over the past 35 years and found evidence of the increasing difficulty first-time buyers have faced in getting on the property ladder.Between 1970 and 2005 the gap between the most affordable region for first-time buyers in the country and the least widened from 29% to 38%.London ...

  • Focus appoints business development director

    2 Nov 2006

    Focus Solutions, the provider of adaptive software solutions, has appointed David Brooks as its business development director to take responsibility for sales, marketing and business development, across the group.

  • Former Egg boss joins edeus board

    30 Oct 2006

    Paul Gratton, former chief executive of Egg, has joined edeus as a non-executive director. Gratton spent most of his career in financial services and was involved with Egg from the development stage. He resigned as CEO of Egg in February when the company was delisted. Michael Bolton, chief executive of edeus, says: "Gratton is an innovator. Our business has a lot in common with the ventures Gratton has managed in the past and he will contribute to our success."

  • Free remortgages at edeus for three-year adverse tracker range

    2 Nov 2006

    edeus has announced it is to offer free standard valuations on its 3 year adverse tracker range.

  • Freedom Finance rises in Euro 500 listings

    30 Oct 2006

    Freedom Finance has risen to become number 294 among the fastest growing European companies included in the 2006 Europe's 500 Listing, the annual ranking of high growth companies published by Europe’s 500.

  • Freedom launches self-cert mortgage through AMPD

    2 Nov 2006

    Freedom Lending, the specialist mortgage subsidiary of Merrill Lynch, has launched a near prime two-year discount self-cert mortgage exclusively via the Alliance of Mortgage Packagers and Distributors.

  • Freehold poised to launch its lender

    30 Oct 2006

    Freehold has revealed that it is close to launching the first phase of its standalone lender Freehold Mortgage.The packaging association has had lender ambitions for some time but is now testing the market through a super-branded lender funded by Inv-estec through Infinity Mortgages while it awaits the green light from the Financial Services Authority.It hopes to launch this first phase in November before becoming a bespoke lender in its own right next spring.FM will be ...

  • Friends style apartments popular in the UK

    1 Nov 2006

    Research by Halifax has shown that the traditional image of British life is changing, with British homeowners prefering to live in flats and apartments rather than terraced or semi-detached housing.

  • FSA issues enforcement on Bali Financial Services

    31 Oct 2006

    The Financial Services Authority has stopped Paramjit Singh Bali from carrying out regulated activities for failing to organise and control his business responsibly and effectively in order to comply with regulatory requirements.

  • FSA proposes radical simplification of COB rules

    31 Oct 2006

    The reform of the Conduct Of Business rules is a flagship project for the Financial Services Authority in the move towards more principles-based regulation and away from detailed prescriptive rules.

  • FSA to pay out compensation to insurance customers

    2 Nov 2006

    The High Court has approved the Financial Services Authority's application to pay approximately £655,000 to policyholders who bought insurance from CIC Insurance Company SA, an unauthorised insurance provider, through a UK-based intermediary called Insureyourshop.com.

  • FSA to review impact of incentives

    2 Nov 2006

    The Financial Services Authority has revealed it will look at the impact of incentives within the financial services industry as one priority in its review of retail distribution.

  • GE loan sparks MP's anger

    30 Oct 2006

    Jack Straw last week pledged to report GE Money's CEO Brad Cooper to trade and industry secretary Alistair Darling after a fellow MP claimed the company had taken advantage of one couple with an astonishing 21.9% interest loan.Siobhain McDonagh, Labour MP for Mitcham and Morden in London, complained to Straw that two of her constit-uents, Mr and Mrs Webster, face the prospect of being evicted from their home because they have fallen behind on a loan provided by GE. She says: ...

  • Global warming will shrink economy, warns Stern

    30 Oct 2006

    Global warming could shrink the global economy by 20%, warns a report by economist Sir Nicholas Stern.

  • Government puts £3bn into council housing

    30 Oct 2006

    Local authorities in England are to receive £3.47bn to improve the quality and management of their council homes.

  • Halifax Hispania opens branches on Costa del Sol

    30 Oct 2006

    Banco Halifax Hispania has opened two new branches on the Costa del Sol in Sotogrande and Guadalmina.

  • Halloween tricksters cause record amount of damage to homes

    30 Oct 2006

    Figures from Norwich Union Insurance show that Halloween is the worst day of the year for malicious damage claims to property with an increase of 150% on October 31.

  • Help clients understand the need for protection

    30 Oct 2006

    The Office of Fair Trading and the Financial Services Authority fi-nally published the findings of their respective investigations into the payment protection in-surance market last week.

  • HIP corruption slur denied

    30 Oct 2006

    The government has dismissed as "nonsense" accusations that a conflict of interest lies at the heart of its selection process for home inspector certification schemes.Concerns were raised by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors after Surveyors and Valuers Accreditation was certified to the scheme in early October while RICS was left waiting to be approved.RICS has issued a Freedom of Information Act request to the Department of Communities and Local Government demanding ...

  • Home Buyer Systems improves advice process

    30 Oct 2006

    Home Buyer Systems has introduced a suite of improved features for its integrated mortgage and general insurance advice and sales system that ensures end-to-end regulatory compliance.

  • Homes are the new pensions

    30 Oct 2006

    More than 7.6 million people are banking on their homes to help fund their re-tirement rather than any savings they might have.Research from Lincoln Financial Group finds that 51% of home owners regard their home as the major asset that will provide for their retirement after their pension.Despite research showing that the average age home owners expect to be free of mortgage payments is 56, around 1.58 million do not expect to clear their mortgages until they are 65. Another ...

  • House prices in market towns growing

    3 Nov 2006

    New research from Halifax Estate Agents has highlighted that 73% of market towns have higher average house prices than the neighbouring towns in their county.

  • House prices rise

    30 Oct 2006

    The average house price grew by 0.4% in October and is now 4.9% higher than a year ago. This is the fastest annual rate of growth for over two years, according to Hometrack.  

  • House prices up 0.7% in October

    31 Oct 2006

    The Nationwide house price index for October shows house price growth was firm during the month with house prices up by 0.7%.

  • IF pushes for better offset representation

    30 Oct 2006

    Intelligent Finance is in talks with Mortgage Brain, Trigold and Mortgage 2000 about how to better represent offset mortgages on their systems.Despite offset representing 10% of the mortgage market, IF feels the product is not given the profile it deserves because only headline rates appear on sourcing systems rather than the wider concept of the product.Mortgage Brain and Trigold say they are looking at whether anything can be done to better represent offset on their systems.Cammy ...

  • ING says multi-channel strategy is no problem

    30 Oct 2006

    ING Direct has denied there is a conflict in its offering mortgages both direct to consumers and via brokers.The bank recently launched into the mortgage market with flexible and fixed mortgages through the direct to consumer channel, although it says it is also looking at how best to work with brokers.A spokesman for ING says: "We are well aware of the success ING has had with intermediaries in other countries and working with them is a logical step for us to take here."This ...

  • John Charcol appoints new CEO

    30 Oct 2006

    John Charcol has appointed Ian Kennedy as its new chief executive officer to allow John Garfield to take a more backseat role.

  • Just expects panel of eight

    30 Oct 2006

    Just Retirement says its multi-tied equity release advisory service will have a panel of up to eight providers once it has received approval from the Financial Services Authority.Just Retirement Solutions will sit under the Just Retirement Holdings parent company but be run as a separate advisory arm to the lender. It will target affinity groups and financial services organisations whose customers might be suitable for equity release but don't want to advise on the product themselves.Nigel ...

  • Keep client records handy

    30 Oct 2006

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries is warning brokers to keep client documentation in a safe place in case the police want to access it in the course of criminal investigations.Rob Griffiths, associate director of AMI, says several brokers have called its help-desk for advice when they have been involved in police investigations.He says: "The Financial Services Authority has in-formed brokers that they should retain client documentation for three years."We believe ...

  • Kensington gains majority stake in Money Partners

    31 Oct 2006

    Kensington Group plc has agreed to increase its shareholding in Money Partners Holdings Limited from 20% to 57.5%, following the successful first two years of the partnership between the two leading specialist lending businesses.

  • Labour to tax homes in affluent areas, says Spelman

    30 Oct 2006

    Caroline Spelman has sounded the alarm over alleged Labour plans to penalise families living in nice affluent areas by slapping massive increases on their council tax bills.

  • Land Registry launches House Price Index

    2 Nov 2006

    The Land Registry has launched a House Price Index which only looks at the multiple sales of the same house, rather than looking at single sales within a time period.

  • Law firm issues warning over Abbey's 5x income mortgage

    1 Nov 2006

    Reynolds Porter Chamberlain LLP, the insurance law firm has warned that the decision by Abbey and other banks to relax their mortgage lending criteria should put property valuers and their professional indemnity insurers on watch for negligence claims. RPC says that one of the biggest sources of professional negligence claims against surveyors is for negligent overvaluations of properties. Many of these claims are only launched by the lender after a home has been repossessed and ...

  • Leeds launches discount mortgage at 4.99%

    1 Nov 2006

    Leeds has launched a two-year discount mortgage at 4.99%.

  • Leeds launches long term fixed rate product

    3 Nov 2006

    Leeds has launched a new 10-year fixed rate mortgage of 4.99%.

  • Lenders accused of fiddling valuations

    30 Oct 2006

    Lenders have been accused of instructing surveyors to downvalue properties in an attempt to slow the housing market.Thomas Reeh, chief executive officer of blackandwhite.co.uk, raised the issue last week when he claimed valuers are starting to take an extra cautious stance when valuing properties for clients they know are sub-prime, because of the extra risks involved.But Caroline Havers, partner at the international law firm Salans, says she has also spoke to brokers who have ...

  • Lenders can help portfolio landlords

    30 Oct 2006

    The record level of buy-to-let borrowing in the first half of 2006 once again shows the growing value of this area of mortgage lending. The Council of Mortgage Lenders says that in the first half of 2006 there were 767,000 outstanding buy-to-let mortgages worth £83.9bn, accounting for 8% of the value of lending compared with 7% in the first half of 2005.

  • Lenders can't afford to ignore affordability

    30 Oct 2006

    The use of affordability criteria has been a huge step forward for the mortgage market in the past five years.

  • Lenders seek fresh ways to retain clients

    30 Oct 2006

    When talking to brokers, journalists and colleagues in the lending industry last week, it occurred to me that the customer retention debate in the mortgage market is still as topical as it was when the first top 10 lender decided to pay retention proc fees to brokers a few years back.

  • Let's sell mortgages, not gimmicks

    30 Oct 2006

    The mortgages industry is in danger of providing deals that include technologically enabled features that are of no use to clients and this could come back to haunt us, says Pete Thomson.

  • Lib Dems attack banks over debt problems

    3 Nov 2006

    The Liberal Democrat Party has attacked the government and banks for failing to tackle the growing problem of personal debt.

  • Lib Dems support Stern reveiw

    30 Oct 2006

    The Liberal Democrat Party has supported the findings of the Stern review.

  • Lib Dems warn on debt distress

    30 Oct 2006

    The Liberal Democrats have hit out at the government's lack of control over the nation's increasing debt problems.Vince Cable MP, shadow chancellor for the Lib Dems, says: "People are desperate to seek advice and a way out of their debt problems. With interest rates likely to rise, this debt distress is bound to intensify." Cable's comments followed news that private debt management firm Debt.co.uk is expanding its operations to cope with demand.Kiss to boost extranet uptake ...

  • LifeQuote offers Charcol bespoke protection solutions

    30 Oct 2006

    LifeQuote has created bespoke protection plans for each of Charcol’s four businesses – John Charcol, John Charcol Associates, Charcol Direct and Charcolonline.

  • LIME says over 1,000 brokers have signed up

    30 Oct 2006

    Lifetime Insurance Mortgage Experts, the mortgage network arm of Tenet Group, says that after just two years it has more than 1,000 brokers using its services.And with over 100 applications in the pipeline LIME expects to further boost its adviser numbers in the next few months.The firm says it has had to expand its business support team to five to deal with the rising number of enquiries and is developing its account management team, with a number of recent appointments boosting ...

  • Living gets more expensive as life gets cheaper

    31 Oct 2006

    The cost of living in the UK has increased substantially in the last decade, up 16% on average, with house prices, petrol and tobacco the main contributors, shows research by Barclays Life Insurance.

  • LMS remortgaging service available through Mortgage 2000

    1 Nov 2006

    LMS remortgaging service for packagers is now accessible through Mortgage 2000 and can be used via m2-d and Casemaster.

  • LMS reports success of packager service

    3 Nov 2006

    The new remortgaging service developed specifically for packagers by LMS is proving to be a success, with more than 13 packagers already signed up.

  • LMS to recruit new head of survey and valuations

    2 Nov 2006

    LMS is looking to recruit a new managing director for its survey and valuations business. The post has become available as the present managing director, John Archbold, moves on to head up a property development company. His new venture is a major change in career and he will be responsible for the UK operations of an international property group based in Ireland. Andy Knee, managing director of LMS, says: “We are, of course, very sad to be losing John, but wish ...

  • Loans.co.uk agrees to pay fine

    30 Oct 2006

    Loans.co.uk has agreed to pay a £455,000 penalty to the Financial Services Authority after it was fined last week for failing to treat its customers fairly when selling payment protection insurance.

  • Low rates not always the best, says Moneyfacts

    31 Oct 2006

    Moneyfacts.co.uk says mortgages with low rates and high fees could be giving the consumer a poor deal.

  • M2000 sets out to show brokers its strengths

    30 Oct 2006

    Mortgage 2000 is looking to raise awareness of the services it offers with a marketing campaign.The first phase of the campaign highlights the pedigree of the company as part of moneysupermarket.com, the country's largest financial comparison website.M2000 launched in 1993 and has been providing mortgage sourcing and IT services for nearly 15 years.The campaign will highlight a number of areas in which M2000 can provide advanced services to directly authorised brokers as ...

  • Mark Blackwell quits The Derbyshire

    2 Nov 2006

    Mark Blackwell has quit The Derbyshire after two and a half years as marketing director. Blackwell has ensured the successful launch of the society’s retail brand repositioning as well as being instrumental in the launch of ‘Salt’ the society's specialist lending brand in 2005. Having also built a successful team around him, The Derbyshire punched well above its weight winning numerous awards for its brand development and its mortgage proposition. Blackwell says: ...

  • Marketing Brief

    30 Oct 2006

    Support is critical in the mortgage industry. Kevin Paterson's A-Z review rates the marketing material that lenders issue to help brokers with sales and business development

  • Marketwatch

    30 Oct 2006

    Swaps continued to race up last week yet the number of lenders withdrawing their fixed rates surprises me. I guess a few lenders are still trying to hit their 2006 market share targets and are not worried about profit and loss.

  • Me and my car

    30 Oct 2006

    My Vauxhall Zafira is not showy but it has the benefits of reliability and safety which ,given my history of car-related accidents, is important to me says Sean McDonnell.

  • Money worries are the last taboo

    30 Oct 2006

    Money problems are the last social taboo among family and friends in this country, says First Direct. Research for the company shows that fewer than a quarter of adults feel comfortable talking to their best friends about debt or their concerns about paying bills.

  • Moneyfacts in firing line for questioning value of AVMs

    30 Oct 2006

    Foreign buyers in France think that French estate agents are overpaid and provide poor service, claims Languedoc Property. The buyers polled by the French property website also reveals that confidence in the French property market - particularly in the Languedoc area - is still high.

  • Moneyfacts in firing line for questioning value of AVMs

    30 Oct 2006

    Moneyfacts.co.uk has been slated for questioning whether automated valuation models benefit lenders more than consumers.Julia Harris, mortgage analyst at moneyfacts.co.uk, says: "This type of valuation is for the benefit of lenders, providing an indicative valuation to ensure a property is suitable for a mortgage and priced in line with the prevailing market value."But it provides no reference to the condition of the property or the possible variations between properties within ...

  • More first-time buyers opt for 100% LTV

    30 Oct 2006

    The number of first-time buyers taking out mortgages in excess of 100% LTV has risen considerably, says the Mortgage Advice Bureau. With the average first-time buyer property now in excess of £152,000, buyers are forced to turn to greater levels of borrowing in order to get onto the property ladder.

  • More FTBs hit by Stamp Duty

    30 Oct 2006

    The government came under fire last week over its commitment to first-time buyers when figures revealed the number of people hit by Stamp Duty has rocketed over the past year.The Council of Mortgage Lenders says there are huge regional differences in the Stamp Duty paid by first-time buyers, with 82% of people in northern England not paying the tax compared with just 3% in London.In its recent News & Views newsletter the CML says: "Stamp Duty is not only increasing the ...

  • Mortgage 2000 to promote intermediary services

    30 Oct 2006

    Mortgage 2000 has launched a new marketing campaign in order to raise awareness of the services the company has to offer to intermediaries as well as customers.

  • Mortgage Minds members off to Dubai

    2 Nov 2006

    Mortgage Minds brokers are currently being rewarded for the company’s continued growth and success with a special excursion to Dubai.

  • Mortgage Next offers free legal and valuation fees

    31 Oct 2006

    Mortgage Next is running a free legal and valuation fees incentive in conjunction with four of its lender partners.

  • Mortgage Promotions adds Kensington Insurance to panel

    1 Nov 2006

    Mortgage Promotions has added Kensington Insurance to its distribution panel, allowing its members full access to Kensington’s accident, sickness and unemployment insurance and Kensington home insurance products.

  • Mortgage Strategy to launch Secured Lending Summit

    1 Nov 2006

    Mortgage Strategy is pleased to announce the launch of a major new event aimed at the secured lending sector.

  • Mortgage valuation fees average 190

    30 Oct 2006

    Moneyexpert.com has revealed that lenders are charging average basic valuation fees of nearly 190, with some firms charging as much as 405.

  • N&P enters Gibraltar buy-to-let market

    31 Oct 2006

    Norwich and Peterborough has announced a new addition to its product ranges for customers looking to buy in Gibraltar or Spain.

  • N&P gets into sub-prime

    30 Oct 2006

    Norwich and Peterborough has launched into the sub-prime market with a range of credit repair mortgages.The society says that with reports already showing UK borrowers are a whopping 1.25trillion in debt, many people are finding it hard to get on the property ladder because of poor credit ratings. Hence its decision to branch out into sub-prime.N&P is offering a range of two-year fixed and tracker products with rates dependent on the buyer's credit situation. A buyer with a ...

  • NAEA members vote on HIPs

    3 Nov 2006

    The National Association of Estate Agents invited members to vote on Home Information Packs after the NAEA chief executive, Peter Bolton King, was accused of not being in touch with the views of the NAEA membership over HIPs.

  • NAEA reveals buy-to-let market is still buoyant

    2 Nov 2006

    The National Association of Estate Agents has launched its new quarterly lettings survey, revealing that the rental market in the third quarter of 2006 was buoyant and strong.

  • NAEA warns against higher interest rates

    2 Nov 2006

    The National Association of Estate Agents is advising the Bank of England against increasing interest rates further in November, when a further quarter per cent rise is expected to take rates to 5%.

  • Nervously awaiting the exit fees report

    30 Oct 2006

    The mortgage industry faces a number of questions that just won't lie down - mortgage payment protection insurance, interest-only deals and exit fees to name a few. Many of these issues are subject to vigorous debate and rightly so.

  • New executive director for FSCS

    30 Oct 2006

    Ron Devlin, head of claims division at the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, has been appointed to the board of FSCS as an executive director.

  • Newcastle expands mortgage range

    30 Oct 2006

    Newcastle has expanded its mortgage range with the launch of two new mortgage products.

  • Niche exclusives from Pink and edeus

    30 Oct 2006

    Pink Home Loans and edeus have launched a range of exclusive products covering niche areas such as sub-prime, self-cert and buy-to-let.The sub-prime range has six categories ranging from near prime to unlimited so clients only pay for the amount of adverse credit they have.Bankrupts who have been discharged for just 24 hours can also take advantage of specialist products in the range.The self-cert products require no proof of income and the maximum LTV is 90%. This is also ...

  • O'Brien becomes MD of HoC

    30 Oct 2006

    Home of Choice has promoted Gerry O'Brien to managing director.Richard Coulson, chief executive of HoC, says: "O'Brien's appointment is pivotal to our company's continuing rapid expansion."

  • Odds on another base rate rise

    30 Oct 2006

    It's odds on another Bank of England base rate rise in November. Gambling website Betfair is offering odds of 53/50 on a rise of 0.25% in the base rate and 22/5 on no change. A fall is unlikely, according to Betfair, which offers odds of almost 1,000/1 on a 0.5% drop. Gamblers using the Betfair website have spent over £33,000 betting on the outcome.

  • One in four have mortgage cover

    30 Oct 2006

    Just one in four households have enough cover to pay off the mortgage should they lose the main bread- winner's income through death or illness, says Scottish Widows.The company conducted a survey assessing the financial pressures on home owners and found that nearly half the households in the country depend on more than one salary.Some 57% of pay goes on essentials but only 43% of income is protected against death or illness. The survey also shows more than half of Brits have ...

  • Optoma revamps processing procedures

    30 Oct 2006

    Optoma Broker Solutions has changed to its processing procedures in response to business volumes, and to improve the standard of its service to brokers.

  • Panel solution for GMAC

    30 Oct 2006

    GMAC-RFC has appointed London & European to provide its title insured panel management solution in support of the point-of-sale offer technology recently launched by the company.

  • Pink adds Future to lender panel

    30 Oct 2006

    Pink Home Loans has added Future Mortgages to its packaged mortgage lender panel. Future offers products ranging from 100% deals to sub-prime.

  • Platform launches product exclusives through em-

    1 Nov 2006

    em- has launched two discounted product exclusives from Platform.

  • PMS launches sub-prime deal

    30 Oct 2006

    Premier Mortgage Service has launched a three-year sub-prime product funded by Platform. The fixed rate is available across almost prime, minor and light adverse. There is a 0.20% rate reduction on Platform's core rates plus free valuations.

  • Prepare for more remortgage work

    30 Oct 2006

    Rising house prices mean continuing affordability oressures for first-time buyers and, in turn, increased reliance on remortgaging business for intermediaries, says Sally Laker.

  • Price of US new-builds falls

    30 Oct 2006

    The price of new homes in the US dropped by an average of 9.7% last month, resulting the industry's biggest annual deficit on new homes for 35 years.Debt serviceEnterprise Group is launching a debt service for its introducing brokers, called Enterprise Debt Solutions.

  • Prices up 187% since 1996

    30 Oct 2006

    House prices have risen by a whopping 187% since the UK housing market recovered in February 1996, Halifax re-vealed last week.Half of the country's counties have seen a trebling in their average house price since 1996. All counties have seen at least a doubling in the average house price since that time.London showed the largest increase in house prices since the recovery, rising by 240% or 12.4% per year. The smallest rise since the 1996 recovery has been seen in Scotland ...

  • Pritchard quits Chase for consultancy work

    30 Oct 2006

    Chase UK's chief executive Terry Pritchard last week stepped down to pursue consulting opportunities.Although he will remain as a shareholder in the packager, Pritchard plans to concentrate on undertaking con- sultancy work for several lenders, helping them to enhance their distribution str-ategies and product development.Pritchard says: "I am confident the directors of Chase UK can handle the everyday running of the business from now on, so the time is right for me to do something ...

  • Profit from changes in house buying process

    30 Oct 2006

    When I speak to brokers about the introduction of Home Information Packs or the Land Registry's reform of the conveyancing process I always end up being told that it will be estate agents and solicitors who will be the winners and mortgage intermediaries who will be the losers.

  • Promising outlook

    30 Oct 2006

    Promise Finance raised £12,000 for its charity Promise Dreams at its third annual golf day at The Belfry.At the golf day guests played against footballers Don Goodman and Steve Bull (pictured, right, alongside Suresh Bawa, trustee of Promise Dreams). Promise Dreams is dedicated to helping ill children.An auction held in the evening of the golf event raised £12,000. Prizes included a luxury golfing break in Portugal and a box at Manchester United.

  • Property management group call for innovation for first-timers

    1 Nov 2006

    Mortgage lenders and the finance industry have got to be more innovative to help people onto the housing ladder, rather than locking people into massive cycles of debt and the danger of repossession, Places for People has warned.

  • Rate rise could dampen housing market

    1 Nov 2006

    SmartNewHomes.com has warned that a rate rise in November would dampen the market.

  • Red tape record

    30 Oct 2006

    Mortgage brokers have adapted well to domestic regulation but now face further intervention from across the Channel, says Mike Fitzgerald.

  • Regulator begins to bare its teeth

    30 Oct 2006

    How time flies. It's been two years since the Financial Services Authority started regulating the mortgage market. The regulator may have got off to a shaky start but the recent flurry of fines it has imposed on mortgage and insurance firms looks like the start of an avalanche.As we report on page 8, last week loans.co.uk was fined close to half a million pounds for failing to treat its 14,400-plus customers fairly when selling payment protection insurance. The size of the fine ...

  • Sales promotion at Cheval

    30 Oct 2006

    Cheval has promoted Mark Posniak to director of sales and marketing. He has been with Cheval for two years as head of sales and marketing.

  • Savills unveils Moscow tie-up

    30 Oct 2006

    Savills has joined forces with Intermark, a British-owned Moscow estate agency, to begin trading in the Moscow housing market. The venture, under the banner Intermark Savills, will seek sales in the UK and Russia. House prices have doubled in the past 12 months in Moscow and now stand at £2,130 per square metre, which is roughly the average annual salary in Russia.

  • Scarborough recruits regional development manager

    30 Oct 2006

    Scarborough has recruited a new regional development manager to support ambitious sales targets for its specialist lending brand.

  • Self-cert deal for secured loans

    30 Oct 2006

    GE Money Home Lending has launched a self-cert deal for secured loans in its First National range. The product is available for status zero to two clients and allows them to self-certify income up to £60,000, with a maximum loan amount of £60,000 and LTV of 85%.

  • Singh quits Optoma but keeps shares

    30 Oct 2006

    Harpal Singh has quit his post as operations director at Optoma Broker Solutions but will remain a shareholder in the company.Singh worked for the firm for more than six years and was involved in its launch.He says: "I am proud to have played my part in the success that Optoma has enjoyed. The business and its strategy have developed enormously in the past 18 months and I am sure this trend will continue."I've got a long break planned but I have every confidence that Optoma ...

  • Speed more important than rates for buy-to-let

    2 Nov 2006

    Intermediaries dealing with buy-to-let cases consider speed to offer to be by far the most important factor when servicing their property investor clients, says Mortgage Trust.

  • Spreading the benefits of the B2L revolution

    30 Oct 2006

    The buy-to-let market has been one of the success stories of the past decade.

  • Staff quit Lehman due to City move

    30 Oct 2006

    Lehman Brothers has revealed that some Preferred and London Mortgage Company employees have taken redundancy as a result of the lenders' relocation to the City of London.The investment bank announced last week that Preferred and the LMC will be relocated to its London head office in Broadgate, where the administrative office of Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited is also based.In an official statement, Lehman states: "As a result of the relocation some employees have chosen not ...

  • Standard Life urges lenders to lend on affordability

    2 Nov 2006

    Standard Life Bank is today calling for mortgage providers to lend on affordability rather than salary multiples.

  • Stop all the talking and take action to stop PPI unfairness

    30 Oct 2006

    From Simon Burgess We have recently seen yet another report from the Financial Services Authority voicing concern about the failure of payment protection insurance providers to treat customers fairly, including more rhetoric about how this situation will be tackled. We know sales information is unclear, we know there are issues surrounding exclusions and the suitability of cover and we know customers are unfairly encouraged to purchase single premium polices. What we don't ...

  • Stroud and Swindon website is changing for the better

    30 Oct 2006

    From David Rodney I want to thank Kevin Paterson for his generous review of the Stroud and Swindon website in Mortgage Strategy on October 9. I say generous because as one of the marketing people that Paterson refers to in his article, I believe our website was a good deal worse than being simply "harmless" and "annoyingly predictable" as he suggests. But fortunately we had already recognised its limitations in terms of content and ease of navigation and have just relaunched ...

  • Surveys differ on rental yields

    30 Oct 2006

    Two buy-to-let surveys have resulted in differing reports concerning rental yields in England in the past quarter.Landlord Mortgages and Paragon Group have released figures for Q3 2006 showing differing results. Paragon, which used 9,000 of its own cases, puts the average rental yield in England at 6.05% while Landlord, which used its database of some 20,000 cases, gives a more cautious average of 5.54%.Although both surveys show no sign of the buy-to-let market stalling Landlord ...

  • Swap rises hit fixed deals

    30 Oct 2006

    Steep rises in swap rates have led several lenders to pull some of their best fixed rate deals. Halifax recently ended its 4.39% deal while Northern Rock, Abbey and Scottish Widows have all launched fixed mortgages with higher rates. High swap rates look set to continue, with two more rises expected this year and maybe a third next spring.

  • Testing times for financial advisers

    30 Oct 2006

    I hate taking exams but it might be a good idea for financial advisers to take a refresher test every couple of years to keep up-to-date and reassure potential clients, says Sue Read.

  • Text messaging offers opportunities, says MortgageKeeper

    30 Oct 2006

    MortgageKeeper says mobile phone texting has not only revolutionised the way in which people communicate socially, it is forging new opportunities for the way we conduct business.

  • The benefits of retention policies

    30 Oct 2006

    Premier Mortgage Service, the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries and BM Solutions last week highlighted the consumer and broker benefits of retention policies.In recent months, consumers have been able to compare product transfers without remortgage costs against the best remortgage deals in the market. And brokers have been rewarded with proc fees for product transfers. John Malone, managing director of PMS, says: "Retention policies mean consumers can choose between a product ...

  • The Mortgage Mole

    30 Oct 2006

    Oh brother Oh my god! Chantelle Houghton, star of Cele-brity Big Brother, revealed in a recent interview that she wants to get into the buy-to-let market. Chantelle will be following in the footsteps of fellow D-list celebrity Jade Goody, who reportedly owns a portfolio worth over £2.5m."Obviously I have made a lot of money so I'm planning on being a property tycoon," Chantelle told the Metro newspaper last week."I'll be buying flats around the Olympic ...

  • Thinc Destini rebrands as The Thinc Group

    31 Oct 2006

    Thinc Destini, the multi-distribution channel, has launched its new corporate brand and will now be known as The Thinc Group.

  • Title deed

    30 Oct 2006

    Leadbay launched in January 2005 as a result of a brainwave from Simon Baker, now Leadbay's operations manager.

  • TMP launches free valuations and instant offer

    31 Oct 2006

    The Mortgage Partnership has launched free valuations in association with GMAC-RFC.

  • Tories slam government's immigration policy

    3 Nov 2006

    The Conservative Party is demanding the government explain its policy on immigration control after official statistics revealed 1,500 migrants arrive in the UK every day.

  • Tories slam tax snoopers plan

    30 Oct 2006

    The Conservatives have condemned the government as greedy and oppressive after it emerged that it was to give an army of Council Tax inspectors the power to enter private homes and penalise residents who refuse to cooperate with fines of £1,000 or more. The Tories warn that the inspectors will be empowered to take photographs and assess home improvements for higher taxes.Caroline Spelman, shadow local government secretary, says: "For all Labour's talk of human rights, these ...

  • TV series on teaching finance

    30 Oct 2006

    A series on personal financial education made in collaboration with the Financial Services Authority starts tonight on Teachers' TV.

  • Two years old

    30 Oct 2006

    As we mark the second birthday of statutory regulation it is clear that the FSA's move towards a principles-based approach mwans the future of the industry is in the hands of those being regulated, says Stephanie Spicer.

  • UCB unveils self-cert offer

    30 Oct 2006

    UCB Home Loans has launched a limited offer on a self-cert three-year tracker product with a rate of 5.09%. The deal tracks the Bank of England base rate plus 0.34% for three years. It boasts a free standard valuation for purchase and remortgage applications.

  • UK economy is looking good

    30 Oct 2006

    The UK economy is looking buoyant due to the continued strength of the housing and financial markets and growth in the country's labour force, according to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club's autumn forecast.

  • Understanding points of principle

    30 Oct 2006

    The case studies in a recent FSA discussion paper on the responsibilities of product providers and distributors could help us better understand principles-based regualtion, says Bill Warren.

  • Unity launches near prime range

    1 Nov 2006

    Unity Homeloans, the lender created by intermediaries to serve the needs of intermediaries and backed by Investec, has launched a near prime range.

  • Use FSA data to boost your business

    30 Oct 2006

    The Financial Services Authority recently published some readable material regarding the responsibilities of product providers and distributors. Intermediaries should not feel they are excluded from this as they are the ultimate distributors.

  • We need better training structures

    30 Oct 2006

    High quality training and development structures are necessary to help the mortgage industry recruit the fresh blood it needs if it is to achieve its potential, says Richrd Coulson.

  • West Brom appoints corporate account manager

    1 Nov 2006

    James Taylor has been promoted to corporate account manager at West Brom for Intermediaries, the specialist intermediary lending arm of the West Browich.

  • Will rises in the base rate and higher mortgage costs result in declining sales of mppi?

    30 Oct 2006

    Sales should not fall if consumers are made aware that mortgage protection is particularly important in a chilly economic climate, say our experts.

  • Wind of change on PPI will be good for brokers

    30 Oct 2006

    They say it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good and I reckon that the ill wind currently billowing up bankers' skirts should be like a breath of fresh air to the the intermediary sector.

  • Yes launches client care service

    30 Oct 2006

    Yes Loans and Mortgages has launched a customer care facility. The service is designed to offer introducers a direct and immediate report detailing client responses and ratings of the service they received.

  • YES voted one of Wales’ fastest growing businesses

    2 Nov 2006

    YES Loans and Mortgages has been recognised as one of Wales’ 50 fastest growing companies in a list formally known as the Fast Growth 50. The list, compiled by the Western Mail, is the only regional barometer of indigenous businesses in Wales and acknowledges companies that can demonstrate strong business growth, increased turnover and a strengthened workforce. Operating from their processing centre in Cardiff, YES Loans and Mortgages was set up with just three staff ...

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