Mortgage Strategy
6 October 2008

  • A&L fined £7m for PPI failings

    7 Oct 2008

    The Financial Services Authority has fined Alliance & Leicester £7m for serious failings in its telephone sales of payment protection insurance.

  • A&L gets £7m fine from FSA

    7 Oct 2008

    The Financial Services Authority has fined Alliance & Leicester £7m for serious failings in its telephone sales of payment protection insurance.

  • Abbey lowers rates on long-term fixed-rate mortgages

    7 Oct 2008

    Abbey is reducing the rates and booking fees on its 5-year fixed-rate mortgage range from tomorrow.

  • AMI publishes guide to help brokers cope

    6 Oct 2008

    The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has published a list of survival tips to help brokers weather the credit crunch.

  • Arrears code exemption sought

    6 Oct 2008

    The Association of Short Term Lenders is calling on the Civil Justice Council to make commercial mortgages exempt from its arrears protocol.

  • AToM places 80% of applications

    6 Oct 2008

    All Types of Mortgages says it is currently placing up to 80% of mortgage application enquiries each day.

  • August gross lending to mutuals hit 2.77bn

    6 Oct 2008

    Gross lending to mutuals amounted to 2.77bn in August 2008 while net lending hit -38m, the BSA reports.

  • Axe to fall on PPI at end of October

    10 Oct 2008

    Providers have until October 31 to send in their comments to the Competition Commission about the future of Payment Protection Insurance.

  • B&B deal could pose problems for ER sector

    6 Oct 2008

    Duncan Young, chief executive of Retirement Plus, is warning that the nationalisation of Bradford & Bingley will have a negative impact on the equity release market.

  • Bad break

    7 Oct 2008

    Sad news from Mortgages.co.uk - sales director Kevin Friend is holed up in Cheltenham General Hospital after breaking his back.

  • Bad times mean brokers are needed more than ever

    6 Oct 2008

    It's safe to say that industry confidence hit rock-bottom last week. In the wake of the US Senate initially refusing to back President George Bush and Treasury secretary Henry Paulson's $700bn rescue plan, the market was left giddy and sick like someone suffering the after-effects of a violent roller coaster ride.

  • Bank of America to save sub-prime borrowers

    6 Oct 2008

    Bank of America is looking to reduce the mortgage interest payments of nearly 400,000 sub-prime borrowers in the US by up to $8.4bn.

  • Bank of England cuts rates by 0.5%

    8 Oct 2008

    The Prime Minister Gordon Brown has revealed that the Bank of England has today cut the UK interest rate by 0.5%.

  • Banking rescue package is GO, but is it FAB?

    8 Oct 2008

    This morning a new and decisive government (well one that was heavily pressured by all and sundry) finally unveiled its rescue plan aimed at restoring confidence and liquidity to the UK banking system.

  • Banking stocks plummet as market stumbles

    6 Oct 2008

    HBOS' share price has fallen 15% and RBS' 14% in early morning trading as the Footsie 100 fell by 3.25%.

  • Barclays commits to government scheme

    8 Oct 2008

    Barclays says it is committed to government measures to return stability to UK financial markets and that it will participate in the scheme.

  • Base rates should be cut by 1% - on Wednesday not Thursday, says CEBR

    7 Oct 2008

    During the credit crunch so far, the UK authorities have given the impression that they have been constantly taken by surprise by events.

  • BDS offers Callcredit discount

    7 Oct 2008

    BDS Mortgage Group is offering brokers access to online credit reports through Callcredit for £4.95.

  • BDS Secured offers 80% LTV through Link

    8 Oct 2008

    BDS Secured Loans has launched a range of fixed rate secured loans through short-term funding Link Lending.

  • Berlin Marathon runners raised £100,000 for charity

    6 Oct 2008

    The mortgage industry had 35 entrants in the recent Berlin Marathon and on their behalf I'd like to thank Mortgage Strategy for profiling their efforts so well.

  • Bernanke signals Fed ready to cut

    8 Oct 2008

    In a speech to the National Association for Business Economics in Washington today Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke signalled the Fed was ready to cut interest rates in the light of worsening conditions in the credit markets, with the consequent negative impact on U.S. economic activity.

  • Black stuff

    7 Oct 2008

    Mole spent the latter half of last week in Dublin with his pals from the Irish Mortgage Federation, courtesy of London & European.

  • BM to launch packager exclusives in October

    8 Oct 2008

    Speaking at the Mortgage Intelligence Annual Conference today, Nigel Payne, managing director of BM Solutions revealed it will launch a range of packager exclusives on October 25.

  • BoE reveals 2.6bn drop in net lending to clients

    6 Oct 2008

    The BoE has revealed a 2.6bn drop in net lending to individuals in August. The number of remortgages dropped to 64,000.

  • Borrowers clueless about deals

    6 Oct 2008

    Research from Norwich Union has found that 72% of borrowers don't know what type of mortgage they have and 67% don't know what their monthly repayments are.

  • Brilliant adds Link to panel

    6 Oct 2008

    Exclusive Connections' secured loans brokerage arm Brilliant Loans has added Link Loans to its panel.

  • Brokers bemoan lack of B2L deals

    6 Oct 2008

    Brokers are concerned that the withdrawal of Bradford & Bingley brand Mortgage Express from the buy-to-let market will further restrict the number of products available.

  • Brokers come on board at FISA

    6 Oct 2008

    The Finance Industry Standards Association has revamped its board so that it now includes a number of brokers as well as lenders.

  • Brown calls scheme "fresh and innovative"

    8 Oct 2008

    Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called the scheme unveiled by the Treasury this morning "fresh and innovative intervention that gets to the heart of the problem".

  • BSA barely exposed to Icelandic banks

    10 Oct 2008

    The Building Societies Association has revealed it has less than £200m invested in collapsed Icelandic banks.

  • BSA welcomes government package

    8 Oct 2008

    The Building Societies Association today said that it welcomed the announcement from HMT that all building societies are fully eligible - if they wish - for the package of financial support.

  • BSA welcomes government plans

    9 Oct 2008

    The Building Societies Association has welcomed the announcement from HMT that all building societies are fully eligible - if they wish - for the package of financial support.

  • Building a fence around the base of the volcano

    6 Oct 2008

    Well that's it then. With Bradford & Bingley sliding towards oblivion we are probably seeing the final the former building societies that abandoned mutuality for the lure of the profits unleashed by greater wholesale funding.

  • Buyout will see Moneyextra.com compete with comparison sites

    6 Oct 2008

    Moneyextra.com is to go head-to-head with Moneysupermarket.com after being bought by Help Group owner John Elder and a group of private investors from AWD Chase de Vere.

  • C&G's approach to NR clients smacks of a parallel universe

    6 Oct 2008

    Am I the only one who thinks that the mortgage market has entered our reality from a parallel universe invented by Douglas Adams in The hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy?

  • CAB enquiries jump 51%

    10 Oct 2008

    Figures released today by national charity Citizens Advice reveal that more people are seeking advice on how to manage mortgage and secured loan arrears and fuel debts.

  • CAB sees 51% increase in mortgage and loan enquiries

    10 Oct 2008

    Figures released today by national charity Citizens Advice reveal that more people are seeking advice on how to manage mortgage and secured loan arrears and fuel debts.

  • CC calls for feedback on PPI proposals

    10 Oct 2008

    The Competition Commission has released its findings into the retail payment protection market and is calling for feedback by October 31 2008 on its proposals.

  • CC to release PPI findings tomorrow

    9 Oct 2008

    The Competition Commission is releasing its findings into the Payment Protection Insurance market tomorrow.

  • Central banks can do nothing about credit crunch

    6 Oct 2008

    We are in a market with far too many intermediaries between customers and capital.I can't imagine there will be too much of an impact on consumers because we lose HBOS.

  • Citi and Wells Fargo negotiations rumble on

    10 Oct 2008

    Citigroup and Wells Fargo are still trying to broker a deal on which firm gets to acquire US bank Wachovia.

  • CML approves government package

    8 Oct 2008

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders is welcoming with open arms the measures proposed by Alistair Darling to help reopen the UK lending market.

  • Competition Commission to reveal PPI findings tomorrow

    9 Oct 2008

    The Competition Commission is releasing its findings into the Payment Protection Insurance market tomorrow.

  • Congress passes rescue package

    6 Oct 2008

    The US Congress passed a revised version of Treasury secretary Henry Paulson's $700bn financial rescue package as Mortgage Strategy went to press on Friday.

  • Consumers and firms to blame for credit gluttony

    6 Oct 2008

    The news that GMAC-RFC is to cease loan origination is a body blow to the specialist lending industry.

  • Conti partners with mform.co.uk

    6 Oct 2008

    Overseas mortgage provider Conti Financial Services has teamed up with online mortgage company Mform.co.uk.

  • Curriculumvitae: Bob Sturges

    6 Oct 2008

    Describe your current jobI'm responsible for internal and external communications for the company. This involves keeping our employees informed of major developments affecting our business and maintaining an ongoing dialogue with the media, trade bodies and other opinion formers.

  • Darling calls for culture shift in regulation

    8 Oct 2008

    Chancellor Alistair Darling has called for an overhaul of regulation around the world following the release of his £50bn taxpayer-funded rescue plan.

  • Darling finally coughs up the cash

    8 Oct 2008

    The government has agreed a capital restructure share scheme with major UK high street banks worth £50bn and offered a guarantee to get firms lending to each other.

  • Debt and mortgage advice firm to launch

    6 Oct 2008

    Neil Jenkins, former head of franchise operations at Mortgage Op-tions, is launching a combined mortgage brokerage and debt management business.

  • Deposit protection scheme totals £1m payout

    6 Oct 2008

    The Deposit Protection Service has paid out £1m in interest to landlords and tenants as a result of tenancy deposit legislation.

  • Don't mention the... credit crunch

    6 Oct 2008

    This week promises to be another interesting one after the US bail-out plan was finally agreed and the Bank of England Base Rate decision due on Thursday.

  • E2M guarantees referral fees

    6 Oct 2008

    Easier2Move has launched Easier2Protect, a service to shield brokers and home buyers against lost referral and conveyancing fees.

  • EC wants capital requirement changes

    6 Oct 2008

    The EC has proposed changes to capital requirements to reinforce the financial system's stability, reduce risk exposure and improve cross-border supervision.

  • Economist predicts interest rates will fall to 3.5%

    8 Oct 2008

    A leading economist has offered a glimmer of hope amidst the financial turmoil predicting that interest rates could fall to 3.5% by the end of 2009.

  • edeus goes into administration

    8 Oct 2008

    edeus has gone into administration and chief executive Michael Bolton has been made redundant from the firm.

  • Editor's view: Darling's spoonful of sugar for the market

    8 Oct 2008

    At last chancellor Alistair Darling has finally got around to kick-starting the market.

  • Editor's view: Why Dragons’ Den strategy is a must

    6 Oct 2008

    We thought Chancellor Alistair Darling faced an enormous dilemma today - guarantee savers’ deposits 100% following in the footsteps of Ireland, Greece and Germany (albeit the latter doing so without passing legislation) or recapitalise the banking industry in a bid to resume normal lending.

  • Elephant Loans & Mortgages wiped from AIM

    10 Oct 2008

    Elephant Loans & Mortgages had its shares deleted from the Alternative Investment Market this morning.

  • Enterprise offers exclusives range

    6 Oct 2008

    Enterprise Group has launched a range of exclusives from Platform.

  • Ethical business is in the eye of the beholder

    6 Oct 2008

    I was amused to read about the new policy of one PR agency to display a 'care for the environment' logo on the bottom of every document produced and about the administrator who, on discovering that she had photocopied a batch with the logo cut off, proceeded to throw the pages in the bin and start again.

  • EuroDebt sees 109% jump in debt business

    7 Oct 2008

    EuroDebt is reporting a 109% rise in the number of home owners signing up to its debt management plans on a monthly basis, since September 2007.

  • Everybody needs everybody else

    7 Oct 2008

    I am lucky enough to have a lot of friends within many of the lenders.

  • Ex-foreign secretary new minister for housing

    6 Oct 2008

    Former foreign secretary Margaret Beckett is the UK's new minister for housing and planning.

  • Far out

    7 Oct 2008

    Chris Taylor, chief executive of London & European, did not match the Guinness' genius. It was looking doubtful if L&E'S finest would be allowed back into Dublin's plush five-star Merrion Hotel after he was spotted having a crafty fag leaning halfway out of his bedroom window dressed in just a bathrobe and clutching a vodka and tonic.

  • Fears for BM as HBOS cuts B2L LTVs to 75%

    6 Oct 2008

    HBOS battened down the hatches last week and slashed maximum LTVs to 75% across its specialist brands, sparking fears that BM Solutions is making a silent exit from the market.

  • FISA adds brokers to board

    6 Oct 2008

    The Finance Industry Standards Association has revamped its board so that it now includes a number of brokers as well as lenders.

  • Footsie 100 dips by 7%

    6 Oct 2008

    The Footsie 100 has dipped by a whopping 7% to 4,625 down from 4,980 at the beginning of the day.

  • Free CRM system aimed at brokers

    6 Oct 2008

    Invent Software is launching an on-line back office processing system for brokers this week.

  • FSA fines A&L £7m

    7 Oct 2008

    The Financial Services Authority has fined Alliance & Leicester £7m for serious failings in its telephone sales of payment protection insurance.

  • FSA slammed for dithering over PPI sales

    6 Oct 2008

    The Financial Services Authority has been accused of dithering over its work on single premium payment protection insurance sales.

  • GEMHL and Lehmans make 850 redundant

    6 Oct 2008

    Another 850 mortgage industry jobs have been lost following the closure of GE Money Home Lending's Wolverhampton office and the restructure of Lehman Brothers Europe.

  • Goldsmith Williams launches ER service

    6 Oct 2008

    Goldsmith Williams has launched an equity release service that promises a 20-day turnaround and regular progress updates.

  • Government agrees £50bn rescue package

    9 Oct 2008

    The government has agreed a capital restructure share scheme with major UK high street banks worth £50bn and offered a guarantee to get firms lending to each other.

  • Government falling short of housing target, says RICS

    6 Oct 2008

    The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors says the government is likely to fall short of its housing target of two million new homes by 2016.

  • Government likely to honour B&B loan sales

    6 Oct 2008

    The government is likely to honour the loan sale arrangements Bradford & Bingley has agreed with Kensington and GMAC-RFC.

  • Halifax passes on rate cut

    8 Oct 2008

    Halifax will pass on today's 0.5% base rate cut and reduce its SVR to 6.5%.

  • HBOS reveals rejigged sales team

    9 Oct 2008

    HBOS has revealed its restructured sales team across its mortgage brands.

  • HBOS rises but rival banks fall

    8 Oct 2008

    HBOS' share price has risen by 20% this morning but its main high street rivals have all continued to fall with RBS plunging to 80p in early morning trading.

  • Hedge fund body rejects warning

    6 Oct 2008

    The Hedge Fund Association has rejected accusations that hedge funds are more likely to repossess struggling borrowers than traditional lenders.

  • Heritable Bank's parent Landsbanki nationalised

    7 Oct 2008

    Heritable Bank's parent group Landsbanki - the second largest bank in Iceland - has been taken over today by the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority.

  • Heritable closes its doors

    9 Oct 2008

    Heritable Bank has been placed into administration sources close to the firm have told Mortgage Strategy.

  • Heritable placed into administration

    8 Oct 2008

    Heritable Bank has been placed into administration sources close to the firm have told Mortgage Strategy.

  • Heritable's parent group is nationalised

    7 Oct 2008

    Heritable Bank's parent group Landsbanki - the second largest bank in Iceland - has been taken over today by the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority.

  • Iceland driving weekend on offer

    6 Oct 2008

    An Icelandic driving weekend is up for grabs for members of Mortgage Intelligence.

  • Icelandic investment by councils "not reckless"

    10 Oct 2008

    The government claims that councils have not acted recklessly by investing in now bankrupt Icelandic banks.

  • Industry raises over £100,000 for charity

    6 Oct 2008

    The superstars of the mortgage world banded together the weekend before last to run the Berlin Marathon to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

  • Industry welcomes rate cut

    8 Oct 2008

    Figure heads from across the mortgage world have welcomed the rate cut and crossing their fingers that it will kick start the market.

  • Insurers may refuse to renew PPI, warns Burgesses

    10 Oct 2008

    A leading insurance distributor has warned that many insurers may refuse to renew payment protection insurance if unemployment figures rise.

  • KPMG appointed administrator to edeus

    8 Oct 2008

    KPMG has been appointed to supervise the administration of edeus mortgage creators and edeus creators.

  • Labour MP rallies for homeowners' 'right to stay'

    7 Oct 2008

    Labour MP John McDonnell is campaigning for the right for vulnerable homeowners to stay in their homes rather than have them taken away through repossession.

  • Lamont says US rescue plan is better

    8 Oct 2008

    Former chancellor Lord Norman Lamont has slammed the UK government's rescue plan as "hideously and amazingly expensive" and suggested the US plan is more likely to work.

  • Learning from FSA Decision notices

    7 Oct 2008

    When I am travelling the country, many intermediaries tell me they struggle to follow the constant stream of ‘light touch’ regulatory documents that emanate from Canary Wharf.

  • Leeds pulls out of packager market

    6 Oct 2008

    The packaging industry continues to fall on hard times as Leeds announces that it is pulling the plug on its packager business.

  • Leeds withdraws from packager market

    6 Oct 2008

    The packaging industry continues to fall on hard times as Leeds reveals that it is closing its doors to packagers.

  • Lenders may be forced to trim profits from PPI sales

    6 Oct 2008

    The Competition Commission is rumoured to be set to demand this week that lenders trim the profits they make off of payment protection insurance policies.

  • Lending misery to continue, says survey

    6 Oct 2008

    The BoE credit conditions survey reveals lending will continue its freefall in Q4.

  • Lib Dems claim government has broken fiscal rules

    7 Oct 2008

    The Liberal Democrat party is alleging that the government was breaking its own fiscal rules even before the financial crisis set in over a year ago.

  • Link Lending adds Brilliant Loans to panel

    6 Oct 2008

    Brilliant Loans, Exclusive Connections’ secured loans brokerage subsidiary, has added Link Lending to its panel.

  • Lloyds welcomes government stability scheme

    8 Oct 2008

    Lloyds TSB says it welcomes the move by the government to inject capital and liquidity in the financial markets.

  • Loans.co.uk announces 94 redundancies

    6 Oct 2008

    Loans.co.uk will make 94 staff redundant from its offices in Watford, Preston and Fareham.

  • London house prices have stabilised, says haart

    6 Oct 2008

    The London property market is stabilising, reveals research from estate agent Haart.

  • Loss of consumer faith in FSA is the right response

    6 Oct 2008

    Regarding your story about the YouGov survey showing that customers are losing faith in the Financial Services Authority (Mortgage Strategy Online September 22) - why should they trust the FSA?

  • M2000 extends C&G proc fee offer

    7 Oct 2008

    Mortgage 2000 mortgage club is extending its proc fee offer on all Cheltenham & Gloucester products to include October.

  • Mandy - just Gordon Brown’s Sarah

    7 Oct 2008

    Someone on Andrew Marr’s Sunday AM programme referred to Peter Mandelson’s return to the cabinet as Gordon Brown’s Sarah Palin factor - a shock, or a surprise, but then it’s back to square one again.

  • Manor brokers sheltered from Heritable fall

    8 Oct 2008

    Manor Mortgages' proc fee guarantee means that none of its brokers will lose their proc fees on completed Heritable cases.

  • Market forces see the rebirth of nationalisation

    6 Oct 2008

    In the late 1970s when I was working in the building society sector, I remember having many conversations with one banker about his fear that there was a risk of banks being nationalised.

  • Marketwatch 06/10/2008

    6 Oct 2008

    Swaps plunged and are now back to the low levels they fell to a couple of weeks ago. Let's hope this leads to cheaper fixed rate deals.1-year money is down 0.41% at 5.38%2-year money is down 0.3% at 5.24%3-year money is down 0.3% at 5.18%5-year money is down 0.25% at 5.12%

  • Mform tells lenders to scrap SVR exit fees

    7 Oct 2008

    Mform.co.uk is calling on lenders to scrap exit fees on SVR deals in the wake of an increasing number of products which carry additional charges.

  • MI Annual Conference 2008 kicks off on a good note

    8 Oct 2008

    Walking into the Mortgage Intelligence Annual Conference today you could be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled into its conference from two years ago.

  • Moody's says upgrades not tied to government intervention

    8 Oct 2008

    Though government support is helping the banking sector it is not resulting in upgrades, says Moody's Investor Services.

  • Morris' design and Bazalgette's pipe dreams

    6 Oct 2008

    It is often said that London is a collection of villages and that's true. In much the same way it's also a collection of styles and influences.

  • Mortgage Intelligence reports profits of £1.5m

    8 Oct 2008

    Speaking at the Mortgage Intelligence Annual Conference today, Sally Laker, managing director of Mortgage Intelligence, has revealed the network made a £1.5m profit for the year ending July 31 2008.

  • Mortgage-1 teams up with SimplyBiz Mortgages

    7 Oct 2008

    Mortgage-1, the Leicester based mortgage packager has secured a deal to be the sole nominated packager for SimplyBiz Mortgages for at least the next three years.

  • Nationwide reports 12% house price fall

    6 Oct 2008

    Nationwide has reported a 12% year-on-year fall in house prices in September. This is the greatest drop recorded by its survey, which began in 1952.

  • Network news

    6 Oct 2008

    The table opposite shows the total number of appointed representative firms in both IFA and mortgage networks as of September 30 2008.

  • Newcastle sees 21% rise in ER sales

    8 Oct 2008

    Newcastle Building Society Equity Release Service has seen a 21% increase in equity release product sales compared to Q3 2007.

  • NLA calls for reform of sale-and-rent-back

    7 Oct 2008

    The National Landlords Association says changes to the sale-and-rent-back sector are urgently needed to protect vulnerable consumers.

  • NLA calls for urgent change to sale-and-rent-back

    7 Oct 2008

    The National Landlords Association says changes to the sale-and-rent-back sector are urgently needed to protect vulnerable consumers.

  • NLA to host national conference

    6 Oct 2008

    The National Landlords Association has announced the panel of experts who will address the trade body’s first ever national conference.

  • No plans to use government scheme, says HSBC

    8 Oct 2008

    HSBC is supporting the government's move to stabilise UK markets through funding and liquidity support but says it will not take part.

  • No share purchase deal from Darling

    6 Oct 2008

    Chancellor Alistair Darling refused to address rumours that the government will buy shares in beleaguered banks in order to avoid full blown financial meltdown.

  • Old school firms consigned to history's dustbin

    6 Oct 2008

    I spent an enjoyable evening recently at the Pink Home Loans Service Awards. Given the events of the preceding few days, it was interesting to be invited as a guest of Halifax. I thank it for a great night.

  • Paradigm launches compliance newsletter

    7 Oct 2008

    Paradigm Mortgage Services has launched a regular compliance newsletter for its members.

  • Party's over

    6 Oct 2008

    Now it gets nasty. The US Congress rejected plans for a $700bn bailout last Monday. As Mortgage Strategy went to press a revised version of the plan had yet to be passed. The UK specialist lending sector is in turmoil. Share prices are tumbling. In short, the credit crunch has entered a new phase.

  • Paulson's bad medicine makes no sense

    6 Oct 2008

    Looking for an analogy to what I was watching on TV - I'm referring to the events in Washington and the debate over US Treasury secretary Henry Paulson's $700bn plan to rescue the US banking industry - the best I could come up with was a witch doctor in Africa performing a ritual to end a drought.

  • Perhaps it is time to abandon commission

    6 Oct 2008

    Just before 9am on Saturday morning's BBC Breakfast news, Money box presenter Paul Lewis did a good job of explaining how the opaque pricing and rating of collateralised debt obligations were instrumental in the credit crunch and the ongoing financial crisis.

  • Poor practice in Birmingham HIP searches

    6 Oct 2008

    Birmingham Trading Standards fears some Home Information Pack search companies are not carrying out proper searches in an attempt to boost profits.

  • Product choice sinks to credit crunch low

    10 Oct 2008

    The number of available mortgage products has fallen to its lowest level since the credit crunch began, reveals data from Moneyfacts.co.uk.

  • Profits of £1.5m at Mortgage Intelligence

    8 Oct 2008

    Speaking at the Mortgage Intelligence Annual Conference today, Sally Laker, managing director of Mortgage Intelligence, has revealed the network made a £1.5m profit for the year ending July 31 2008.

  • Protection for Heritable and Kaupthing savers

    9 Oct 2008

    The Financial Services Compensation Scheme has confirmed that savers who have deposited over £50,000 with Heritable and Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander will still be protected.

  • Pundits react to politicians' unity

    6 Oct 2008

    Industry pundits are split over the effectiveness of a non-partisan approach to the economic meltdown caused by the credit crunch.

  • Radical intervention needed says Lib Dems

    6 Oct 2008

    The Liberal Democrat party is calling for a massive shake-up to the way the government is addressing the current economic crisis.

  • Rate cut welcomed by CML

    8 Oct 2008

    The Council of Mortgage Lenders is welcoming the 0.5% rate cut announced by Gordon Brown during Prime Minister's questions.

  • RBS shares fall 38% in downgrade aftermath

    7 Oct 2008

    Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland have fallen as much as 38% today following its first ratings downgrade in a decade.

  • RBS welcomes "comprehensive" package

    8 Oct 2008

    Royal Bank of Scotland has confirmed its participation in the government scheme unveiled today to kick start UK lending and avert a full blown financial crisis.

  • Read Darling's emergency statement to the House of Commons in full

    7 Oct 2008

    Below is the full transcript of yesterday's emergency statement to the House of Commons by Chancellor Alistair Darling.

  • Robert Sharpe new CEO of West Brom

    10 Oct 2008

    Portman's former chief executive Robert Sharpe has been appointed the new chief executive of West Bromwich.

  • S&P warns of weak credit profile for RBS

    6 Oct 2008

    Standard & Poor’s has downgraded its ratings for the Royal Bank of Scotland amid warnings of a potentially weakening credit profile and limited earning prospects.

  • Salans boosts technology to improve customer service

    6 Oct 2008

    Salans has updated its communication channels across the board to improve customer service and broker-client relationships.

  • Security measures

    7 Oct 2008

    But talking of luck, one Irish lass has clearly lost her four-leaf clover.Mole hears that L&E's Dublin-based operations manager Helen Gammell failed to keep track of the amount of petrol in her car's tank and as a result found herself in an unfortunate situation last month.

  • Shares plummet despite bailout plan

    10 Oct 2008

    The British bailout plan has done little to calm the fears of investors as the FTSE 100 index sinks to below the 4,000-point level for the first time in five years.

  • Shares plummet in wake of banks meeting

    7 Oct 2008

    Shares in UK banks are plummeting following rumours that the top three banks requested a capital injection in an emergency meeting with the chancellor last night.

  • SHIP launches sale-and-rent-back checklist

    6 Oct 2008

    Safe Home Income Plans is launching a consumer checklist to clear up confusion between the equity release and sale-and-rent-back sectors.

  • SLS ties up with Intrinsic

    10 Oct 2008

    Savills Lending Solutions will have access to network Intrinsic Financial Services' 1,500 advisers via an exclusive tie up with the firm.

  • SLS to work exclusively with Intrinsic

    8 Oct 2008

    Savills Lending Solutions is to work exclusively with Intrinsic Financial Services.

  • Smallest house price fall in 7 months, says Halifax

    9 Oct 2008

    The average UK house price has slipped only 1.3% in September - the smallest monthly fall in the past seven months.

  • Some good news at last

    10 Oct 2008

    Walking into the Mortgage Intelligence Annual Conference on Wednesday you could be forgiven for thinking you had stumbled into its conference from two years ago.

  • Standard & Poor's downgrades RBS

    7 Oct 2008

    Standard & Poor’s has downgraded its ratings for the Royal Bank of Scotland amid warnings of a potentially weakening credit profile and limited earning prospects.

  • Stephen Karle steps down at West Bromwich

    10 Oct 2008

  • Stonehaven cuts rates for under 70s

    8 Oct 2008

    Equity release provider Stonehaven has cuts its interest rates for under 70s to start from 5.92%.

  • Switch to fees not as scary as some brokers think

    6 Oct 2008

    An increasing number of brokers are realising that they may have to charge clients fees in the future rather than relying on proc fees to make a living.

  • Taking B&B into public ownership has its upsides

    6 Oct 2008

    I would like to write something positive and forward-looking but with seismic financial events happening almost constantly it's a difficult task. Nevertheless I'll have a go.

  • Tesco considers move into mortgage market

    6 Oct 2008

    Tesco could enter the mortgage market. Andrew Higginson, finance director at Tesco, says: "More rational pricing would provide an opportunity to go in."

  • The Compliance Alliance sets up TCF review service

    6 Oct 2008

    The Compliance Alliance is offering a review service allowing firms to assess the progress they have made with Treating Customers Fairly principles.

  • Tissue Issue

    7 Oct 2008

    Mole was tickled to learn of the lengths the lovely folk at Kent Reliance were prepared to go to for Lending Strategy editor John Murray.

  • Top three banks tell Darling: Show me the money

    7 Oct 2008

    Britain’s top three banks are pressuring Alistair Darling to make a move on cash injections to banks.

  • Trigold and MortgageStream to host TCF clinic

    8 Oct 2008

    Trigold and MortgageStream will host a free Treating Customers Fairly clinic for brokers at Mortgage Business Expo London on November 12 and 13.

  • True women's lib means taking out protection

    6 Oct 2008

    We have come a long way since the 1970s, as any fan of BBC police drama Life on Mars will testify. I for one have shorter hair and thinner ties.

  • Trustguard ARs find new homes

    6 Oct 2008

    No individual network picked up more than two of the 33 appointed representatives left high and dry when Trustguard went under in July.

  • UK councils set to lose millions from Icelandic meltdown

    9 Oct 2008

    UK Local councils stand to lose millions of pounds as a result of investments they made in failed Icelandic banks.

  • UK saw zero growth in Q2, says ONS

    6 Oct 2008

    The Office of National Statistics has revealed that the UK saw zero growth in Q2 2008.

  • UK still AAA says Fitch

    8 Oct 2008

    Ratings agency Fitch says that despite the £50bn rescue package unveiled by the government today the UK's AAA credit rating is still not under threat.

  • When clients should look for a new deal

    6 Oct 2008

    In the first half of this year, as the impact of the credit crunch resulted in rapidly deteriorating conditions in the mortgage market, we were advising clients to start talking to us about remortgaging six months in advance of their initial interest rate finishing.

  • Which? welcomes FSA A&L fine

    7 Oct 2008

    Peter Vicary-Smith, chief executive of Which? says the Financial Service Authority fining Alliance & Leicester £7m should send out a clear message to other companies.

  • Who is protecting who?

    10 Oct 2008

    It was the turn of Alliance & Leicester to have its wrists slapped for the sale of Payment Protection Insurance this week and it had them slapped hard, to the tune of £7m.

  • Wise up to PPI, says Burgesses

    6 Oct 2008

    An insurer is warning that more needs to be done to highlight consumer awareness of Payment Protection Insurance.

  • Woolwich passes on full rate cut to borrowers

    8 Oct 2008

    Woolwich is passing on the full 0.5% base rate cut to its borrowers by cutting its SVR by 0.5%.

  • Xit2 to boost conveyancing team

    7 Oct 2008

    Xit2 is looking for someone to head up its valuation and conveyancing team.

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