Mortgage Strategy
8 February 2010
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2009 Net lending lowest for 22 years at just £11.5bn
8 February 2010
PAUL BROADHEAD, MUTUAL LENDING WILL REMAIN LOW
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60 seconds with...Steve Walker
8 February 2010
STEVE WALKER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, PROMISE SOLUTIONS
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A truer picture of employee benefits
8 February 2010
ED STUART-BROWN, HEAD OF PROTECTION SALES, FRIENDS PROVIDENT
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Bandwagon slows as lenders strike back over claims
8 February 2010
Recent court judgements have been good news for firms hoping to halt the advance of the claims industry
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Base rate frozen at 0.5% yet again
8 February 2010
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to keep the base rate at 0.5% and brought quantitative easing to a halt.
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Brokers can avoid dodgy legal firms
8 February 2010
EDDIE GOLDSMITH, SENIOR PARTNER, GOLDSMITH WILLIAMS
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Brokers must fight for business online
8 February 2010
JON KING, MANAGING DIRECTOR, HODGE LIFETIME
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Brokers upset that RBSIP clients will have to go direct to port deals
8 February 2010
Brokers have expressed concern at the news that existing customers under the old Royal Bank of Scotland Intermediary Partners brands will have to contact RBS directly if they want to port their current rates.
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Call to ban phone advice riddled with self-interest
8 February 2010
It was both surprising and disappointing to read last week on Mortgage Strategy Online that the Society of Equity Release Advisers and its chairman Simon Chalk have chosen to call for a ban on telephone-based equity release advice.
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Call to ban phone sales sparks row
8 February 2010
The Society of Equity Release Ad-visers has defended its call to ban telephone sales of equity release although it admits the model is used well by large firms.
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CAN YOU HAVE A POP TO WIN THIS POSH MONTBLANC ROLLERBALL PEN?
8 February 2010
The Mortgage Strategy Natalies and Abbey for Intermediaries’ Siobhan O’Shea (right) toast the new year.
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CML seems keen to protect members from regulations
8 February 2010
The Council of Mortgage Lenders made some excellent points last week in its response to the Financial Services Authority’s Mortgage Market Review but it seems to want to treat its own members differently from the broker community.
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Consumer confidence increased in January
8 February 2010
The Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index rose three points in January to 73 following a dip the previous month. It is now almost double the level recorded at the same time last year.
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Conveyancing need not be weakest link
8 February 2010
HARPAL SINGH, MANAGING DIRECTOR, CONVEYANCING ALLIANCE
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Doom-mongers fail to see big picture
8 February 2010
TERRY PRITCHARD, MANAGING DIRECTOR, CHARTERHOUSE RETIREMENT SOLUTIONS
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EIB gives small firms
8 February 2010
The European Investment Bank has granted approval for more than £700m in funding for small firms.
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Employee of the month
8 February 2010
Sam Warren
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Fall in broker applications may be down to FSA's hard line, says AMI
8 February 2010
ROBERT SINCLAIR, AUTHORISATION IS GETTING TOUGHER
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Funds drought stunts B2L growth
8 February 2010
The lack of mortgage funding is stopping buy-to-let landlords growing their portfolios.
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Give us a break from regulatory upheaval, urges CML
8 February 2010
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has called on the Financial Services Authority not to implement any more regulatory change in 2010.
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Hamptons clients can search for homes on iPhone
8 February 2010
HAMPTONS APP, HANDY SOLUTION FOR CUSTOMERS
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Happy retirement is a moving target
8 February 2010
MARK CLINTON, DIRECTOR, MD PENSION SOLUTIONS
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High time for ASU to spread its wings
8 February 2010
Despite the regulatory obstacles that have been placed in its way the grubby caterpillar that was accident, sickness and unemployment cover must now emerge a butterfly because your clients need it
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I won't be wasting any more money on taking out cover
8 February 2010
On October 2 2009 I went into hospital to have an operation on my kneecap but it was found that my knee was badly affected with arthritis so the surgeon took the decision to give me a total knee replacement instead.
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Industry comes together to rescue fast-trackdeals
8 February 2010
JOHN CUPIS, A BALANCE IS REQUIRED
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January cheer as nearly 1,000 deals enter the market
8 February 2010
MARK LOFTHOUSE, BIGGEST MONTHLY RISE FOR A YEAR
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Kent Reliance names new chairman
8 February 2010
Malcolm McCaig has been appointed chairman of Kent Reliance Building Society.
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Landlords are at the mercy of tenants playing the system
8 February 2010
I couldn’t agree more with the National Landlords Association’s recent criticisms of government proposals to offer more protection for tenantsThe government is being stupid. Look at the way Housing Benefit works now - there’s the Local Housing Allowance which is a good idea but payment is made to tenants rather than landlords.
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Landlords will be plugging the gap in housing supply
8 February 2010
With the housing imbalance set to get worse, this year should see more products for professional investors
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LAST WEEK’S WINNER
8 February 2010
ANDY LEES, UINSURE
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Lasting benefits of lower interest rates
8 February 2010
In my last column I spoke about the multitude of house price indices and would now like to turn my attention to mortgage affordability.
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Lenders forced to get sensible when it comes to arrears
8 February 2010
It’s a shame the regulator has had to make some lenders adopt common sense arrears management practices
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Let's preserve the fast-track process for the good of all
8 February 2010
Join us as we try to convince the regulator that banning fast-track deals would limit choice for minimal benefit
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Market shows signs of a return to form
8 February 2010
ALAN CLEARY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, EXACT
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market watch
8 February 2010
It’s good to see more products on the market but it means little if they are not competitive - after all, it doesn’t make any difference if lenders have 300 products each if they are all rubbish
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Media Spotlight: The Virtual Revolution, BBC 2
8 February 2010
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Mortgage Times still not in administration
8 February 2010
The Mortgage Times Group has still not been placed in administration almost a month after it was claimed that an application had been made.Mortgage Times staff were originally told by management that the network had been placed in administration on December 21.
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MPLC may get back into lending
8 February 2010
Former specialist lender Mortgages PLC is believed to have outsourced more than £3bn of its mortgage book to HML, prompting rumours it could return to the lending market.
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Mutuals whacked by triple whammy
8 February 2010
JOHN MURRAY, CONSULTING EDITOR, LENDING STRATEGY
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No adviser can be an island any more
8 February 2010
BOB HUNT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, PARADIGM MORTGAGE SERVICES
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Oldham named best value town for FTBs
8 February 2010
Oldham is the cheapest place for first-time buyers, with an average monthly mortgage payment of £353, according to Realpricecomparison.com.
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Platform holds trackers until base rate rises
8 February 2010
Platform Home Loans has pledged not to increase rates on its tracker products until the Bank of England base rate rises above 1%. The lender has also cut rates on fixed rate and tracker deals to offer two-year fixed rate deals from 3.59% and two-year trackers from 2.69%.
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PMS brokers get access to SWB savings deals
8 February 2010
Brokers with PMS can now access savings products from Scottish Widows Bank.
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Political game
8 February 2010
The upcoming general election represents the biggest gamble for a generation so here we take a look at what the parties are offering to ensure our industry emerges a winner
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PruProtect deals added to Paradigm cover panel
8 February 2010
Paradigm Mortgage Services has added PruProtect’s life and serious illness cover products to its panel.
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Rebrand or not, I will only use RBS as a last resort
8 February 2010
How does the Royal Bank of Scotland, despite its recent rebranding, expect brokers to use it when it is still aggressively dual pricing?
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Refurbishment deal from Mortgages for Business
8 February 2010
Mortgages for Business has unveiled a mortgage for investors looking to buy or refinance properties in need of refurbishment.
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Santander UK profits rose 30% to £1.54bn last year
8 February 2010
Santander UK posted a 30% rise in annual pre-tax profits to £1.54bn for the year to December 31 2009 and increased its gross mortgage market share.
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Security of client data is paramount
8 February 2010
MARK BLACKWELL, MANAGING DIRECTOR, XIT2
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Sesame members get debt calculation facility
8 February 2010
Sesame members using TrigoldCrystal’s Prospector system now have access to a debt calculator which shows how debts can be consolidated by remortgaging.
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Solent provides range of near-prime products
8 February 2010
Solent Mortgage Services is offering a near-prime range from Melton Mowbray Building Society’s intermediary arm MBS Lending.
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The backing of a good network has seen me through
8 February 2010
I was interested to read last week that just 76 firms applied to be authorised to trade in 2009.
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the mortgage mole
8 February 2010
DIGGING THE DIRT IN THE MORTGAGE WORLD…
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This election won't make things better
8 February 2010
CHRISTOPHER TAYLOR, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, LONDON & EUROPEAN
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Time to revive the industry
8 February 2010
With the closing date for submissions to the Mortgage Market Review now passed, for those keen to influence the thinking of the Financial Services Authority the real work starts now.
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TMC to move into financial services
8 February 2010
The Money Centre is planning to relaunch in April and offer a range of financial services for landlords.
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TMW forms are now available via MTE
8 February 2010
The Mortgage Works has made its decision in principle and mortgage application forms available to users of the Mortgage Trading Exchange.
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Tories pledge to raise Stamp Duty threshold to £250,000
8 February 2010
Shadow chancellor George Osborne has pledged to raise the Stamp Duty threshold to £250,000 if the Conservative Party wins the election.
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Two appointments at Crystal Mortgages
8 February 2010
Crystal Mortgages has appointed Toby Breeden as a BDM and Jackie Luscott as a senior mortgage processor.
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Two ex-HBOS directors leave Lloyds group on same day
8 February 2010
Former HBOS directors Dan Watkins and Jo Dawson both resigned from Lloyds Banking Group last Friday.
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Untested FSA measures may cause second housing crisis, says report
8 February 2010
DAVID STEVEN,WIDER DEBATE IS REQUIRED
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We brokers are the deserted victims of the recession
8 February 2010
For 18 months I have been reading about the declining number of financial and mortgage advisers in this country, but does anybody care what is happening to these professionals?
