Mortgage Strategy
2 December 2002

  • 'White Paper' warns financial services industry over customer service

    2 Dec 2002

    Providers of financial services have been warned to develop more pragmatic, innovative solutions to deal more effectively with its customers. The call comes following the publication of a white paper entitled, 'Will The Customer Be Pushed?', published by financial services and technology research group, the Spektra Research Institute (SRI). Spektra warns in the paper that life and investment companies that can't remain profitable in a 1% economy have not moved ...

  • 15 million Brits borrow as they save

    5 Dec 2002

    Research from IFA Promotion reveals that more than 15 million UK adults have developed a split personality when it comes to their saving and borrowing habits. While nearly eight out of ten people say they're 'savers', nearly half of these own up to borrowing beyond their mortgage debt at the same time. As a nation, the UK currently borrows more money than it stashes away - £1.09 for every £1 saved - widening the £66bn long-term savings gap. The ...

  • A direct approach to broker back-up

    2 Dec 2002

    Q: How is Optoma Broker Solutions structured? A: The company was founded as Mortgage Processing Services, which has provided brokers with mortgage processing and administration services since January 2000. It is privately owned under the chairmanship of Andrew Seymour. Other senior members of staff include chief executive Tony Webster, managing director Matthew Bright and operations director Harpal Singh. We relaunched the business as Optoma Broker Solutions last month after deciding ...

  • Abbey to refocus on personal finance

    2 Dec 2002

    Abbey National threw down the gauntlet to the mortgage industry last week, announcing its aim to refocus its strategy around personal finance. The change comes in the wake of a torrid year for the bank, and the admission that it expects to report a profit loss when full year results are announced in February. Incoming chief executive Luqman Arnold will spearhead Abbey's effort to phase out its ventures into bond markets, which damaged profitability and ultimately cost former ...

  • ABI welcomes FSA endowment plan

    6 Dec 2002

    The Association of British Insurers says newly published FSA research on mortgage endowments brings some "much-needed perspective". Stephen Sklaroff, deputy director-general of the ABI, says: "This research largely confirms our own understanding of the performance of the mortgage endowment market and will help bring a much-needed sense of perspective to this issue. Recent reductions in interest rate payments on endowment mortgages more than balance lower investment returns. "The ...

  • Adam Faith declared bankrupt

    4 Dec 2002

    Adam Faith, the 1960s pop icon latterly reinvented as financial adviser and all round money guru, has been declared bankrupt with debts of over £1m. Louise Brittain of top ten accountants Baker Tilly has been appointed bankruptcy trustee. Faith has been declared bankrupt with debts of over one million pounds following the collapse of his television venture The Money Channel, which went into administrative receivership in 2001 owing £32 million. Brittain ...

  • AIFA emphasises training and competence

    4 Dec 2002

    The Association of Independent Financial Advisers says effective regulation will come from strengthened training and competence, rather than greater scrutiny of individual business processes. Addressing the CML's annual conference, Paul Smee, director general of AIFA, advised: "Cheaper, more effective regulation can be achieved by training and competence, rather than concentrating on more elaborate business practice." "The key is to try to stop the crisis happening ...

  • Amity appoints national sales manager

    5 Dec 2002

    Packager Amity Mortgages has appointed a national sales manager, Gary Dickinson, to head up its new Amity Direct Salesforce. Amity has an existing salesforce of 40 nationally, which will be expanded to 100 under Dickinson. Dickinson resigned his position as national sales manager with Freedom Finance to join Amity. Bob Scott, managing director of Amity, says: "It is very rare a man of this calibre becomes available and we are delighted with the appointment. ...

  • ARLA supports consultation on deposit safeguard

    3 Dec 2002

    The Association of Residential Letting Agents says the government's consultation paper on safeguarding tenants' deposits is long overdue, following deregulation of the private rented sector in 1988. ARLA has consistently called for the protection of clients' monies through audited, bonded client money accounts. Regulated letting agents that belong to ARLA must hold similar accounts. Although ARLA has always supported a tenancy deposit scheme, its own research ...

  • BANK LEAVES RATES ON HOLD AT 4%

    5 Dec 2002

    The Bank of England's monetary policy committee has voted to keep interest rates on hold at 4% for the 13th month in a row. Some parts of industry have called for a further cut to stimulate the ailing manufacturing sector, but fears that cheaper borrowing would risk a collapse in the housing market have won through. The Confederation of British Industry approves the MPC's 'wait and see' policy. Ian McCafferty, chief economist at the CBI, says: "In ...

  • Blank

    5 Dec 2002

  • BMS strikes package deal with the Co-op

    2 Dec 2002

    Birmingham Midshires Solutions is developing an exclusive product range with the Mortgage Distributors Co-operative. The Co-op's founder packagers plan to cover the mortgage spectrum from prime to heavy adverse, and the BMS range will cover several products areas. Details of the products are being finalised, with a probable launch date within the next two months. The Co-op's members include three packagers that have not received the BMS 'seal of approval' - Genesis ...

  • Borrowers get into the festive spirit with CAMs

    3 Dec 2002

    Current account mortgage borrowers are using their mortgages to even out seasonal cash demands, says Britannic Money. Analysis over the last five years reveals that December is by far the most popular month for making withdrawals of overpayments, with withdrawals increasing between 50% and 60% on October levels. Other months where withdrawals exceed repayments are the holiday months of June and July. The most popular months for making overpayments are in the ...

  • Brokers advised to embrace technology

    2 Dec 2002

    Sub-prime packager First Mortgage Options says that brokers must embrace technology or risk being overlooked by lenders, writes Helen McCormick. FMO managing director Alan Hall says: "The industry will be harsh towards brokers who refuse to catch up with technology. We need to turn our backs on the Luddites. Simply using a quotation system rather than email is archaic. It is going back 15 years." Hall believes there will be a cut-off point soon. H e says: "There needs to be a critical ...

  • Brokers cash in at The Finance Centre

    3 Dec 2002

    Mortgage brokers have claimed vouchers worth over £400,000 in an incentive scheme run by packager The Finance Centre. TFC unveiled the campaign on November 12 2002. Since then, over 600 brokers and IFAs have applied for vouchers worth between £250 and £449. Intermediaries must complete two sub-prime remortgages to cash in. In return for placing this business, the deals that are submitted qualify to have the legal fees or valuation costs refunded by ...

  • Buy-to-let finds strength in the North

    3 Dec 2002

    Independent mortgage broker Mortgage Talk says buy-to-let is holding up well in the north of England, despite market worries in parts of the South. The company has seen the number of buy-to-let mortgage applications processed in the last six months rise in certain property hotspots. Andy Frankish, director of Mortgage Talk, says: "In the six months to November, we have seen a trend towards investors from the south of England purchasing in areas such as Sheffield, Nottingham, ...

  • Cash boost for council homes

    3 Dec 2002

    Council tenants contemplating Right to Buy in England will be able to buy better maintained homes, thanks to an increase in home management cash announced by the government. At national level councils will receive 6% real increases in both management and maintenance allowances for 2004-05 and 2005-06. Together with changes to take account of rent restructuring, this is equivalent to an average cash increase of £268 per dwelling by the second year. This ...

  • Charcol reacts to interest rate freeze

    6 Dec 2002

    Charcol says yesterday's interest freeze at the Bank of England was a 'dead cert' and that interest rates are likely to stay around the 4% mark for some time. Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at Charcol, says: "Today's freeze was a dead cert, particularly given the recent reports showing house price inflation still running at unsustainably high levels. Despite the increase in money market rates, which is often an indicator of the City's sentiment that the ...

  • CML attacks government on housing policy

    4 Dec 2002

    Peter Williams, deputy director general of the CML, yesterday launched a blistering attack on government housing policy at the council's annual conference. Responding to presentations by the Housing Corporation and Chartered Institute of Housing, Williams went on the offensive: "So often the government talks to other agencies on policy but not to the private sector - it is still a real problem in the UK." Williams said lenders are disillusioned with policies that ...

  • CML demands clarity on filtering questions

    4 Dec 2002

    The CML has demanded "clarity at the outset" on FSA proposals for mortgage sales by filtering questions. Kate Main, senior policy adviser at the CML, says that consumers may "simply not understand" the difference between full advice and filtering questions. Speaking at the CML's annual conference in London, Main told delegates: "Many firms are concerned this will come back and bite them in future years. We want clarity on how this will work." Main also asked ...

  • CML faces up to housing market risks

    3 Dec 2002

    The housing market runs the risk of a sharp correction if the global downturn lasts long, says the CML. Although CML projections for 2002 and 2003 predict a soft landing for the housing market rather than a sharp shock, unpredictable economic conditions mean these forecasts are far from certain - not least because the recent behaviour of the housing market already confounded expectations. The CML expects house prices to end 2003 nearly 7% up on the corresponding period ...

  • CML flags up consumer credit directive fears

    4 Dec 2002

    The CML has warned that FSA regulation plans could be derailed unless major changes are made to the draft European Consumer Credit Directive. In a debate on mortgage regulation at the CML's annual conference, Kate Main, senior policy adviser, warned: "There is a fundamental difference in scope between the proposed FSA regime and the CCD. "We risk a ludicrous situation where mortgage loans are covered by two separate regimes." Sarah Wilson, director of the ...

  • CML looks forward to stable interest rates

    4 Dec 2002

    Even a small rise in interest rates would leave some householders vulnerable to mortgage arrears, Andrew Pople, chairman of the CML warned yesterday. Pople warned CML delegates: "A rise in unsecured borrowing means some households will be vulnerable to rate increases." "We do not believe an early rise in interest rates is likely, but neither do we anticipate another fall." And Pople also flagged up the risks of a low inflation environment telling a packed audience: ...

  • Comments about PMPA are irresponsible and unfortunate

    2 Dec 2002

    From Jon O'Brien The directors of Professional Mortgage Packagers Associates have carefully considered the recent comments made by Mr Wayne Smethurst of The Finance Centre and would like to respond to them. Mr Smethurst states that "PMPA claims to represent the industry". This is not the case and it has never been our intended position to do so. We have always gone to great lengths to advise that we are a group of like-minded packagers who aim to do our best for introducers ...

  • Council Tax plan to hit top-end housing

    2 Dec 2002

    An increase in the number of Council Tax bands could drag down the top-end housing market. Currently, the top H band of Council Tax applies to all homes valued at £320,000 and over in 1991. Householders in this band pay three times more Council Tax than those with properties in the cheapest band, band A. A new Local Government Bill could see this ratio increase. The Bill allows councils to create additional bands, which could widen the gap between top and bottom Council Tax ...

  • Court action on second charge rises

    2 Dec 2002

    County courts are seeing an increase in possession orders filed on second charge loans. The Treasury has resisted calls for second charge lending to come within the scope of FSA regulation, on the grounds it is "not aware of any instance where a house has been lost because of default on a second charge". But advice centre networks say second charge defaults now account for a "disproportionate" number of repossessions. Nick Pearson of the Federation of Information and Advice ...

  • Crunch, not crash, is the danger now

    2 Dec 2002

    Borrowing to invest, whether in shares or property, is never a one-way bet. I can clearly recall the house price recession of 1989 and the problems this caused borrowers and lenders. Some areas experienced house price falls of 40% and the industry took a long time to recover. Today, however, the market could not be more different - house prices seem to defy the laws of gravity and are spiralling out of control. The latest figures from the Halifax show that prices rose by 4.7% in October, ...

  • Four in five brokers anticipate electronic business

    3 Dec 2002

    Over 78% of brokers expect to write some mortgage business electronically over the next year, reveals a survey from Sun Bank. The survey, conducted via e-mail, questioned brokers on their likes and dislikes of the lender websites they use. Paul Howard, sales and development director of Sun Bank, says: "The results, based on over 250 responses, showed what brokers really think about websites designed for them. "It is clear that with less than 25% of brokers predicting ...

  • FSA hands Abbey Life £1m endowment mis-selling fine

    4 Dec 2002

    The FSA has fined Abbey Life Assurance Company Limited £1 milliion for mortgage endowment mis-selling and other compliance failures between 1995 and 1999 - the largest fine in the regulator's history. Between 42,000 and 46,000 mortgage endowment and 3,000 to 4,000 other customers may be due compensation. Abbey Life's parent Lloyds TSB is making a £165 million compensation provision, although it says most of Abbey Life's problems occured before the life assurer ...

  • FSA is a "toothless tiger", says Consumers' Association

    2 Dec 2002

    The Consumers' Association has delivered a damning verdict on the FSA, as the City regulator approaches the first anniversary of acquiring its full regulatory powers. The CA highlights perceived failures in dealing with issues such as with-profits funds, polarisation, the Equitable Life scandal and enforcing corporate responsibility standards, as well as the regulator's handling of endowment mis-selling. According to CA research, as many as five million consumers ...

  • FSA publishes proposals to relax timeframe for endowment complaints

    6 Dec 2002

    The FSA has published a consultation on relaxing time bars for mortgage endowment complaints. The proposals are designed to reduce the risk that endowment holders who were mis-sold policies miss the opportunity to complain because they failed to act in time. The FSA proposes that the complaint stopwatch should only start to run as a result of consumers receiving a red reprojection letter - one that states there is a 'high risk' the endowment policy will not pay ...

  • GMAC-RFC completes £91m portfolio sale

    6 Dec 2002

    GMAC-RFC has announced the completion of a portfolio sale worth £91m, made up of fixed and discounted mainstream mortgages, buy-to-let and self-certification loans. The 'whole loan' sale was acquired by E-Mex Home Funding, a subsidiary of Cheshire Building Society, the UK's 11th largest building society. The transaction represents GMAC-RFC's 15th portfolio sale in the last three years. Other portfolio sales from GMAC-RFC have been acquired by a range ...

  • GMAC-RFC rumoured to be creating elite panel

    2 Dec 2002

    GMAC-RFC is thought to be creating an elite panel for around a third of its key packager and correspondent lender partners. A senior source at one packager told Mortgage Strategy: "GMAC-RFC is saying they will support those of us that support them with volume business. "In terms of advantages, this panel would offer in-house underwriting and offer facilities, alongside more administration support." GMAC-RFC refused to comment on any specific plans. But Gina Collman, head ...

  • GMAC-RFC sells £135m portfolio to Amber Homeloans

    6 Dec 2002

    GMAC-RFC has completed a £135m portfolio sale to Amber Homeloans, a subsidiary of Skipton Building Society. The portfolio is made up of fixed and discounted mainstream mortgages, buy-to-let and self-certification loans. The deal is the fourth in three years between the two organisations. The Amber Homeloans Group acquired similar portfolios from GMAC-RFC in May 2002 (£150m), November 2001 (£130m) and July 2000 (£30m) bringing the total sale value ...

  • Hodge Equity Release lowers threshold to meet growing demand

    2 Dec 2002

    Hodge Equity Release has lowered its threshold for homeowners seeking to withdraw equity from their home. The company, which forms part of the Julian Hodge Bank group, had previously based its plan on borrowing a minimum sum of £25,001 but the new equity release product allows people to release as little as £15,000 on a minimum property value of £75,000 for clients over 60. Over-65s are entitled to release £60,000. Jon King, director of Hodge ...

  • Hold on

    2 Dec 2002

    If you combine the salesman's adage that 'nothing sells like something that's already sold' with a booming remortgage market, then mortgage brokers should be cutting off a healthy slice of the runaway home finance market. In fact, while lending for house purchase remained stable during September, figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders reveal that the refinancing of home loans was up 22% in the same period - an increase of £7.3bn. At £8.9bn, remortgaging ...

  • Homeowners' mortgage protection inadequate says L&G

    2 Dec 2002

    Just over a third (36%) of homeowners have protected their mortgages with payment protection insurance or critical illness cover according to Legal & General's latest Moving Intentions survey. The survey also reveals that 21% of mortgage holders now have payment protection insurance and another 4% have critical illness cover. A further 11% have both payment protection insurance and critical illness cover. However, L&G's survey also shows that another 36% of mortgage ...

  • Housebuilding figures reveal boost for new starts

    6 Dec 2002

    Building work on over 15,000 houses were started in the UK during October and another 15,500 dwellings were completed, reveal figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. After allowing for seasonal variation, total starts in the three months to October were up 15% on the previous three months, and up 2% compared with the same period a year ago. The increase on the previous three months is largely due to the very low figures in June. Completions were up 2% on ...

  • IFS launches fast-track degree for insurance professionals

    2 Dec 2002

    The Institute of Financial Services has launched a new route for ACIIs to achieve a BSc (Hons) degree in Financial Services. The degree is awarded by the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, one of the UK's premier management schools. Up to 11,000 Associates of the Chartered Insurance Institute will have the opportunity to achieve the degree and, although this advanced study route to the degree has not previously been available to the insurance sector, ...

  • Introducing an element of hope

    2 Dec 2002

    Continuing our look at the four options open to brokers who remain unqualified after December 31, this week we look at option two, which is to become an introducer. The word 'introducer' is a strictly defined term under the MCCB rules and we must forget about the generic use of the word that is widely used to refer to any intermediary, IFA or otherwise that introduces mortgage business to lenders. I suspect that the use of this word will be a source of confusion for some ...

  • John Gummer succeeds Lord Hunt as AIFA chairman

    2 Dec 2002

    Former Conservative cabinet minister John Gummer has been appointed to succeed Lord Hunt of Wirral as chairman of the Association of Independent Financial Advisers. Gummer, who served in several ministerial positions including secretary of state for the environment, and minister of state, department of agriculture, fisheries and food, during the 1980s and 1990s, will take up his post on January 1 2003. Roger Sanders, deputy chairman of the association, says: "We are ...

  • KMC outsourcing service goes live

    5 Dec 2002

    A new outsourced mortgage application processing and packaging service for Kensington Mortgage Company has gone live at Rossbank Telenet Services. Rossbank is providing outsourced mortgage application processing through to the offer stage for Kensington in support of Kensington's growing National Accounts channel. The next stage of the project will encompass the creation of a central, remotely-accessible underwriting system. Kieran Hedigan, chief executive ...

  • Labour plans could push up cost of mortgages

    2 Dec 2002

    Government plans to increase public borrowing could mean higher interest rates and more expensive mortgages. Chancellor Gordon Brown announced a big increase in public borrowing in last week's pre-Budget speech to compensate for lower than expected economic growth. Over five years, Brown unveiled public borrowing plans worth £102bn -up £28bn on the forecasts he gave in April's budget. And he spoke of the need for a "sustainable housing market" as he forecast consumption ...

  • Leeds & Holbeck go into the Pink

    5 Dec 2002

    Pink Home Loans has launched a residential fees assisted mortgage product in association with Leeds & Holbeck Building Society. The product is available via submission directly to Leeds & Holbeck Building Society through the Pink Home Loans Mortgage Club. It offers a 1.76% discount for two years giving an initial pay rate of 3.99%. There is no arrangement fee to pay and no legal fees for remortgage cases when the Leeds & Holbeck in-house legal service is used. Tony ...

  • Lenders warn market runs risk of sharp correction

    4 Dec 2002

    The housing market could be in for a sharp correction if house price growth does not moderate soon, Andrew Pople, chairman of the CML warned yesterday. Pople told the CML annual conference in London: "Gross lending this year is £250bn - one third more than last year. "The market cannot continue to grow at this rate, and a soft landing is far from guaranteed." And Pople, who resigned as the managing director of retail banking at Abbey National last week, ...

  • Lifeboat in partnership with Domain

    5 Dec 2002

    Lifeboat Financial Group Limited has signed a new partnership with Domain Financial Network. David Kitchen, chief executive officer of Lifeboat Financial Group, says: "Domain has proved to be exceptional in the provision and packaging of mortgages. We feel that a partnership with Domain will offer our intermediaries an excellent source for conducting mortgage business. "In return, Domain can be sure to receive a first class service from the companies in the Lifeboat ...

  • Low inflation environment could spell trouble in the long-term

    3 Dec 2002

    Low inflation rates mean homeowners could be storing up problems in years to come, says national IFA RJ Temple. The Bank of England's current inflation target is just 2.5%. While a low inflation, low interest rate climate will probably continue to stimulate the property market, today's borrowers taking on substantial mortgages will not have the benefit of the higher inflation of the past to help erode their debt. The average inflation rate over the past 25 years ...

  • Make the most of your existing clients

    2 Dec 2002

    With remortgaging reaching a record £8.9bn in October, intermediaries should be rubbing their hands with glee. Council of Mortgage Lenders data suggests remortgaging accounted for 43% of total lending in October, with benign economic conditions tempting homeowners to reconsider their current deals. The average variable rate fell from 4.42% in September to 4.28% in October, while the average fixed rate also dropped from 5.12% to 4.9% - figures some of your past ...

  • MBL to verify key product details

    2 Dec 2002

    Mortgage Brain has become the first sourcing system to agree to verify key product details on its Mortgage Broker sourcing system. Lenders accounting for over 60% of UK mortgage transactions have agreed to verify key mortgage product details on the MBL system. It is planning to extend this capability further to enable individual lenders to guarantee their product details as appropriate. In a recent independent survey of mortgage introducers, over 94% of respondents indicated that ...

  • Mortgage Express denies poor service

    2 Dec 2002

    Mortgage Express has denied that its record lending levels are affecting its service to brokers. Some brokers are frustrated by the lender's slowing service. Mark Osland, director of Croydon-based IFA Fidelius, says: "The service at Mortgage Express is appalling at the moment. It has admitted it is not opening post for 10 days." Clive Watkins, sales and marketing director at Derby-based Members Mortgages, says: "Mortgage Express is behind at the moment, but they always let us ...

  • Muslims represent 5% of the UK population. Can you cash in on this untapped market?

    2 Dec 2002

    Richard Doe is marketing manager, Kensington Mortgage Company A key tenet of Islam is that payment or receipt of interest is strictly forbidden, which means conventional mortgage products are not suitable for this community. Recent Home Office estimates indicate that the Islamic population in the UK is approaching three million, which is around 5% of the total population. There is, therefore, a potential £10bn a year untapped mortgage market. We already know that there ...

  • My mortgage week - Cammy Amaira

    2 Dec 2002

    Monday: It's an early start from home in Warwickshire, which is actually a good thing as it gets me into our headquarters in Barnet, London at 7.15am. After the drive, I start the week in the best way I know - I grab a coffee and sit down with Dawn Bower (our sales development executive) to discuss the weekend's football results. The 100% Football competition that we are promoting heavily at the moment is also going well - though I can't say I'm too pleased with my own ...

  • Nationwide index shows house prices booming

    4 Dec 2002

    Property prices are growing at 25.5% per year - the fastest rate for over 13 years - reveals the Nationwide house price index for November. Property prices rose 2% in November, taking the average house price to £115,761. Alex Bannister, group economist at Nationwide, says: "November's price rise takes the year-on-year increase in prices above the 25% mark for the first time in over thirteen years. This strength was also reflected in mortgage lending, ...

  • New head of sales for Bristol & West

    5 Dec 2002

    Bristol & West Mortgages has appointed Brian Everett as its new head of sales. Everett will be managing the Bristol & West Mortgages sales division, developing and implementing strategies for the firm. Part of his role is to listen to and act upon feedback from packagers and brokers. Everett says: "I am eager to ensure that the whole of sales fulfils its potential by exploiting the existing skills and experience as well as introducing new methods and ideas." Everett ...

  • New marketing director for Abbey

    2 Dec 2002

    Abbey National business has appointed Michael Campbell as marketing director, responsible for the marketing functions across business banking and finance. Campbell's priorities will be to drive forward the Abbey National business brand, to ensure Abbey National benefits from marketing campaigns targeted at small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and ultimately to help deliver exceptional customer service. Campbell previously worked as a marketing and sales director ...

  • Openwork launches conveyancing system with eConveyancer

    6 Dec 2002

    Openwork has launched a conveyancing service for its advisers in conjunction with eConveyancer.

  • Pink and BMS launch 25-to-let

    6 Dec 2002

    Pink Home Loans has launched an exclusive mortgage product aimed at buy-to-let investors who wish to build up a portfolio of properties. The ཕ-to-let' product has been launched in association with Birmingham Midshires Solutions and allows the borrower a maximum of 25 investment properties up to a total portfolio limit of £2.5m. The rate is set at 0.99% above the Bank of England base rate for three years giving an initial pay rate of 4.99%. The product ...

  • Pople resigns from Abbey National position

    2 Dec 2002

    Abbey National has announced the resignation of Andrew Pople, managing director of Retail Banking, just 24 hours after the bank issued a profit warning for its year end figures, due February. Pople, also chairman of the Council of Mortgage Lenders, left his position on the Abbey National Board with immediate effect. Until Abbey's new organisational structure has been finalised in February, John Berry, deputy managing director of retail banking, will take over Pople's responsibilities.

  • PR awards for Birmingham Midshires Solutions

    3 Dec 2002

    Birmingham Midshires Solutions has taken four awards at the annual Midlands Institute of Public Relations Cream Award, hosted in Birmingham. The lender's five-strong communications team beat stiff competition including top PR agencies McCann-Erickson, Citigate and Haslimann-Taylor, and in-house teams from Nationwide Building Society, Carlsberg-Tetley and Capital One Bank Europe. The tally of awards for the night were: * Gold award for Saving Britain, a PR campaign ...

  • Pre-Budget 2005: Brown Field sites targeted for affordable housing

    5 Dec 2002

    In response to the CBI's report, the government is looking at encouraging greater use of Brown Field sites to build affordable housing for young couples.

  • Private rental sector may face more regulation

    4 Dec 2002

    Greater regulation of buy-to-let landlords is inevitable, says Norman Perry, chief executive of the Housing Corporation. Around £9bn in housing benefits goes to landlords in the private rental sector every year. Perry told delegates attending the annual CML conference: "The flows of benefits to the private rented sector demands some assurance about the quality of housing, which will bring this sector into a more cohesive regulatory framework." Although ...

  • Propertyfinder.com predicts New Year growth in market

    2 Dec 2002

    Research carried out by Propertyfinder.com suggests the number of homes being bought and sold will grow strongly in the New Year, in line with optimism that prices are going to rise modestly in 2006.

  • RBS creates single intermediary channel

    8 Dec 2002

    RBS is to create a single intermediary channel for all its mortgage products under the banner of RBS Intermediary Partners.

  • RBS' Joe Flynn appointed Mortgage Board non-exec director

    2 Dec 2002

    The Mortgage Code Compliance Board (Mortgage Board) has appointed Joe Flynn to its board of directors. Flynn replaces Richard Brown, who has recently retired from the board and will sit as a lender representative non-executive director of the Mortgage Board. Flynn is head of intermediary mortgage strategy at Royal Bank of Scotland and is responsible for creating and implementing strategic plans to develop intermediary mortgage sales for the Bank. He is actively involved ...

  • Regulation threat to small brokerages

    4 Dec 2002

    Smaller broker firms will suffer disproportionately from regulation, says the Association of Independent Financial Advisers. Paul Smee, director general of AIFA, told the CML annual conference: "Regulation will have a larger impact on small firms than large. This should be a consideration as mortgage intermediaries are bought inside the regulatory net." The transition to regulation will be doubly hard for small firms since they will be uncertain about how best to proceed. ...

  • Remortgage this Christmas to offset costs, says Charcol

    2 Dec 2002

    Homeowners have been encouraged to remortgage to offset some of the costs of the Christman holiday season. Research suggesting UK shoppers intend to spend £7.5bn on their credit cards this Christmas, and mortgage and independent financial adviser Charcol suggests borrowers consider remortgaging to free up spare cash. Charcol general manager Ricky Okey, says: "It's an unfortunate fact of life that festive cheer is costing many dear with more people turning to ...

  • Sainsbury's finds homeowners on the move

    5 Dec 2002

    The newly launched Home Moving Index from Sainsbury's Bank reveals that 6% of houseowners expect to move between now and April 2003. This would equate to up to £118bn worth of property changing owners. On a regional basis, the South-West tops the league with 8% of homeowners intending to move over the next few months compared with only 4% in both the East Midlands and Wales. Lucy Hunter, mortgages product manager at Sainsbury 's Bank, says: "Our research shows ...

  • Self-build specialist joins HomeLoan Partnership panel

    3 Dec 2002

    Mortgage network HomeLoan Partnership has appointed self-build specialist BuildStore to its growing lender panel. The appointment makes BuildLoan - BuildStore's intermediary mortgage product - available to all of HomeLoan Partnership's members. BuildLoan is the only self-build mortgage available to intermediaries that releases money at the start of each stage of the build. Self-builders can borrow up to 95% of the cost of the land or the property they want to renovate ...

  • Self-cert races ahead at BMS

    5 Dec 2002

    Nearly a quarter of specialist products introduced by intermediaries are self-cert, reveals the latest survey from Birmingham Midshires Solutions. The latest BMS SMART index find that self-cert accounts for 22% of all cases introduced, an increase of 3% on the half-year findings published by SMART. The full findings from the third regular BM Solutions SMART index are: ? Compared with the mid-year survey, sub-prime cases rose from 8% to 10% of cases introduced. ...

  • Single female home ownership up 50% since 1992

    2 Dec 2002

    The number of single women owning their own houses has increased by 52% in the last ten years, according to research conducted by Charcol. Single women now account for 17% of all mortgages lent, more than ever before and single women are snapping up one in seven properties on the market. This independent trend is set to rise further in the next five years as overall single lending increases to as much as 56% of all home loans, and women continue to narrow the gap with men, getting ...

  • SPML appoints head of legal and compliance

    2 Dec 2002

    Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited has appointed in-house lawyer Gemma Reece to the newly-created position of head of legal and compliance. Reece now heads a team of three, which includes a compliance manager and a compliance officer. She reports to SPML's director of credit and is responsible for all aspects of compliance and regulation - in particular overseeing the FSA authorisation process, responding to consultation papers from the Treasury, FSA, DTI, and the EU. Reece ...

  • Stamp Duty changes could boost Islamic market

    2 Dec 2002

    The removal of double Stamp Duty charges would make the UK Islamic mortgage market worth £4.5bn in four years. Independent market analyst Datamonitor says this market could today be worth as much as £9.2bn in balances outstanding, compared to £267bn for the total mortgage market. However, it is worth just £0.04bn due to combination of factors that have served to suppress the market. Stamp Duty must be paid twice on Islamic mortgage transactions, where the property ...

  • Sun Bank makes its move to the seaside

    2 Dec 2002

    Sun Bank is to relocate from Stevenage to parent Portman's head office in Bournemouth. As exclusively revealed in Mortgage Strategy, Portman acquired Sun Bank from Sun Life Financial Services of Canada in November 2001 for £95m. Sun Bank will continue to operate as a brand separate to Portman, with its own board, staff, products and marketing set-up. Sun Bank has enjoyed a strong year with completions this year approaching £600m compared to £220m in 2001. The ...

  • Tackling the complex issue of APR

    2 Dec 2002

    The Consumer Credit Act 1974 requires lenders to publish rates of interest on their lending products. The annual percentage rate is an industry-wide method of comparing interest rates and charges for credit between lenders so that borrowers can make an informed choice on the pricing of individual products. The APR is formally defined as 'the effective compound rate of interest at which the sum of the present values of the repayments of the loan and associated charges equate to the ...

  • The good news is that there was no bad news

    2 Dec 2002

    Mervyn King is to be the next governor of the Bank of England. The news was revealed as Gordon Brown announced his pre-Budget report to the House of Commons at 3:30pm on Wednesday last week. The Chancellor has downgraded his hopes for UK economic growth, admitting for the first time that it will not meet his forecasts. Delivering his pre-Budget report to MPs, Brown said growth this year would be 1.6%. Extra borrowing is also on the cards in an attempt to counter the expected economic ...

  • The Mortgage Mole

    2 Dec 2002

    RUGGER RAT Foie gras and goat's cheese, mushroom vel-oute, lobster ravioli, red mullet on a bed of spinach, fillet of beef with celeriac purée and artichokes, strawberry and champagne soup and creme brulée with Granny Smith jus. These were just some of the delights Mole enjoyed courtesy of BM Solutions, chez Gordon Ramsey at a night-before England vs South Africa rugby dinner. BMS even went the extra mile, providing a night's accommodation ...

  • This week's problem case

    2 Dec 2002

    James has been employed in the IT industry for three years but has, within the last 12 months, set himself up as a limited company and cannot yet provide any accounts. He is working on a contractual basis for the same firm he was previously employed by. He is a first-time buyer and is able to put down a 15% deposit from his own savings. James has a good credit history.Intermediary responseDavid Hollingworth, mortgage ...

  • TMPC introduces online product finder

    5 Dec 2002

    The Mortgage Placement Company has introduced an online product finder, expanded its fee free scheme and abolished application fees. Edwin Coughtrie, managing director of TMPC, says: "The online product finder has been designed to make life easier for our clients to recommend mortgages to their customers. The Mortgage Merlin asks brokers a few simple questions about what requirements their client has and what level of credit impairment they carry. The process, which takes no ...

  • Turning naughty into nice

    3 Dec 2002

    Quitting a 'naughty but nice' vice for the New Year could not only save the nation £54.9bn a year, but also help homeowners pay their mortgage off years early, says VirginOne. A VirginOne account poll reveals smoking as the nation's favourite vice to give up, with 24% of adults planning to stub out their last cigarette as the clock strikes midnight. Chocolate came a close second with 19% of adults pledging to conquer their addiction for the New Year. Beating ...

  • Uncertainty remains despite service sector pick-up, says CBI

    2 Dec 2002

    Signs of a pick-up in the service sector have failed to dispel uncertainty about the economic recovery, according to a CBI and Grant Thornton survey published today. The latest quarterly service sector survey looks at business and professional services firms such as advertising agencies and management consultants, as well as hospitality firms such as hotels and restaurants. Business and professional services firms saw a pick-up in the value and volume of business over ...

  • Universal Building Society launches website

    2 Dec 2002

    Universal Building Society has launched an interactive website at www.theuniversal.co.uk. The site, which is updated daily, has been designed and built by Newcastle-based Fawthrop McLanders Advertising and Design Ltd. The main section of the site is devoted to providing customers with clear and concise information on mortgages, loans, savings and investments, with an separate area for introducers. Introducers can receive a password that will allow you to access a secure ...

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