Mortgage Strategy
30 January 2012
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A walk through the pros and cons of quantitative easing
30 January 2012
Apart from reducing the base rate to 0.5% - the lowest level since the Bank of England was established in 1694 - governor Mervyn King has introduced a quantitative easing policy worth up to £275bn.
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All talk and no action - Labour peer on Shapps
30 January 2012
A Labour peer has hit out at housing minister Grant Shapps, accusing him of using housing policies to grab headlines.
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Amendment vital to welfare reform bill
30 January 2012
After publication of the Welfare Reform Bill last year, many expressed concern about its plan to pay housing benefit direct to tenants instead of landlords.
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Broker roadshows on MMR will be handy
30 January 2012
Change is something advisers have had to get used to in recent years. From the introduction of regulation in 2001 to the devastation caused by the credit crunch, advisers have had to learn to adapt to survive.
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Caption Competition
30 January 2012
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Clients should insure family before phones
30 January 2012
New research shows Britons are more likely to insure their mobile phones than to take out life insurance to protect their families.
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Conveyancers face a rocky ride
30 January 2012
Lenders’ panels lie behind one of the many challenges conveyancers will have to tackle in a year that looks like it will be the most demanding in a long time. And technology is another issue that could make or break solicitor firms
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Dates for your DIARY...
30 January 2012
February 9CML data on arrears and repossessions for Q4 2011 publishedThe Council of Mortgage Lenders reveals its latest quarterly figures on arrears and repossessions. It will be interesting to see whether recent negative economic data has had an impact.
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Drawdown benefits are not promoted enough
30 January 2012
Not enough is being done to educate consumers on the benefits of drawdown plans, says Dean Mirfin, group director of Key Retirement Solutions.
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EU directive plan to halve arrears period may see repossessions jump
30 January 2012
A clause in the European mortgage directive that would halve the time borrowers are allowed to be in arrears before being classed as in default has triggered fears of a surge in repossessions and mortgage costs.
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Fears of double-dip recession rise after 0.2% contraction in GDP
30 January 2012
Gross domestic product contracted by 0.2% in Q4 2011, sparking fears that a double-dip recession could be on the way.
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Government won't turn its back on failing banks
30 January 2012
The government cannot walk away from failing banks in the future without risking wider contagion to other lenders, according to Standard & Poor’s.
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Helping clients earn extra the right way
30 January 2012
The Office for National Statistics has stated that the number of unemployed in the UK has risen to 2.68 million - the highest number of jobless people since 1994.
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Last week's winner
30 January 2012
Richard Jenkinson, DPR“Is that a bottle of Chardonnay in your pocket George or do you have a Semillon?”
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Lender refusing to port loan is flying in the face of sense
30 January 2012
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Lending data belies fears of recession
30 January 2012
Welcome to the first Lending Zone of 2012 and the year is already shaping up to be a bumpy ride. With gross domestic product falling by 0.2% in Q4 many are predicting further quantitative easing in February and saying that the UK is already in recession.
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Less well-off take 22 years to save first home deposit
30 January 2012
Lower to middle income households face a 22-year wait to save a deposit on their first home, according to a report out last week.
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Living in the age of less reason
30 January 2012
If you care to believe recent evidence that our cognitive decline starts at 45, it raises all sorts of interesting questions about the performance of our financial sages over the last few years, from Mervyn King and John Tiner to Sir Callum McCarthy and Fred Goodwin
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Marketwatch - January 2012
30 January 2012
Last week it was no surprise to find ourselves in the shadow of gross domestic product figures showing the economy shrank by 0.2% in the last quarter, and another Greek issue debacle.
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MPC keeps base rate and quantitative easing on hold again
30 January 2012
The Monetary Policy Committee voted unanimously to keep the base rate on hold and maintain the quantitative easing programme at £275bn earlier this month, minutes of the meeting have revealed.
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MS Leader: Useless records on housing
30 January 2012
The Department for Communities and Local Government made an apt retort to Lord Beecham’s criticism of housing minister Grant Shapps in the House of Lords.
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N&P offers 10-year fix at 3.99%, citing favourable swaps
30 January 2012
Norwich and Peterborough Building Society has launched a 10-year fixed rate mortgage at 3.99%.
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OFT to scrutinise Mortgage Brain's attempt to acquire MortgageStream
30 January 2012
The Office of Fair Trading has stepped in again to investigate a proposed acquisition by Mortgage Brain.
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Paragon Group has good Q4 2011 with £38.6m of loans
30 January 2012
The Paragon Group of Companies, parent of Paragon Mortgages, lent £38.6m in buy-to-let loans in Q4 2011, an interim management statement revealed last week.
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Restricting panels may be good thing
30 January 2012
There has been a lot of talk, mostly negative, about HSBC restricting its conveyancing panel to 42 firms.
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Sants warns of 'tick box regulation' from Europe
6 Feb 2012
FSA chief executive believes European approach to regulation creates a ’bias to data’ which goes against individual risk assessment of firms.
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Sesame Bankhall gave lenders 8% more mortgage business last year
30 January 2012
Sesame Bankhall Group delivered £26.1bn of mortgage business to lenders in 2011, an increase of 8% on the £24.2bn delivered in 2010.
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Side effects of MIG medicine
30 January 2012
It’s no miracle cure but the MIG scheme could certainly ease the housing shortage pain and help credit-worthy buyers. But lenders will be concerned about the instant devaluation of new-builds so valuers will have to prove they have robust processes
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Soft skills necessary for successful selling
30 January 2012
People like me have been talking about the need to increase protection sales for years.
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Taking responsibility to prevent a disaster
30 January 2012
The reason none of us likes to think about the worst case scenario is, I believe, because we all like to think we’re invincible.
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The B2L challenge to pensions
30 January 2012
With low interest rates affecting pension pots, there is an argument for buy-to-let to be marketed to clients as an alternative. John Greenwood examines the pension versus buy-to-let strategy
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The human league
30 January 2012
Some specialist lenders are using the human touch when deciding cases, adding what they call intelligent underwriting to the process, but here our experts debate how effective this approach really is
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The Mortgage Mole
30 January 2012
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Top of the League
30 January 2012
Top Of The League - the competition that seeks to reward the best talent in the broker market - has returned for another season. Launched by Woolwich mortgages from Barclays in 2010, the aim is to offer intermediaries an opportunity to scoop fantastic prizes, such as the Barclays Premier League Player Of The Month trophy. But this season has an exciting twist. Working with Barclays and last season’s judges, who have signed on for another year, the competition will concentrate on networks ...
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Transfer of second charges to FSA is a long time coming
30 January 2012
The Mortgage Market Review has confirmed the regulation of secured loans will move from the Office of Fair Trading to the Financial Services Authority/ Financial Conduct Authority no earlier than 2014, once a decision has been reached on the transfer of consumer credit regulation as a whole.
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Uncertainty leaves economy in jeopardy
30 January 2012
The outlook for the mortgage market has deteriorated in recent months as the impact of the slower economic recovery and upheavals in Europe are taken fully into account. But this revision in expectations has been pretty modest so far compared to previous shifts in the market.
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Version 9 on track as TrigoldCrystal sees profits double
30 January 2012
TrigoldCrystal saw pre-tax profits of £614,682 for the year ending November 30 2011, almost double its £319,360 profit in 2010, its chief executive has revealed.
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Victims of alleged fraud lose repossession appeal
30 January 2012
Victims of a suspected mortgage fraud face repossession after losing their appeal against a High Court ruling.
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Virgin looks to double Northern Rock lending to £9bn a year
30 January 2012
Virgin Money plans to double the value of mortgage lending at Northern Rock.
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We need to talk about lenders deleveraging
30 January 2012
Looking at gross lending predictions from the Council of Mortgage Lenders and Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association, it is clear they are not expecting this year to be too different to last.
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Woolwich reopens 75% door to intermediaries
30 January 2012
Barclays returned to offering 75% LTV for buy-to-let through brokers last week, after relaunching via the direct channel a week earlier.
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Y3S subsidiary is forced to go into administration
30 January 2012
Y3S Group has placed one of its subsidiaries, BMB Financial Limited, into administration, leaving behind liabilities of £191,418.
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Year-on-year lending rises 12% despite December fall
30 January 2012
Gross mortgage lending totalled £11.7bn in December 2011, 12% higher than the same period a year ago, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
