Mortgage Strategy
8 December 2008
-
2-year mortgage holiday could lead to debt nightmare
9 Dec 2008
The government’s 2-year mortgage holiday could leave cash strapped consumers in a worse financial situation, mortgage services provider Exact warns today.
-
A&L cuts SVR by 0.5%
10 Dec 2008
Alliance & Leicester has dropped its SVR by 0.5% to 5.84% from January 2.
-
Abbey and Trigold merge IT systems
9 Dec 2008
Abbey for Intermediaries and Trigold have merged their back office IT systems to allow brokers to place applications directly with the lender.
-
Abbey lowers rates on fixed and trackers
9 Dec 2008
Abbey is cutting rates by up to 0.6% on its fixed rate deals and lowering rates on its tracker range by up to 0.9%.
-
Abbey offset conditions concern customers
13 Dec 2008
The BBC has today been reporting about Abbey withdrawing borrowing facilities from some customers with an offset mortgage, which Abbey call a flexible mortgage.
-
Access to live data crucial for sourcing systems
11 Dec 2008
Brokers rank access to live data as the most important factor for a successful sourcing system, reveals a survey from Mortgages for Business.
-
AFB warns against ban on single premium PPI
10 Dec 2008
The Association of Finance Brokers has published its response to the Competition Commission’s provisional remedies for Payment Protection Insurance urging it to not ban the sale of single premium PPI.
-
AMI calls for MPPI to be ripped out of CC inquiry
10 Dec 2008
The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has renewed its calls for the Competition Commission to remove mortgage payment protection insurance from its investigation.
-
AMPD adds Age Partnership to its panel
9 Dec 2008
The Alliance of Mortgage Packagers and Distributors has appointed Age Partnership to its panel.
-
Annuity-funded providers dominate market
11 Dec 2008
Equity release advisers will be relieved that to date, a full range of products is still available to their clients at attractive interest and loan to value rates.
-
Attractive Mortgage Rates
9 Dec 2008
A few things have happened today which are of note, not least Abbey and C&G launching some attractive looking rates.
-
Bank of America to slash up to 35,000 jobs
12 Dec 2008
Bank of America plans to shed up to 35,000 jobs worldwide over the next three years following the planned merger with Merrill Lynch.
-
Base rate will be 1% next year, says Mform
8 Dec 2008
Mform.co.uk has called the Bank of England's 1% rate cut to 2% a temporary staging post on the way to a record low base rate of 1% in 2009.
-
BBA publishes business support principles
12 Dec 2008
The British Bankers’ Association has published a set of principles outlining how banks will support business customers through the downturn.
-
Beware fraudulent lenders, says ASTL
8 Dec 2008
The Association of Short Term Lenders is warning brokers to steer clear of unscrupulous bridging lenders that are demanding non-refundable application fees then not following through on deals.
-
Bitner to join Just Retirement
8 Dec 2008
David Bitner, director of group partnerships at Bradford & Bingley, is leaving the nationalised lender to join Just Retirement.
-
Bitter pill
8 Dec 2008
Given the year we've had, nobody was expecting a barrel of laughs at the Council of Mortgage Lenders' annual conference in central London last week.
-
Blanchflower to step down from MPC
10 Dec 2008
Monetary Policy Committee dove David Blanchflower is stepping down at the expiry of his term in May.
-
BoE killed off HBOS, claims top economist
8 Dec 2008
A former Monetary Policy Committee member has claimed that mis-handling of the Special Liquidity Scheme by the Bank of England was the final nail in the coffin for HBOS.
-
Borro.com launches £1m loan
8 Dec 2008
Pawn broker Borro.com has upped its maximum loan value to £1m to meet the increasing demand for credit.
-
Breaking glass
8 Dec 2008
Mortgage Strategy's features editor Christine Toner had another spot of bother last week. As readers may remember she broke her leg at the CML dinner in 2006.
-
Brokers advised to cover their backs when selling B2L
10 Dec 2008
Repossessions specialist Moore Blatch has warned brokers that with buy-to-let arrears and repossessions levels rising it's vital that they use investment style warnings to cover their own backs.
-
Buyer interest returning to market reports RICS
9 Dec 2008
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors UK Housing Market Survey for November shows house prices continue to fall but new buyer enquiries are improving for the seventh consecutive month and turned positive for the first time since October 2006.
-
Calculating clients' protection needs
8 Dec 2008
Finding the right balance between need and affordability is particularly relevant in terms of mortgage insurance.
-
Charlbury Group expands nationwide field force
8 Dec 2008
Arrears management expert The Charlbury Group is expanding its nationwide team of field agents as market conditions help to bolster business.
-
Chase Capital Finance fined £35,000
11 Dec 2008
Didcot Magistrate's Court has fined Mayson Shanti of Marcham, Abingdon £35,000 for falsely representing itself as regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
-
Christopher Fairfax rumoured to be taking on Positive Lending
9 Dec 2008
Christopher Fairfax a director at Positive Lending is believed to be heading up Positive Lending UK following the administration of Positive Lending Limited.
-
Clifford given a blank slate at Virgin Money
8 Dec 2008
Rob Clifford will have the opportunity to develop a mortgage proposition from scratch when he takes the helm as managing director of Virgin Money on January 6.
-
CML calls government policy ''incoherent''
9 Dec 2008
It is very rare for a trade body to issue a press release as critical of the government as today’s release from the Council of Mortgage Lenders.
-
CML calls on government to end tug of war with lenders
9 Dec 2008
Michael Coogan, director general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders says current policy objectives are conflicting and incoherent and lenders are falling victim to the government's tug of war games. Coogan, says: “To different degrees lenders are facing conflicting pressures to recapitalise against possible future losses, service government’s preference shareholdings at 12%, pay a premium to access the Bank of England Special Liquidity Scheme.
-
Councils may set up own banks
8 Dec 2008
Councils are considering setting up their own local banks to bridge the funding gap caused by the credit crunch.
-
Credit crunch encouraging brokers to branch out
12 Dec 2008
There may be one silver lining to the credit crunch as brokers embrace niche areas such as debt solutions, says Andy Moody, managing director of Loan Options.
-
Credit crunch signals the end of self-cert deals, warns economist
8 Dec 2008
A leading economist is warning that self-cert mortgages will become a thing of the past in the wake of the prevailing financial turmoil.
-
Curriculumvitae: Peter Welch
8 Dec 2008
Describe your current jobGrowing Bridgewater Equity Release's market share of home reversion plans via brokers.
-
Cutting tracker rates could cost Halifax £575m
9 Dec 2008
Halifax’s decision to pass on rate cuts to tracker borrowers will cost the lender up to £575m a year, reveals analysis from mform.co.uk.
-
Darling must say to lenders that enough is enough
8 Dec 2008
It appears that the best efforts of chancellor Alistair Darling are inadequate at best. After all, government-owned Northern Rock is increasing its rates and it is not alone.
-
David Bitner joins Just Retirement
8 Dec 2008
David Bitner is joining Just Retirement Solutions, the distribution arm of Just Retirement, as head of partnership development from January 12 next year.
-
Developers can't build new homes without funding
8 Dec 2008
Regarding your story 'Beckett calls for house builders to keep building' (Mortgage Strategy Online, November 20).
-
Don't play tug of war with lenders, warns CML
9 Dec 2008
The Council of Mortgage Lenders is calling on the government to stop playing tug of war with lenders as the number of house purchase loans continues to plummet.
-
Dudgeon returns to the mortgage marketplace
8 Dec 2008
Bill Dudgeon, ex-managing director of DB Mortgages, is returning to the mortgage market in the new year to head up lending services at IFA network Virtual Net Europe.
-
East London is most at risk for fraud, says Callcredit
9 Dec 2008
East London is the UK area most vulnerable to fraud, reveals credit reference agency Callcredit.
-
Egg fined £721,000 for PPI failings
10 Dec 2008
Credit card provider Egg Banking has been fined £721,000 by the Financial Services Authority for serious failings in the sales of payment protection insurance.
-
Eight lenders to pass on full rate cut
8 Dec 2008
Eight of the UK's largest lenders are passing on last week's Bank of England base rate cut of 1% to existing customers on tracker mortgage deals.
-
Enact slashes legal fees 25%
8 Dec 2008
Enact is reducing its legal fees by 25% to 75 as part of a Christmas offer to brokers for all remortgage cases submitted in December and January.
-
Fiddling while market burns
8 Dec 2008
Chancellor Alistair Darling has so far failed to put out the fire engulfing the mortgage market. The Bank of England has cut rates in the hope of stimulating some sort of recovery but as lenders hoard capital and bemoan the price of funding, the base rate could fall to zero for all the respite it would offer. As for the Financial Services Authority, creative thinking to get us out of this mess is beyond the regulator's remit.
-
Financial advice sessions go online
11 Dec 2008
Brokers can now carry out financial appointments via the internet by using online remote technology.
-
Financial claims can end in tears
8 Dec 2008
The problem with get-rich-quick schemes is that they rarely fulfill their promises. The idea that you can make oodles of dosh without lifting a finger has obvious appeal but obvious flaws too. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.
-
Flexible ER advice is paramount
8 Dec 2008
The severe slump in the pound's value is a sign of downward pressure affecting interest rates.
-
FLM Loans looking to boost lending to brokers
10 Dec 2008
Bournemouth based sub-prime loan lender FLM Loans, part of the Richmond Group is looking to bolster its distribution through secured loan brokers.
-
Follow the leader
8 Dec 2008
For any of you wondering where Prime Minister Gordon Brown and chancellor Alistair Darling got their much-copied idea for rescuing the UK financial system, Mole has the answer - Zimbabwe.
-
FSA fines Egg £721,000 for PPI failings
10 Dec 2008
Credit card provider Egg Banking has been fined £721,000 by the Financial Services Authority for serious failings in the sales of payment protection insurance.
-
FSA survey claims firms strongly believe in regulation
11 Dec 2008
The majority of regulated firms believe in the importance of strong regulation post-Northern Rock, a financial services survey claims.
-
FSA wants liquidity rules revamp
8 Dec 2008
The Financial Services Authority is recommending a shake-up of the liquidity rules for banks, building societies and investment firms.
-
FSA warns shareholders over fraudsters
8 Dec 2008
The Financial Services Authority has warned around 11,000 UK shareholders that their personal details are on a database shared by fraudsters, which can be used to target people and illegally sell them shares.
-
GEMHL soothes redundancy fears
8 Dec 2008
GE Money Home Lending moved to calm fears about UK job cuts last week after parent firm GE Capital said it was scaling back its mortgage business.
-
Give lenders a chance
8 Dec 2008
It's not often we feel sorry for lenders but spare a thought for Nationwide and Halifax. They found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place over collars last week.
-
Godfather turns 65
8 Dec 2008
Early birthday wishes flooded in last week for Premier Mortgage Service managing director John Malone, who is 65 today.
-
Going all the way with Gordon
9 Dec 2008
Gordon Brown and his bully boys are about to have another go at banker bashing - theyve summoned the big names in the industry to 11 Downing Street for an earful about not following base rate all the way down.
-
Government announces HIP shake-up
8 Dec 2008
Housing minister Margaret Beckett has announced an overhaul of home information packs which will force sellers to compile a HIP before the property is marketed.
-
Government should be ashamed over HBOS merger, says MSP
12 Dec 2008
MSP Alex Neil has lashed out at the government for overseeing the “unnecessary end” of HBOS.
-
Haggerty quits Skipton in surprise move
8 Dec 2008
Steve Haggerty, managing director of Skipton, has unexpectedly quit the mutual to pursue other business interests. Skipton says: "We wish him all the best for the future."
-
HBOS admits write-downs of £8bn ahead of shareholder vote
12 Dec 2008
HBOS has revealed write-downs of an estimated £8bn for the first eleven months of the year ahead of today’s vote on the Lloyds TSB takeover.
-
HBOS pulls all trackers on all brands
8 Dec 2008
HBOS has pulled all tracker products offered across all of its brands.
-
HBOS shareholders accept their fate
12 Dec 2008
HBOS shareholders are resigned to their fate this lunchtime as the merger with Lloyds TSB looks increasingly likely to get the go-ahead.
-
Home Buyer Systems launches fee tracking technology
10 Dec 2008
Home Buyer Systems has launched technology that allows networks to track all fee payments made to its appointed representatives for arranging direct deals for clients.
-
Home Buyer Systems urges lenders to scrap direct only deals
11 Dec 2008
Home Buyer Systems is calling on lenders to allow mortgage brokers to offer direct-to-lender only products.
-
House prices fell by 2.6% in November
8 Dec 2008
House prices fell 2.6% in November, says Halifax. The lender's research has found that the average house price is now £163,445 - 124% higher than in 1998.
-
HSBC increases mortgage funding to £15bn
8 Dec 2008
HSBC Holdings is looking to increase its share of the UK mortgage market by boosting its available mortgage funding by 20% to £15bn next year.
-
IMLA elects 2009 board of directors
10 Dec 2008
The Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association has elected its 2008 board of directors.
-
Imminent appeal decision on HBOS challenge
11 Dec 2008
The Merger Action Group will decide this morning whether to appeal the decision against their legal challenge to the HBOS takeover.
-
Investment landlords turning their backs on rental property
8 Dec 2008
Nine out of 10 investment landlords are closing their doors and neither selling or buying residential rental property, despite asset values and rental yields falling, shows the Q4 Association of Residential Landlords Members Survey of the private rented sector.
-
Irish lenders refuse to pass on full ECB cut
11 Dec 2008
-
Irish minister warned: Beware of bank sharks
11 Dec 2008
The recapitalisation of Irish banks is proving a tricky issue for finance minister Brian Lenihan, whose government has already underwritten their balance sheets at a potential cost to the taxpayer of €450bn.
-
King & Co must pull their finger out or else
8 Dec 2008
Another week at the coal face. Actually I've had a couple of days off recently so I'm feeling more chilled than I did a few days ago. Everything is ticking along pretty much as it has all year and sad to say it's all quiet on the broker front.
-
Knight saw market crisis coming
8 Dec 2008
Stephen Knight, executive chairman of Checkmate Mortgages, has revealed that fears of a serious market adjustment spurred his decision to give up his former position as chairman of GMAC-RFC in April 2007.
-
Landlords lose £52.8bn in equity year-on-year
9 Dec 2008
Landlords have lost £52.8bn in equity from their property portfolios this year, reveals Managing Partners Limited
-
Landlords predict rise in rental arrears
8 Dec 2008
Many landlords are expecting the level of rent arrears to increase during the course of next year, reveals research from the National Landlords Association.
-
Leadbay boss leads the way
8 Dec 2008
Lead generation used to be the preserve of scoundrels and cowboys. Mortgage Strategy was once filled with stories about brokers losing thousands of pounds to firms purporting to offer online mortgage leads. These companies would demand money upfront and then vanish. And even when potential clients' details were offered the information was usually shoddy.
-
Lenders are taking the mickey and should be controlled
8 Dec 2008
I was absolutely astounded to hear Bank of England governor Mervyn King say that it may be necessary to encourage banks to start lending to small businesses and home buyers again. What was that?
-
Lenders selfishly pick and choose what TCF means
8 Dec 2008
TCF is a daily consideration for all brokers but I have an issue with how lenders seem to decide what constitutes meeting the initiative to suit their own ends, even if it disadvantages borrowers.
-
Lloyds and C&G launch tracker range
8 Dec 2008
Lloyds TSB and Cheltenham & Gloucester are launching tracker ranges tomorrow with rate cuts of up to 0.7%.
-
Lloyds TSB changes the way it sells PPI
12 Dec 2008
Lloyds TSB is changing the way it offers payment protection insurance from a single premium product to a monthly policy.
-
Lloyds TSB reveals multi-brand strategy
8 Dec 2008
Lloyds TSB says it is committed to a multi-brand strategy and will maintain a number of core brands following its acquisition of HBOS in 2009.
-
Lower LTV deals fail to give clients much choice
8 Dec 2008
Why is everyone within the lending industry behaving like they are our saviours?
-
MAB adds Moneybox to broker network
11 Dec 2008
Mortgage Advice Bureau has added Moneybox Financial Management to its national broker network.
-
Marketing chief Giles to leave Kensington
8 Dec 2008
Ian Giles, director of marketing at Kensington, is leaving the lender as part of its restructure. He will leave at Christmas.
-
Marketwatch 08/12/2008
8 Dec 2008
Swaps continued to plummet but we have not seen any further improvements in fixed rate deals. And three-month LIBOR is now 3.79% but we have not seen any movement in tracker pricing either.
-
Merger Action Group admits defeat: No appeal
11 Dec 2008
The Merger Action Group has decided not to take its legal challenge against the HBOS takeover any further.
-
Moneyextra.com appoints rival MD
8 Dec 2008
Richard Mason, former head of Moneysupermarket.com, has been appointed as managing director of competitor Moneyextra.com.
-
Mortage Strategy and eMoneyfacts team up on marketing
12 Dec 2008
Mortgage Strategy has entered into a joint venture ad sales agreement with free online sourcing portal eMoneyfacts.
-
Mortgage Intelligence launches two-year deal fixed at 4.19%
10 Dec 2008
Mortgage Intelligence is rolling out a two-year fixed rate deal funded by Abbey for Intermediaries available at 4.19%.
-
Mortgage Support Scheme to exclude buy-to-let
11 Dec 2008
The government has published the finer details of its Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme and says it will not include buy-to-let properties.
-
Mortgage-Insurance Services adds mortgage consultant
11 Dec 2008
Mortgage-Insurance Services has appointed Rob Hutton as a mortgage consultant.
-
Mortgages.co.uk distribution deal
8 Dec 2008
Mortgages.co.uk is about to unveil an exclusive distribution deal to promote its broker listing service with a major mortgage player.
-
MSPs join fight to save HBOS
8 Dec 2008
Scottish MPs are supporting the Merger Action Group in its efforts to block the takeover of HBOS by Lloyds TSB, citing a threat to competition.
-
My client is stuck between Rock and hard place
8 Dec 2008
My client is an existing Northern Rock customer who wished to port her flexible fixed rate deal to avoid a 3% early repayment charge. The product is competitive at 5.69%.
-
Naked truth
8 Dec 2008
Mole was sent the mystery snaps reproduced below by the son of a certain well known industry pundit. To spare his blushes, Mole is not going to print his name but with kids like this he's obviously no family guy.
-
NatWest to provide impartial advice in branch
11 Dec 2008
From tomorrow NatWest will be offering free impartial financial skills advice to consumers - regardless of their bank.
-
Non-performing loans tipped to be fresh source of deal liquidity
8 Dec 2008
PricewaterhouseCoopers is predicting that the trading of non-performing loans between financial institutions will replace securitisation as the way many lenders secure liquidity.
-
Northern Rock trims 1% from trackers
9 Dec 2008
Northern Rock is applying the full 1% rate cut to existing tracker mortgages, the lender has announced today.
-
OFT plans home buying market study
8 Dec 2008
The Office of Fair Trading is proposing a market study to look at alternative ways of buying and selling homes.
-
Old joke
8 Dec 2008
Last week Mole asked a well known equity release pundit whether there was a market for his firm setting up its own retirement homes to look after elderly guys and gals.
-
Orbiter goes live today
10 Dec 2008
Orbiter has rolled out its online sourcing and compliance service to brokers.
-
Paul Tucker to replace Sir John Gieve at Bank of England
10 Dec 2008
Paul Tucker has been appointed to replace Sir John Gieve as deputy governor for financial stability of the Bank of England.
-
Payday loans branded most expensive form of credit in UK
8 Dec 2008
Payday loans have been attacked as one of the most expensive forms of loans in the UK, with some APRs reaching 9889.3%.
-
Pink adds more protection courses for ARs
8 Dec 2008
Pink Home Loans is hosting two more protection courses in response to overwhelming demand for the sessions from its appointed representatives.
-
Pink customers gain access to Gravity
11 Dec 2008
Pink Home Loans’ customers have been given access to sub-prime sourcing system Gravity.
-
Pink launches Hot Desk facility
10 Dec 2008
Pink Home Loans has launched a new ‘Hot Desk’ facility for its appointed representatives at its head office in Lichfield, Staffordshire.
-
Positive Lending director rumoured to be rescuing business
9 Dec 2008
Christopher Fairfax a director at Positive Lending is believed to be heading up Positive Lending UK following the administration of Positive Lending Limited.
-
Positive Lending Limited to be put into liquidation
9 Dec 2008
Positive Lending Limited is to be put into liquidation on January 5 but Positive Lending UK will continue to trade.
-
PPI complaints to FOS top 25,000
11 Dec 2008
Walter Merricks, chief ombudsman at the Financial Ombudsman Service says it has received over 25,000 complaints relating to the sale of payment protection insurance since January 2008.
-
PPI has blocked consumer access to better protection
10 Dec 2008
The Income Protection Task Force has blamed the wide spread sale of payment protection insurance on blocking consumer access to better value products.
-
RBS and Rock offer six-month grace period
8 Dec 2008
RBS and Northern Rock have committed to a six-month grace period for borrowers facing repossession, but the latter says its foreclosures usually take 15 months anyway.
-
RBSIP sets up free broker callback service
8 Dec 2008
Royal Bank of Scotland Intermediary Partners has set up a free online callback service that allows brokers to book time slots to speak to the lender and resolve enquiries about their cases.
-
Remembering London's grim and grisly past
8 Dec 2008
Over the years I've become fascinated with the criminology of our capital city. Being a London surveyor I often value buildings where I know more about their history than the owners.
-
Repossessions may hit 75,000 in 2009
8 Dec 2008
Repossessions may rise to 75,000 in 2009. The Council of Mortgage Lenders confidentially briefed MPs about the figure last week, reports the BBC.
-
Rethink needed on state aid for banks, says CML
8 Dec 2008
Michael Coogan is calling on the government to revisit its position on state aid for banks and address the lower levels of mortgage funding that have been the unintended result.
-
RICS sees boost in buyer enquiries
9 Dec 2008
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors UK Housing Market Survey for November shows house prices continue to fall but new buyer enquiries are improving for the seventh consecutive month and turned positive for the first time since October 2006.
-
Rob Hutton joins Mortgage-Insurance Services
11 Dec 2008
Mortgage-Insurance Services has appointed Rob Hutton as a mortgage consultant.Hutton, formerly of GE Money Home Lending, has had experience in both the mortgage and secured loan market.Paul Bennington, national sales manager at MISL, says: “I am delighted Hutton has joined MISL, and although we are in changing times in the market place, he represents the kind of consultant who will provide clients with a cost effective solution to their mortgage and insurance needs.”
-
Santander to cut 1900 UK jobs
12 Dec 2008
Spanish banking giant Banco Santander is cutting 1,900 jobs across all three of its UK brands.
-
Secured lenders included in Mortgage Support Scheme
12 Dec 2008
The government has extended its Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme to include secured loan lenders.
-
Sharetobuy unveils exclusive deal
8 Dec 2008
Specialist broker Sharetobuy.com has launched an exclusive deal with Britannia.
-
State to underwrite mortgages for credit crunch-hit borrowers
8 Dec 2008
The government is poised to underwrite the mortgages of thousands of borrowers who are struggling to keep up repayments as a result of losing their jobs.
-
Thain expected to ask for $10m bonus from Merrill Lynch
8 Dec 2008
John Thain, chief executive of Merrill Lynch, is thought to be demanding a $10m bonus from the firm's compensation committee despite the investment bank's poor performance this year.
-
The Charlbury Group to expand
8 Dec 2008
Arrears management firm The Charlbury Group is expanding its offering to meet the needs of the current market.
-
The year of the phoenix
12 Dec 2008
With the new year also comes new companies or maybe that should be the same company with a different name.
-
Three main moves to help struggling firms
8 Dec 2008
Businesses come in all shapes, sizes and structures, from limited companies to partnerships to sole traders, but all can get into financial trouble.
-
TMA offers Abbey’s re-priced semi-exclusive
10 Dec 2008
The Mortgage Alliance has today announced it is offering Abbey’s re-priced two-year semi-exclusive fixed rate mortgage.
-
To fix or not to fix, that is the question
8 Dec 2008
There has been a lot of discussion recently about which lenders have passed on rate cuts and which haven't.
-
Trackers disappearing claims Moneyfacts.co.uk
12 Dec 2008
The Bank of England's attempts to kick start the market by slashing the base rate have done little to help new borrowers who are struggling to find a tracker rate says Moneyfacts.co.uk
-
Transfer fees initiative pays off for BoS
8 Dec 2008
Bank of Scotland's decision to pay proc fees on product transfer deals has been welcomed with open arms by brokers, netting the lender tens of millions of pounds of remortgage business every day last week.
-
Tribunal dismisses legal challenge to HBOS takeover
10 Dec 2008
The legal challenge mounted by the Merger Action Group against the Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS has been dismissed by the Competition Appeal Tribunal.
-
UK hasn't lost its property passion
8 Dec 2008
The idea of home ownership is ensconced in our psyche - an Englishman's home is his castle, after all.
-
We have a future, says AFB head
8 Dec 2008
Robert Sinclair issued a rallying call to the secured loan market at the Pancredit/Mortgage Strategy networking event in London last week.
-
We need war-war not jaw-jaw with bad banks
8 Dec 2008
I never thought I'd agree with anything the government would say about the credit crunch but I have to support chancellor Alistair Darling's statements about holding banks to account. What they have been allowed to get away with is scandalous.
-
Who said negative interest rates were impossible?
10 Dec 2008
Bloomberg is reporting that yesterday the US Treasury sold $27bn of 3-month Treasury Bills at a discount rate of 0.005%, the lowest since the first auction in 1929, and today sold $30bn of 4-week bills at 0%, again the lowest rate ever since the first sale of 4-week bills in 2001.
-
You Know What Really Grinds My Gears ?
12 Dec 2008
Fans of the wonderfully funny Family Guy - check it out on BBC 3 - will know that the title refers to a TV news item where Peter gets to moan and speak out about everything that annoys him.
