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April 25, 2008
by Gill Montia
Latest figures from financial website, Moneyfacts.co.uk, show that 38% of the UK's mortgage lenders have responded to the Bank of England's cut in the base rate, made earlier this month.
The majority, including Halifax, Abbey, Lloyds TSB and Nationwide, have passed on the full 0.25% reduction to customers with loans on standard variable rates (SVRs).
Some of the smaller building societies have been reluctant to take the full plunge: ...
by Kay Murchie
A decision has been made on the case between the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) and the eight major High Street banks over unfair bank charges.
Mr Justice Andrew Smith decided that OFT can rule on the fairness of the charges, which many customers have been trying to reclaim.
The judgment by Mr Justice Andrew Smith allows the OFT to begin ...
April 24, 2008
by Kay Murchie
Figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show that the number of people covered by private medical insurance (PMI) has exceeded the six million mark for the first time in 5 years.
Despite the economic downturn, insurer BUPA has experienced a 20% increase in sales in the first quarter of this year.
Fears of dirty NHS hospitals and quicker treatment are ...
by Kay Murchie
Britain's third-largest bank, Barclays, said financial markets were tough last month and, as a result, profits fell in the first quarter.
The bank posted profit of £7 billion for last year, this represented a 1% fall compared with the previous year.
Chief executive, John Varley, said results at Barclays Capital and Barclays Global Investors were well below the strong profits of ...
April 23, 2008
by Gill Montia
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has reported that mortgage lending by its members fell 18% in March, compared with February.
In all, 35,417 new mortgages were approved for house purchases, a 46.2% drop on March 2007.
The gross value of all mortgage lending during the month (including re-mortgages and equity withdrawal) fell 15% on March 2007, to its lowest level since 2000.
Lenders ...
by Kay Murchie
Welcome Car Finance, which specialises in loans to those with a poor credit rating, has withdrawn funding from hundreds of independent dealerships and is to concentrate on its own outlets.
The group aims to focus on this business as it is more profitable than providing finance to third-party dealers.
The move by the group will mean the thousands ...
by Kay Murchie
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has confirmed it is preparing to raise £12 billion through a rights issue to improve its financial position.
RBS said it needed to shore up its balance sheet and a rights issue was the best action to take.
However, Mervyn King, the Bank of England’s Governor has warned that the rights issue from RBS ...
April 22, 2008
by Kay Murchie
Last week, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Britain's second largest bank, confirmed it was preparing to raise £10-£15 billion through a rights issue to improve its financial position.
The rights issue was announced as part of a trading update and is one of the largest seen in UK corporate history.
RBS said it needed to shore up its balance sheet and a ...
by Gill Montia
Today's meeting between the Chancellor of the Exchequer and mortgage lenders is likely to see renewed calls from banks and building societies for the Government to review Income Support for Mortgage Interest payments.
Currently, the benefit is only payable when a homeowner has been unemployed for nine months and lenders keen to see measures to prevent a rise in repossessions, ...
by Kay Murchie
Bank of America (BoA), the second-biggest bank in the US, posted an $8 billion (£4 billion) hit from the credit squeeze in the first 3 months of 2008, reducing its profit for the period by 77%.
Profit dropped for a third consecutive quarter and was below analysts predictions.
The bank, which has its headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, set aside $6.01 ...
by Kay Murchie
A study from Moneysupermarket.com, the price comparison site, has found that approximately 2.7 million 'social climbers' have an average personal debt of £13,000 excluding mortgages.
Worryingly, many have been re-mortgaging their homes in order to fund this luxurious existence.
A spokesperson for Moneysupermarket.com said the value in house prices is falling which means equity in their homes is going down ...
by Kay Murchie
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has confirmed that the much anticipated decision in the unfair bank charges case is to be delivered this Thursday, April 24.
It was originally believed that judgement would not be made until later this year.
The case between the OFT and eight major High Street banks including Abbey, Barclays, Clydesdale, Halifax Bank of Scotland, ...
by Gill Montia
Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, is meeting with mortgage lenders later today in efforts to extract the maximum benefit for homeowners of the Bank of England's bold move to ease credit conditions with a £50 billion injection of cash.
Mr Darling's agenda will include help for borrowers whose fixed-rate mortgages are coming to an end and for households finding it difficult to meet ...
April 21, 2008
by Gill Montia
While today's unprecedented action by the Bank of England in injecting £50 billion into the money markets is good new for homeowners and potential first-time buyers, it could be some months before the benefits are seen in terms of reduced mortgage interest rates and borrower-friendly lending criteria.
Under the scheme, which has become effective immediately, banks are able to swap ...
by Gill Montia
As the Bank of England puts the finishing touches to its £50 billion rescue package for the UK's banks, latest figures from Rightmove indicate that the housing market is headed for a crash, unless the mortgage famine is relieved.
The property website has revealed that in April, asking prices have been falling, despite spring traditionally being one of the hottest months for property sales.
Asking prices fell by ...
by Kay Murchie
In the last week, Bradford & Bingley (B&B) has maintained that it has sufficient cash on its books to take it through until the start of 2009.
However, if current market conditions continue, it may have to follow Royal Bank of Scotland and raise funds through a rights issue to improve its financial position.
At its annual meeting tomorrow, many ...
by Kay Murchie
A study by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has established that a growing number of shoppers are using cash to pay for their purchases instead of credit cards.
The BRC said their survey showed a reluctance by people trying to control their finances to spend money they did not have and added that cash was alive and thriving.
The organisation carried out a ...
by Kay Murchie
The Bank of England has announced plans to pump £50 billion into the financial system to prevent the credit crisis causing more harm to the UK banking system and economy.
Chancellor Alistair Darling said without the rescue there is every chance that the situation will get worse.
Mervyn King, the Bank of England's Governor said the scheme is aimed to improve liquidity ...
by Kay Murchie
As the credit squeeze continues, Citigroup, the world's largest bank, has announced its second consecutive quarterly loss and has confirmed 9,000 job cuts.
The US investment bank made a loss of $5.1 billion (£2.7 billion) in the first quarter, however, this was less than the $9.8 billion loss reported in the final quarter of last year.
The results included around $12 billion of ...
April 18, 2008
by Gill Montia
Latest figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) present a mixed picture.
Last month, gross lending increased by 5% on February, to £26.3 billion, but was 17% down on March 2007.
Traditionally, there is a 20% difference between February and March mortgage lending, as the housing market arises from winter lethargy.
This year's low figure for March reflects both a lack of confidence in the housing market and ...
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Latest figures from financial website, Moneyfacts.co.uk, show that 38% of the UK's mortgage lenders have responded to the Bank of England's cut in the base rate, made earlier this month.
The majority, including Halifax, Abbey, Lloyds TSB and Nationwide, have passed on the full 0.25% reduction to customers with loans on standard variable rates (SVRs).
Some of the smaller building societies have been reluctant to take the full plunge: ...
Figures from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show that the number of people covered by private medical insurance (PMI) has exceeded the six million mark for the first time in 5 years.
Despite the economic downturn, insurer BUPA has experienced a 20% increase in sales in the first quarter of this year.
Fears of dirty NHS hospitals and quicker treatment are ...
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has reported that mortgage lending by its members fell 18% in March, compared with February.
In all, 35,417 new mortgages were approved for house purchases, a 46.2% drop on March 2007.
The gross value of all mortgage lending during the month (including re-mortgages and equity withdrawal) fell 15% on March 2007, to its lowest level since 2000.
Lenders ...
While today's unprecedented action by the Bank of England in injecting £50 billion into the money markets is good new for homeowners and potential first-time buyers, it could be some months before the benefits are seen in terms of reduced mortgage interest rates and borrower-friendly lending criteria.
Under the scheme, which has become effective immediately, banks are able to swap ...
