State pension reforms to be unveiled next week

Falling inflation boosts households’ financial confidence

UK Households are feeling less pessimistic about their finances following a fall in inflation last month, according to the latest Markit Household Finance Index. The index, which is designed to give the earliest indication of actual changes in household finances each month, has increased from 37.0 to 37.5. Although this is still significantly below 50.0, [...]

Government to get tough on pension charges

Writing in The Telegraph today pensions minister Steve Webb warned that he would not hesitate to take action on pension charges. Mr Webb reminded the pension industry that the government has the power to cap pension charges and would use this power if it felt consumers needed protection. He is writing ahead of the introduction [...]

Rents rise to average of £718

The average cost of rent increased to £718 in June, just below the record high of £720 in autumn last year. With mortgage lenders tightening their borrowing criteria and ongoing economic difficulties, demand for rented accommodation is outstripping supply, causing rents to soar. LSL Property Services’ monthly index recorded a 0.9 per cent increase in [...]

Mortgage lending 5% down in June

The mortgage market continues to be volatile, with lending falling by 5 per cent in June, after a sharp rise in May. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders a total of £11.9 billion was lent to first-time buyers and those moving house, last month. In May, gross mortgage lending totalled £12.5 billion. Lending for [...]

Co-op bank boosts high street presence

The Co-op’s long-awaited deal with Lloyds Banking group has taken a major step forward with the sealing of a Heads of Terms agreement, under which the Co-op will pay around £750m for 632 Lloyds branches. Lloyds Banking Group was ordered to sell the branches under the terms of the bail-out it received from the government [...]

UK trade minister drawn into HSBC money laundering scandal

UK trade minister, Lord Green, will have to answer some “serious questions” over HSBC’s involvement in money laundering, Chris Leslie, the shadow financial secretary to the Treasury, said. Lord Green was chief executive of HSBC from 2003 and 2006, and was chairman until 2010 when he resigned to become part of the coalition government. A [...]

M&S bank launches £20 a month current account

Marks and Spencer is opening its first in-store bank branch this week and will launch its first current account this autumn. M&S bank will make its debut at the retailer’s flagship store in Marble Arch, London, with 49 more branches expected to open over the next two years. Its current account is targeted firmly at [...]

Pot-follows-worker plan raises pension concerns

As part of its preparations for the introduction of auto-enrolment in October, the government has outlined plans for pension pots to follow workers when they move jobs. Auto-enrolment will require employers to enrol their workers into a qualifying workplace pension scheme and this is expected to lead to an increase in the number of pension [...]

Outlook improves for UK economy

The UK economy could recover more quickly than expected according to economic forecasting group the Ernst & Young Item Club. The Item Club expects the UK to return to growth in the second half of this year, marking an end to the double-dip recession. However this depends on a solution being found to the debt [...]

Ulster Bank resumes normal service after IT glitch

Service at Ulster Bank should now be back to normal for most customers, following a computer failure almost a month ago at parent company RBS. The technical problem left 100,000 Ulster Bank customers without access to their accounts. NatWest and RBS customers also experienced problems after the computer failure on 19 June, but most of [...]