Abbey has launched a new range of ISAs paying interest at up to 5.5%. The Santander-owned bank has unveiled three new individual savings accounts (ISAs) – the Reward ISA, the Direct ISA, and the Super Direct ISA. New savers can place up to £3,600 in the Reward ISA, which pays interest at 1.5% plus a [...]
Abbey today launched two new no-fee fixed-rate mortgages. Both the Remortgage Solution and the Homebuyer Solution are three year no-fee mortgages at 4.59% with up to 75% loan to value (LTV). Free valuation and free legal fees are included in both packages. The lender has also reduced rates in its two and three year 60% [...]
UK adults aged under 35 have cut their yearly living expenses by £826 more than the over 55s, according to research by Abbey savings. Brits aged 18-34 have managed to cut an average of £3,599 from their annual outgoings since the start of the credit crunch. By comparison, the over 55s have cut annual spending [...]
Abbey and Alliance & Leicester (A&L) have launched a new bond with a guaranteed fixed rate of interest. The two year bond pays interest at 4.01% AER – four times the Bank of England’s base rate – on balances between £30,000 and £200,000. Although this is significantly lower than rates that were offered in 2008, [...]
Spending cut-backs because of the credit crunch are helping Brits reduce their carbon footprint, new research from internet bank cahoot has revealed. In a survey by the online arm of Abbey, 72% said they are trying to reduce their energy bills by turning off electrical items such as PCs, DVD players and TVs when not [...]
A growing number of young adults are living with their parents to save money during the credit crunch. A survey by Abbey Mortgages found that one in five 18-24 year olds either moved back in with their parents or put off plans to leave home last year. These ‘baby boomerangers’ – totalling more than a [...]
Eight major lenders yesterday confirmed plans to pass on the full 0.5% base rate cut to mortgage holders. Abbey, Barclays, Cheltenham & Gloucester, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide Building Society and Skipton Building Society have all announced interest rate cuts. Abbey said the full rate cut will be passed on to tracker mortgage holders, whilst [...]
Abbey has announced that it lent over one in four new mortgages in the UK during 2008, accounting for 28.9% of net new home loans. During 2007, the bank’s share of the market stood at a mere 8%. Despite the credit crisis, the Spanish-owned lender has made it clear that it is keen to increase [...]
Abbey launched a number of new savings accounts this week, including new issue bonds and a Super Saver account. The new bonds pay gross interest at a fixed rate of 2.25% for one year, or 3% for three years. Both options pay more than the current Bank of England base rate. The new 12-month Super [...]
Credit crunched Brits have dramatically cut back on eating out, according to research by Abbey. A survey by the bank found that over half (56%) of UK residents have cut back on dining out, whilst 44% have reduced the number of takeaways bought in favour of home cooking. Eating ‘al desko’ is also growing in [...]
Twenty nine is the best age for setting up a new business, a recent survey has revealed. Abbey Business Banking asked owners of small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) what they consider the ideal age to go it alone. Twenty nine was the average age given by respondents, although almost a quarter (24%) said 25 [...]
Santander-owned Abbey has reissued its Super Fixed Rate Monthly and Fixed Rate Monthly savings accounts. The company said it hopes the two reissued accounts will help customers kick-start their New Year’s resolution to start saving. Abbey’s Super Fixed Rate Monthly Saver offers a 7% AER for 12 months, provided no withdrawals are made, and between [...]
UK credit card holders will transfer over £7 billion between cards in the New Year to take advantage of introductory interest rate offers. Research by Abbey found that 3 million Brits will take part in the great credit card shuffle, with a higher proportion of Scots and Northerners taking part. According to Abbey, ‘shifting the [...]
Abbey has cut the cost of its fixed-rate mortgages for the second time in a fortnight. From 19th December, the lender’s two, three and five-year fixed-rate deals include: A two-year fix at 4.64% with a maximum 75% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio. Up to £150,000 can be borrowed and a £549 fee applies. A three-year fix at [...]
Abbey has changed its affordability calculations to take into account falling interest rates. The lender has informed mortgage brokers that from today, it will no longer use its standard variable rate (SRV), which is currently 5.44%, to assess affordability but a new figure of 7%. Abbey’s SVR stood at 7.09% in October, prior to November [...]
The Government yesterday announced further help for mortgage borrowers who are falling behind with repayments. The new measures should mean that middle-income homeowners who lose their jobs or part of their income are less likely to face repossession. In a scheme guaranteed by the state, borrowers will be able to approach their lenders to request [...]
Following the large-scale withdrawal of tracker mortgages last week, as the bank of England’s base rate fell to 3%, a number of lenders have now reintroduced tracker loans, some having increased their margins. Abbey is offering a two-year tracker deal for those with a 25% deposit, at 1.99% above base rate (4.99%) compared with an [...]
Spanish bank, Santander, has raised eyebrows today by announcing a €7.2 billion (£5.9 billion) rights issue. The bank, which recently acquired Alliance & Leicester, said the heavily discounted rights issue will allow it to strengthen its capital and provide an investment opportunity for its shareholders. However, just last week the bank insisted it had no [...]
Abbey has announced that it is increasing rates on its two and three-year tracker mortgages for new borrowers, by up to 0.5%. The news comes as analysts are predicting that the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee will cut the base rate by least 0.5%, and possibly 1%, later this week. Tracker rates provide a [...]
Abbey has launched a new type of account aimed at helping those saving for a deposit for their first home. The First Home Saver account is available to potential first-time buyers aged between 16 and 35. It pays a variable rate of 8% in return for the commitment to save for a deposit but does [...]
Phone fraudsters stealing bank card pins
Fraudsters using a phone scam to trick bank card holders into revealing their pin numbers stole £750,000 in the first four months of this year. This is the same amount stolen through this scam in the whole of last year. The fraudster telephones a bank customer, often someone elderly or vulnerable, telling them that their [...]
FSA rules out ban on interest-only mortgages
Speculation that the Financial Services Authority would ban interest-only mortgages as part of its Mortgage Market Review has proved to be unfounded. However, lenders will be required to monitor the performance of the investment product taken out by the customer to repay the mortgage at the end of its term. Investments are performing poorly because [...]
Bank of England may end free in-credit banking
A director of the Bank of England has warned that official intervention could be considered to end the ‘dangerous myth of free in-credit banking’. Andrew Bailey has already spoken out against free banking in relation to the mis-selling of financial products. In a speech made available to media, he reiterated his concern, saying that it [...]
Bank of England votes against more economic stimulus
The Bank of England voted against a further round of quantitative easing, at its latest Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting. Just one member, David Miles, voted for further asset purchase to encourage growth in the UK economy, while the other eight members voted to keep the Bank’s quantitative easing programme steady at £325bn. The minutes [...]
Catalogue debt growing says helpline
Calls from people concerned about their debts with mail order catalogues accounted for more than 12 per cent of all calls received by National Debtline last year, compared with just 8 per cent in 2007. More people were concerned about catalogue debt than about payday loans, mortgage or rent, according to the Money Advice Trust [...]
Homeserve faces mis-selling investigation
HomeServe, which provides emergency insurance cover and domestic repairs to households in the UK, is to be investigated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Issues over the possible mis-selling of household emergency policies were uncovered last October during an internal review at the Walsall-based company. Homeserve’s call centre staff were found to be selling ‘Complete [...]
OFT warns Wonga over debt collection methods
Payday loan company Wonga used aggressive and misleading methods to collect debts from customers, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has found. Wonga sent letter and emails to certain customers suggesting they had committed fraud and threatening to report them to the police if they did not act in the way Wonga suggested. The company [...]
NS&I re-launches investment account
National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has re-launched its Investment Account at a higher interest rate than it previously offered. The account now offers 0.75 per cent before tax, compared with between 0.2 and 0.3 per cent previously, depending on the account balance. Deposits and withdrawals on the account can no longer be made at Post [...]
Rightmove reports property downsizing trend
Two in five property owners planning to sell in the next year are planning to ‘trade down’, compared with one in four who plan to ‘trade up’. A survey by property website Rightmove found that moving to a smaller home is the main reason for moving in nine out of the ten regions in the [...]
More people failing to save for retirement
The proportion of people with no pension savings has grown from 20 per cent to 22 per cent over the past year, according to Scottish Widows’ latest survey. The pension provider surveyed 5,200 adults in the UK, aged 30 or over, and earning at least £10,000 a year, for its annual review of pensions. Ian [...]
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