Building Society lending is increasing as mutuals attract customers from high street banks. Lending from building societies increased to £3.1 billion last month, a 14 per cent increase from June, according to the Building Societies Association. Building Societies gained a 24 per cent market share of gross lending in July, an increase of 17 per [...]
Moody’s Investors Service has today announced it is reviewing 14 UK banks and building societies for downgrade due to the withdrawal of Government support. Elisabeth Rudman, a Moody’s Senior Credit Officer, said: “It has been initiated in response to ongoing guidance from the UK authorities (the Bank of England, the Financial Services Authority and the [...]
The Observer newspaper has today reported that US private equity firm, JC Flowers, might bid for four UK building societies as part of plans to create a new “supermutual”, that could be sold via a partial flotation. It is believed that West Bromwich, Skipton, Norwich & Peterborough and Principality are being targeted. However, JC Flowers [...]
Smaller building societies are often able to offer better interest rates on current accounts than big banks, a financial expert has claimed. Phil Perry, director of Ark Financial Planning, said smaller, regional lenders such as mutual societies can offer savers higher rates of interest because they have members rather than shareholders. “If the members are [...]
Less than half of those contributing to the Building Societies Association’s (BSA) June Property Tracker survey think that now is a good time to buy a home. The confidence level slipped to 45%, down from 49% in March, possibly reflecting concerns about the state of the economy and the various austerity warnings issued by the [...]
In its latest quarterly survey, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has reported signs of growth in the UK financial services sector, for the first time in two years. The study, which is carried out in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers, reveals that 32% of firms questioned saw business volumes rise in the three months to early [...]
The Building Societies Association (BSA) has expressed its concern over new regulations, proposed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), saying they will disadvantage the industry. Proposals from the City watchdog include plans to restrict riskier types of lending by building societies, which according to the BSA, would have a “discriminatory and anti-competitive effect in the [...]
Consumers taking out a personal loan are “paying through the nose” due to soaring interest rates. Banks are now charging an average APR of 10.32% on personal loans even though the Bank of England’s base rate has been held at a record low of 0.5%. This compares to an average personal loan APR of 8.71% [...]
Savers withdrew £2.2 billion from building societies in June, the most in a single month since records began in 1955. This is compared to an inflow of over £400 million during the same month last year when savers, anticipating the collapse of banks, viewed building societies as a safer option. However, with banks now stable [...]
Over half of UK building societies believe 2009 will be a positive year and that the economy will continue to improve in 2010. In a poll by the Buildings Societies Association (BSA), 55% of building society chief executives expressed high hopes for the year ahead. The majority also said consumers continue to trust building societies [...]
The Sunday Telegraph has reported that local councils are planning to withdraw billions of pounds of deposits from building societies. The move follows the decision by Moody’s last month to downgrade the credit ratings of several building societies due to concerns they will be hit by losses due to the housing market slump. The downgrade [...]
Crisis talks have been taking place over the weekend between the Bank of England (BoE) and seven of the UK’s building societies. The move follows last week’s decision by Moody’s to downgrade the credit ratings of several building societies due to concerns they will be hit by losses due to the housing market slump. The [...]
Ratings agency Moody’s have downgraded several building societies due to concerns they will be hit by losses due to the housing market slump. The building societies that have been downgraded include Chelsea Building Society, downgraded from a C to E+, while West Bromwich has fallen from C- to E+. Furthermore, Britannia, Newcastle, Norwich and Peterborough, [...]
A survey conducted by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has revealed that banks and other financial institutions are expected to cut a further 15,000 jobs in the next three months. According to the organisation, approximately 15,000 jobs have already been axed in the industry in the first quarter of this year, which will take [...]
Buildings societies offer the most consistent interest rate on savings accounts, new research has revealed. A study by Moneyfacts.co.uk found that 79% of the most consistent savings account interest rates are at building societies, rather than banks. Since the Bank of England started cutting interest rates in December 2007 - and especially since the recent [...]
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has introduced a rule which allows merged building societies to keep their separate compensation limit. In the past, anyone with money in two building societies that merge could find only the first £50,000 of their savings protected. It is hoped that the new level of protection will mean that people [...]
A year has passed since the government replaced Child Trust Funds with Junior ISAs (JISAs) but more than half of parents are unaware that they exist, according to research by friendly society Family Investments Children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 were eligible to open a Child Trust Fund and to receive [...]
PPI costs increase for Lloyds and Barclays
Lloyds Banking Group has set aside a further £1 billion to cover compensation costs for customers who were mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Yesterday, Barclays revealed £700m of PPI costs in the 2012 third quarter increasing its total provision to £2bn. Lloyds Banking Group, which has made the largest PPI provision out of all the [...]
Bonfire Night worst day for burglaries warns Aviva
Insurance group Aviva is warning households to be vigilant over security at this time of the year, as burglaries tend to increase signficantly between Halloween and Bonfire Night. On Bonfire Night the number of burglaries increases by around 25 per cent compared with an average day, according to the company’s research. Aviva also reported a [...]
Consumer confidence hits six-month low
Although the UK has officially emerged from recession, consumer confidence fell to -30 in October from -28 in September, according to market researcher company GfK NOP. This is the lowest level of consumer confidence since April when the UK was in an economic slump. Analysts had expected the index to remain stable at -28. Respondents [...]
100,000 mortgage holders escape negative equity trap
New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveal that the number of borrowers in negative equity fell 13 per cent to 719,000 between the first quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. The number of borrowers paying a mortgage greater than the value of their property fell despite a further small [...]
Banking commission appoints counsel to cross-examine witnesses
The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards has appointed counsel to cross-examine witnesses during its inquiry into the collapse of Halifax Bank of Scotland. Barrister David Quest has been appointed to question witnesses in a public evidence session, as part of a sub-committee panel inquiry into the bank. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Commission said: “This [...]
Mortgage approvals increased in September
An increase in the number of mortgage approvals in September suggests that the ‘Funding for Lending’ scheme, launched by the Treasury and the Bank of England, may be starting to give the property market a boost. According to Bank of England figures, the number of loans approved for house purchase increased by 2,103 to 50,024 [...]
Five million paid less than living wage
Five million people in the UK are paid less than the ‘living wage’ of £7.20, or £8.30 in London, according to a new report by KPMG. In Northern Ireland, 24 per cent of workers receive less than they require in order to pay for essentials and the situation is little better in Wales where 23 [...]
Commission calls for radical change in housing market
A new study by the Future Homes Commission suggests that the way homes are built in the UK is dysfunctional and needs a radical overhaul. The organisation, which was established by the Royal Institute of British Architects, believes that 300,000 extra homes could be built every year without any input from Government funding. Instead, the [...]
The UK economy emerged from recession yesterday and now leads the way in Europe according to research group Capital Economics. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by one per cent in the third quarter from July to September, the biggest rise for five years, the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. [...]
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