The number of properties bought with buy-to-let mortgages increased by 84,000 in 2011 according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ latest figures. In the final quarter, 34,800 buy-to-let mortgages totalling £4 billion were approved, compared with 26,300 worth a total of £2.9 billion, in the 2010 final quarter. Demand for rented accommodation has increased significantly [...]
The government has announced the sale of Northern Rock to Virgin Money for £747m, representing a loss of £650m on the £1.4bn of public money it injected into the Newcastle-based bank. The chancellor, George Osborne said that the deal was “an important first step in getting the taxpayer out of the business of owning banks”. [...]
Figures from Moneyfacts have revealed in the number of mortgage products. The credit crunch resulted in a tightening of lending criteria and mortgages have been hard to secure without a substantial deposit. However, the number of different mortgage products has risen to its highest level since November 2008, according to Moneyfacts, due to increased competition. [...]
Swiss banking giant UBS has today reported a net profit of SwFr1.8 billion (£1.2 billion) in the first quarter of the year. However, this represented an 18% fall on the same period a year ago but 7% higher than the final quarter of 2010. The bank, which is Switzerland’s largest, was among one of the [...]
There is some good news for the housing market after a Bank of England survey revealed mortgage availability is set to improve in the coming months. The survey comes as mortgage lending continues to remain subdued as first-time buyers, in particular, struggle to obtain a mortgage unless they have a substantial deposit. Since the credit [...]
Crisis-torn Northern Rock has today unveiled an underlying loss of £232.4 million for the 2010 year for its so-called “good“ bank. Despite the loss, the Newcastle-based bank will pay more than £13 million in bonuses to its 4,000-strong workforce. The bonus comes despite executive chairman Ron Sandler describing the losses as “disappointing”. He comments: “2010 [...]
Research from the Halifax has revealed first-time buyers are still struggling to get onto the property ladder unless they have a hefty deposit. The mortgage lender said a first-time buyer has to find at least £29,000 in order to secure a mortgage, while those in London require almost double that (£50,000). Since the credit crunch [...]
Swiss banking giant UBS has today reported a net profit of SwFr1.66 billion (£1.1 billion) for the July to September period – exceeding analysts’ expectations. The figures compare with a loss of SwFr564 million for the third quarter a year ago. For the first time since the financial crisis, the bank said it restored client [...]
Northern Rock Asset Management (NRAM), the so-called bad bank, has today reported it has returned to profit. The crisis-torn bank, which was the first victim of the credit crunch, said pre-tax profit for the first six months to the end of June were £349.7 million, compared with a loss of £724.2 million a year earlier. [...]
Swiss banking giant UBS has today reported a net profit of SwFr2.0 billion (£1.2 billion, $1.9 billion) for the April to June period - exceeding analysts’ expectations. The news will be welcomed by many investors after the bank was among one of the worst hit victims of the credit crunch due to its exposure to [...]
The era of debt-fuelled consumer spending is over, a financial expert has claimed, pointing out Britain’s consumer debts of nearly £1.5 trillion. Tim Moss, head of loans at moneysupermarket.com, seemed to be talking himself out of a job by claiming consumers can no longer afford to fund purchases on borrowed money. Consumers must face up [...]
Saving rather than borrowing has been the “major victim” of the credit crunch, according to new research published this week. The study by unbiased.co.uk found that savings levels dropped from £38.7 billion between April and June 2008 to £19.9 billion between July and September 2008 and haven’t recovered since. In the first three months of [...]
Savers with Northern Rock have today lost the 100% guarantee on their cash. The move, which was announced back in February, means the crisis-torn bank is back in line with its rivals but savers will still benefit from the £50,000 guarantee to all savers under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). The 100% guarantee was [...]
Consumers are being more careful about how much they borrow, a debt advice charity has claimed. The Money Advice Trust said many consumers are wary of credit because of the financial problems that can be caused by being in debt. “We think the general attitude to debt has changed,” said Joanna Elson, MAT chief executive. [...]
Swiss banking giant UBS has today reported first-quarter net profit of SwFr2.2 billion boosted by a strong performance in its investment banking division. The earnings beat analysts forecasts of SwFr2.0 billion, according to a poll by economics newswire AWP. UBS is among one of the worst hit victims of the credit crunch due to its [...]
The German Government has named Joachim Metternich as the country’s new credit mediator in a bid to boost business lending. Mr Metternich, who currently heads up the public investment bank for the western German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, will take up his role in March 2010. The appointment comes after Germany’s Economy Minister, Rainer Bruederle, and [...]
Investment in ethical funds has recovered to pre-credit crunch levels, new research has discovered. During the third quarter, investments in ethical funds reached more than double the total of ethical investments in the same period last year. Net sales of ethical funds between July and September were £59 million, compared to £21 million in the [...]
The financial crisis has not changed the attitude of investors towards green and ethical investments, new research has discovered. In a poll of financial advisers just 18% said the economic downturns has impacted on the attitude of clients towards green and ethical investment. This is compared to 85% of advisers who said the crisis has [...]
One in three Brits are saving money by going out less often and socialising at home. In a poll by Friends Provident, 35% of respondents said they have been going out less frequently since the recession began. One in five (22%) have become ‘social-nesters’, bringing their nights out into their own living room. A third [...]
Reports that mortgage lending increased during September are a “very positive sign” for the UK housing market, an industry expert has claimed. Stuart Law, chief executive of property investment firm Assetz, made the remarks after the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reported a 2% rise in mortgage lending during September. Law said he is optimistic [...]
Strikes threatened as public sector pension talks conclude
Talks over public sector pensions have now ended with the government producing a final set of proposals. While the Treasury said the talks were constructive, unions claim that ‘serious matters’ have been left unresolved, leading to the threat of further industrial action. The proposed changes to health, education and civil service pensions are designed to [...]
Payday loan company’s licence revoked
Credit broker Yes Loans has had its licence revoked by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) over concern that its business practices ‘deceitful and oppressive’. Two associated businesses, Blue Sky Personal Finance and Money Worries Limited, have also been found to be unfit to hold a consumer credit licence. Following a long-term investigation, the OFT [...]
Card fraud falls to 11-year low
The amount of money lost due to credit and debit card fraud fell to £341m in 2011. This was 7 per cent less than the amount lost in 2010 and 44 per cent lower than in 2008, when £610m was lost through card fraud. Since 2010 the number of fraudsters impersonating people to use or [...]
Pensioners hammered by QE and rising living costs
The value of final salary pension schemes has been slashed by £90 billion due to the government’s latest round of quantitative easing (QE), the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) warns, while pensioners’ incomes have also been hit by soaring living costs. A new study by LV= suggest that pensioners’ day-to-day living costs have increased [...]
Second salvo of QE knocks £90bn off pensions funds
Falling gilt yields have pushed final salary pension funds £90bn deeper into the red since the second wave of quantitative easing (QE) started last October, pension experts said today. The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) said the Bank of England’s printing of £125bn within the past six months had hit pension funds harder than [...]
Bank of Ireland raises cost of mortgages
The Bank of Ireland has become the latest lender to increase the standard variable rate (SVR) on its mortgages. Around 100,000 UK customers will be affected when the bank increases the SVR from 2.99 per cent, to 3.99 per cent in June There will be a further increase in September, when the SVR will rise [...]
House prices down 1.1% in February
House prices fell 1.1 per cent in February according to The Halifax, contradicting earlier figures from Nationwide suggesting that property prices have increased. According to the Halifax’s three monthly index, house prices were 1.1 per cent lower in February than in the previous three months. The mortgage lender’s annual index showed that property prices fell [...]
Debit card transactions declined by Yorkshire and Clydesdale
Customers of Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank have been experiencing problems with debit cards being declined due to computer changes. The problem initially occurred while the banks, which are both part of the National Australia Bank (NAB), were transferring their systems operations to an external contractor on Sunday morning. Problems with some Mastercard debit transactions persisted [...]
Banks write to customers over PPI mis-selling
Banks are writing to millions of customers advising them that they may have been mis-sold payment protection insurance (PPI), following the release of new guidelines by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). The FSA estimates that between four million and 12 million letters will be sent out, but not everyone who has been mis-sold PPI will [...]
Confidence in pensions plummets ahead of auto-enrolement
Public confidence in pensions has fallen to an all-time low just months before the Government starts automatically putting every worker into one, new research showed today (Weds). A survey for the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) found 54% of all employees are not confident in pensions compared to other ways of saving. 37% said [...]
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