News Tag: credit rating
February 3, 2010
In an attempt to reduce its high levels of debt, Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou, has unveiled tough measures which include a public sector pay freeze and a hike in fuel taxes.
Further measures to reduce debt levels include a 10% cut in social security spending, as well as a massive 90% tax on the bonuses of senior bank executives.
The ...
Greece unveils measures to cut soaring debt
by Kay Murchie
January 15, 2010
Consumers should forget about being loyal to their credit card provider because those who shop around will save money, a financial expert has claimed.
"If you have a good credit rating you're much better off not being loyal to anyone, because of all the introductory offers around," said David Black of Defaqto.
Customers who frequently switch providers get the best rewards, ...
It pays to be promiscuous with credit cards
by David Masters
December 24, 2009
In an attempt to reduce its high levels of debt, the Greek parliament is to embark on major budget cuts.
Greece, which is the euro zone’s weakest economy, has the highest debt of the 16-member bloc.
Currently, its public debt stands at €300 billion (£268 billion).
Concerns of the sheer size of Greece’s debt led international ratings agency, Standard & Poor’s, to cut ...
Greek parliament unveils plans to reduce debt
by Kay Murchie
December 14, 2009
The UK branch of the Turnaround Management Association (TMA) is warning that Alistair Darling's bid to postpone tackling Britain's debt mountain until after next year's General Election creates a real risk of the country's credit rating being downgraded.
The body, which represents practitioners in corporate renewal and turnaround management, believes the delay could have "severe" medium-term consequences for British business and ...
Government sacred cows endanger UK turnaround
by Gill Montia
October 30, 2009
Savvy consumers are afraid to apply for the best credit card deals in case the application leaves a black mark on their credit rating.
This is the view of Toby Van Der Meer, managing director of money at price comparison site moneysupermarket.com.
According the Van Der Meer, the credit rating system allows credit card companies to push consumers into a "no win" ...
Consumers penalised for searching out best deals
by David Masters
September 23, 2009
The ongoing postal strikes will leave many credit card holders with a black mark on their credit rating, uSwitch.com said this week.
The price comparison site made the remarks after discovering that credit card customers have incurred £150 million of late payment fees due to the postal strikes.
"A £12 late payment fee is not the only problem for these consumers as missed ...
Postal strikes could mar credit ratings
by David Masters
September 11, 2009
Barclaycard has launched a new online service that allows potential customers to check their eligibility for a credit card without damaging their credit rating.
The pre-application check allows consumers to find out whether or not they are likely to be accepted for a specific Barclaycard credit card.
Using the service leaves a search footprint on the customer's credit file, Barclaycard said, but will not ...
Barclaycard launches pre-application credit check
by David Masters
September 9, 2009
Credit card holders can make "staggering" savings by paying off more than the minimum repayment each month, Confused.com claimed this week.
A credit card debt of £5,000 could take up to 36 years to pay off for consumers paying the minimum repayment, the price comparison site said.
Paying back an extra £10 per month would reduce this to 16 years, and £50 per ...
Confused.com issues debt repayment advice
by David Masters
September 7, 2009
The annual Top 50 World’s Safest Banks list for 2009 has been published with the HSBC and the Nationwide Building Society rated 18th and 46th respectively.
The two banks are the only two UK financial institutions to make it into New York-based Global Finance Magazine’s annual Top 50 list, which is in its 18th year.
However, Lloyds ...
Two UK banks make it into World’s Top 50 Safest Banks list
by Kay Murchie
Building societies against new regulations
by Kay Murchie
September 6, 2009
Half of Brits over 50 use more than one credit card to manage their finances, research by Saga has discovered.
One in fourteen (7%) of over 50s carry five or more credit cards in their wallet.
However, almost three quarters (73%) of over 50s have never missed a payment deadline, compared to half (53%) of borrowers under 50.
Of those with more than one ...
Over 50s use multiple credit cards
by David Masters
August 17, 2009
Moody's Investor Services has categorised remortgages as having "adverse loan characterisics", indicating that they carry some of the risks associated with a high default rate.
In a recent report entitled "What drives UK mortgage loans to default" the credit rating agency places remortgages alongside other risky loans, based on data gathered on mortgages that originated in or before 2008.
The firm also names high ...
Remortgages enter risky loan category
by Gill Montia
July 26, 2009
Millions of Brits have stashed away unused credit cards as a financial safety net, new research has discovered.
A poll by uSwitch.com found 16 million credit card holders with unused cards.
These consumers hold an average of 2.3 unused credit cards, and together they could access £200 billion of credit.
With unemployment above two million, keeping a credit card in reserve ...
Cautious Brits stash unused credit cards
by David Masters
July 5, 2009
According to The Mail on Sunday, Newcastle Building Society is in advanced talks with Skipton Building Society, which will see further consolidation within the sector.
Newcastle BS, which is the country’s 10th biggest building society, has been struggling after a poor performance in 2008 when it reported losses of £35 million as a result of exposure to the failed Icelandic ...
Newcastle Building Society in advanced talks with Skipton
by Kay Murchie
June 8, 2009
Standard & Poor's (S&P) has again downgraded Ireland’s credit rating by one notch to AA, from AA+ amid fears that the Government is set to incur a bigger than expected cost for supporting banks.
At the end of March, the agency downgraded Ireland’s credit rating from AAA to AA+ amid debt fears and put Ireland on a “negative” outlook, which meant further ...
Ireland’s credit rating cut again
by Kay Murchie
April 20, 2009
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 building societies believed to be locked ...
UK’s seven building societies in talks with BoE
by Kay Murchie
April 16, 2009
Britannia Building Society has cut the cost of some of its fixed-rate mortgages by up to 0.6%
The lender is now offering its two-year fixed-rate deal from 3.59%, meaning that new customers borrowing £150,000 at 60% loan-to-value face monthly payments of £760.21 on a 25-year term.
An arrangement fee of £549 will be added to the cost of the loan.
In further consideration of potential ...
Britannia cuts fixed-rates
by Gill Montia
April 8, 2009
There is more bad news for Ireland after ratings agency, Moody's, has downgraded ratings on a dozen Irish banks, just 24 hours after the country unveiled an emergency budget.
The downgrades suggest that Moody's believes the banks are in a weaker financial position and this can mean borrowing in the future can be expensive.
According to Moody’s, the financial strength of ...
Moody’s cuts debt ratings on 12 Irish banks
by Kay Murchie
April 7, 2009
Ireland’s Government is set to announce its second budget in six months today as the country faces a “very grave national crisis”, according to Finance Minister, Brian Lenihan.
The Irish Republic's deficit is nearing 13% of GDP - quadruple the level allowed by the European Union.
The country has been hit by a raft of bad news of late after rating agency, ...
Ireland set to announce emergency budget
by Kay Murchie
April 1, 2009
Ireland, which was the first country in the euro zone to enter recession, has experienced a sharp rise in unemployment.
New figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) revealed that the number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance surged by 87.5% in the 12 months to March.
According to the CSO, the number of people seeking jobless benefits rose by 173,279 to a record ...
Ireland sees surge in unemployment
by Kay Murchie
