Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which is 83% owned by the taxpayer, today announced a profit for the six months ended June, boosted by falling charges for bad debt. The bank posted a net profit of £9 million ($14.3 million) compared with a £1.04 billion net loss in the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, [...]
Leeds Building Society this week launched an ISA paying interest at 4.6%. The five-year fixed rate account can be opened with just £1. Savers can access up to 25% of their savings at any time without notice or penalty. Kim Rebecchi, Leeds Building Society’s Sales and Marketing Director said the ISA is a “market leading [...]
The average cost of a two-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to a six-and-a-half-year low during February, according to new figures from the Bank of England. The average rate stood to 3.88%, down from 3.97% a month earlier to a level last seen in July 2003. Five-year fixed-rates also eased last month, declining to an average 5.49%, [...]
The extra interest earned by savers who shop around for the best deal on a fixed-rate bond could pay for an all-inclusive Mediterranean Cruise for two, Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) said this week. “Just by spending a few minutes shopping around when buying a bond can make a big difference to savers’ returns,” said Sarah [...]
Leeds Building Society has launched a new fixed-rate mortgage for customers with a deposit of at least 25%. Interest on the five-year mortgage is fixed at 5.35%, and customers can borrow at up to 75% loan-to-value (LTV). Borrowers can make up to 10% capital repayments each year without penalty. Kim Rebecchi, Leeds director of sales [...]
Latest figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk show a sharp rise in the cost of a two-year fixed-rate mortgage during the past week. According to the financial website, the average cost of a two-year fixed-rate deal increased by 0.16% between Monday and Friday, to 4.90%. Meanwhile, five-year fixes increased by an average 0.21% over the same period, to [...]
Leeds Building Society has launched a new five year fixed-rate mortgage at just 4.75%. Leeds said the new product has been released to complement its 10 year mortgage deal, available at the same rate of interest. The 4.75% deal is available on mortgages with up to 75% loan to value (LTV). Customers with up to [...]
The Government is today unveiling a number of measures to help kick-start the UK housing market by offering relief to homeowners in financial difficulties and first-time buyers. Households in England earning less than £60,000 per annum will be helped into home ownership with a loan of up to 30% of a property’s value. The loan [...]
Leeds Building Society has today reduced the interest rate on its five-year fixed-rate home loan from 5.99% to 5.84%. The lender has also knocked £500 off the completion fee, reducing it to £999. However, the rate reduction only applies to customers who sign up for the society’s Homecover insurance through to 31 August 2013. Those [...]
Britannia Building Society is launching a new five-year fixed-rate mortgage on Friday 18th July. The loan will be available at a rate of 5.99% on loan-to-values (LTVs) of up to 75% and 6.39% on LTVs up to 90%. A £999 arrangement fee applies in both cases. The lender is still offering its existing five-year fixed-rate [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
AA launches ‘black-box’ policy for young drivers
The AA is launching an innovative car insurance policy called Drivesafe which could help younger drivers save up to £850 a year. Younger drivers already pay substantially higher premiums than other motorists and these costs are increasing. A new study by Confused.com suggests insurance costs for younger driver have gone up by 5.7 per cent [...]
ATOL scheme updated to protect online bookers
ATOL, a financial protection scheme managed by the Civil Aviation Authority, is being extended to protect up to six million more holidays a year. The scheme ensures that holiday makers do not lose out financially if a travel company collapses, and that they are not stranded abroad. An increase in the number of holidays booked [...]
Home repossessions lowest for four years
The number of UK homes repossessed fell to 36,200 in 2011, significantly below the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ forecast of 40,000, and lower than 2010 when 37,100 homes were repossessed. With interest rates remaining low and lenders adopting a sympathetic attitude to customers in financial difficulty, repossessions fell to their lowest level since 2007. However, [...]
Monthly pay lasting just 17 days
Workers are running out of money just 17 days after receiving their monthly pay, according to new research by the Halifax bank. This means that the average UK worker spends half the month worrying about money. The study, based on the responses of more than 2,000 adults, found that 10 per cent of workers start [...]
Women disadvantaged by auto-enrolment changes
Government proposals to increase the auto-enrolment threshold to £10,000 could put 1.8 million women at risk of missing out on a pension, the TUC has warned. Under the auto-enrolment scheme, which will be phased in from October, private sector employers will automatically enrol workers between the age of 22 years and the state pension age, [...]
Emergency household repairs company Homeserve is taking longer than expected to get back on track after its operations were suspended last October. The company expected customer numbers to fall by 5% this year but it has increased this estimate to 8% and announced the loss of 200 jobs. It estimates that renewal revenue in 2013 [...]
Sale rumoured for Yorkshire and Clydesdale banks
There is growing speculation that National Australia Bank (NAB) may sell Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank after the Australian parent company announced a strategic review of the two banks’ operations. The Australian economy is performing well and NAB reported strong profits for the final quarter of 2011 but with the UK economy at a virtual [...]
More women experiencing debt difficulties
Women in Debt, which offers female-focused debt advice, has warned that the number of UK women facing serious debt has grown significantly over recent years. The organisation believes that more women will need advice on solving debt problems in the future because they are building up an unsustainable level of indebtedness. Women in Debt’s director, [...]
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