The bosses of Britain’s top six banks have revealed a £1.5 billion fund, designed to kick-start lending to small businesses. It was announced in August that the chief executives of Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, Standard Chartered and the heads of the UK operations of HSBC and Santander, would address the shortage [...]
Entrepreneur, James Caan, has launched an attempt to kick-start the UK property market in conjunction with property portal, Look4AProperty.com. Look4AProperty Money is offering interest-free loans to cover costs such as stamp duty and legal fees, with access to the scheme through a UK-wide network of selected estate agents. According to Mr Caan, who is best [...]
Bank shares on Friday took a battering amid speculation that more financial institutions will have to be rescued by the Government. Barclays stock was down 25% to its lowest level since 1993, while Royal Bank of Scotland lost 13%, the latter is 57.9% owned by the Government. Last week alone, Lloyds TSB saw its shares [...]
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson has today unveiled the Government’s plan to kick-start lending for small and medium-sized businesses to help them weather the economic downturn. The Government has announced measures to guarantee up to 50% of up to £20 billion worth of loans. Companies with an annual turnover of up to £500 million will be [...]
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is set to unveil details of a loan which will kick-start lending to small businesses to help them weather the economic downturn. According to Lord Mandelson, the plans will target ‘genuine business needs‘. It is expected that Lord Mandelson will announce support for up to £10 billion in short-term loans for [...]
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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