News Tag: launch
March 8, 2010
Virgin Money, which is set to launch as a retail bank later this year, has announced it will charge a monthly fee for current account customers.
However, the company said the fees will be low and will replace high overdraft charges.
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Money recently acquired regional bank Church House Trust.
Virgin Money, which was unsuccessful in ...
Virgin Money to become first bank to charge upfront fees
by Kay Murchie
March 5, 2010
Tesco has joined forces with Spicerhaart to launch an online estate agency aimed at saving home-sellers money.
iSold.com is so far only available in the Bristol area; the new service charges a flat fee of £999 in return for which properties are advertised on portals such as Rightmove.
All contact with vendors and purchasers takes place either online or over the telephone.
...
Tesco and Spicerhaart launch online estate agency
by Gill Montia
January 26, 2010
Apple has benefited from the continued popularity of iPhones and posted a net profit of $3.4 billion (£2.08 billion) in the three months to 26 December - a 50% rise compared with a year earlier.
The California-based technology giant, which has bucked the trend in the economic downturn, impressed analysts after sales grew 32% in the period to $15.7 billion.
The ...
Apple profits surge 50% due to high demand
by Kay Murchie
September 26, 2009
Abbey for Intermediaries has launched a broker-only mortgage range with no legal or valuation costs attached.
According to the lender, the new deal is the first of its kind to be offered to brokers and could save customers up £1,650 in upfront costs.
The Homebuyer Plus range includes a two-year tracker at 3.29% for a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 75%; a two-year fixed ...
Abbey launches broker-only mortgage range
by Gill Montia
September 25, 2009
Northern Rock has introduced a new range of home loans with rates starting at 2.99%.
The state-owned lender's "Flexible" offering includes a two-year tracker at 2.99% (Bank of England base rate + 2.49%) with a £995 fee, or at 3.79% with no fee.
Both options are offered at a maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratio of 65% and are available to house purchasers and remortgagers.
For ...
Northern Rock launches “Flexible” mortgage range
by Gill Montia
September 21, 2009
The Pension Quality Mark has been launched in a bid to help potential employees assess the quality of a work-place scheme on offer, as well as making them more attractive and understandable to employees.
It also hoped the award will boost the take-up of pension savings - particularly among younger employees.
The scheme is being run by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF), ...
Pension Quality Mark launched
by Kay Murchie
July 17, 2009
Mortgage experts have been urging homeowners to opt for fixed-rate mortgages for weeks, to hedge against an inevitable rise in the base rate.
However, new research from Moneyfacts shows that lenders are launching and withdrawing fixed-rate deals with almost indecent speed.
Last month the average time scale for borrowers to secure a fixed-rate mortgage fell to just 14 days.
The financial website ...
Average fixed-rate deal available for only 14 days
by Gill Montia
July 7, 2009
The National Housing Federation (NHF) has launched its "Save our Villages" campaign.
The body, which represents not-for-profit housing associations in England, asserts that housing in rural areas is more expensive than in cities and towns, and often way beyond the means of many local residents.
It warns that rural England is becoming "the preserve of the wealthy and the isolated ...
NHF launches “Save our Villages” campaign
by Gill Montia
April 30, 2009
BSkyB has reported a 7 percent increase in adjusted revenues for the last 9 months with adjusted operating profit increasing by 13 percent to £589m, as the company added a further 80,000 new customers in the first quarter of this year and 243,000 customers opted for the Sky+HD package.
Despite the company saying that the developments are in line with forecasts, ...
BSkyB bucks downturn with introduction of HD
by Peter Charalambous
April 8, 2009
HSBC is launching a range of home loans with first-time buyers in mind.
The new mortgage offering includes a two-year fixed-rate with a maximum 90% loan-to-value ratio, at 4.99% and with a fee of £1,499.
Also likely to be of interest to house purchasers with a 10% deposit is the lender's two-year fixed-rate loan at 5.49%, with a smaller fee of ...
HSBC launches new home loans for first-time buyers
by Gill Montia
April 2, 2009
Islamic Bank of Britain (IBB) has launched a House Purchase Plan which it claims combines a low rate with a low fee.
The Sharia’a-compliant lender says it is intent on increasing its share of the mainstream mortgage market with its offering of a fixed-rate of 3.99% plus £299 in administration costs.
The rate is fixed until June 2010 and according to IBB ...
Islamic bank launches new House Purchase Plan
by Gill Montia
March 29, 2009
Supermarket giant Tesco is planning to compete with High Street banks by opening bank branches in 30 of its stores by the end of the year.
The branches are expected to be called ‘Tesco Bank’ and the supermarket hopes to take advantage of the lack of confidence in existing banks by attracting disillusioned customers.
The UK's largest supermarket, with a 30% share ...
Tesco to compete with High Street banks
by Kay Murchie
March 26, 2009
Nationwide has unveiled two new five year fixed-rate bonds, paying interest at up to 4.15% gross p.a./AER.
The building society yesterday launched both the Five Year Fixed Rate Bond and the Five Year e-Bond to new and existing customers.
Andy McQueen, Nationwide's savings and mortgages director, said: "I'm delighted to announce the launch of our new Five Year Fixed Rate Bond and Five ...
Nationwide launches 4.15% five year bonds
by David Masters
March 10, 2009
Barclays has launched a new individual savings account (ISA) which it claims offers the best return available on the ISA market.
The Golden ISA pays a 'massive' 3.05% above the Bank of England's base rate of 0.5%, Barclays said.
This 3.55% rate includes a 1% gross bonus for 12 months.
Barclays Golden ISA is available to new and existing customers, and can be opened with a ...
Barclays unveils Golden ISA
by David Masters
March 2, 2009
First Direct has launched a new two-year fixed-rate offset mortgage with a rate of 2.99%.
The loan reverts to the bank's standard variable rate (currently 3.69%) at the end of the fixed period and the deal is available to new and existing customers either for house purchases or re-mortgages.
The maximum loan-to-value ratio (LTV) is 75% and a booking fee of ...
New mortgage deals from First Direct and Nationwide
by Gill Montia
February 18, 2009
Equity release provider, Stonehaven, has launched, Interest Select, which it claims is an innovation in the lifetime mortgage market.
The new product allows customers to choose the amount of interest they pay each month.
The option has been introduced because Stonehaven believes many homeowners who are interested in equity release become anxious at the idea of the size of their loan ...
Stonehaven storms equity release market with Interest Select
by Gill Montia
February 5, 2009
Leeds Building Society has launched a new one year tracker ISA with a guaranteed interest rate 0.75% above the Bank of England's base rate.
Savers can withdraw up to 25% of the initial amount invested in the Tracker ISA Plus at any time, without incurring a penalty.
The interest rate is guaranteed until at least the end of February 2010.
Leeds director of sales and marketing, ...
Leeds launches tracker ISA
by David Masters
January 15, 2009
HSBC is launching a new home loan at the astonishingly low rate of 2.99%.
However, the lender's Premier two-year discount deal is only available to its Premier customers who must hold £50,000 in savings and investments with the bank or already have a £250,000 mortgage with HSBC.
They will also need a minimum income of £75,000 plus 40% of the equity in the ...
HSBC launches 2.99% two-year discount mortgage
by Gill Montia
January 9, 2009
Santander-owned Abbey has reissued its Super Fixed Rate Monthly and Fixed Rate Monthly savings accounts.
The company said it hopes the two reissued accounts will help customers kick-start their New Year's resolution to start saving.
Abbey's Super Fixed Rate Monthly Saver offers a 7% AER for 12 months, provided no withdrawals are made, and between £20 and £250 per month are deposited into the ...
Abbey launches 7% monthly saver
by David Masters
December 17, 2008
Nationwide Building Society has reintroduced a mortgage with a 95% loan-to-value ratio (LTV).
The deal is only available to existing customers who are moving house and borrowers signing up for the loan will be on a two-year fix at 7.18% for the no fee version.
The minimum loan size is £25,000 and for those prepared to pay a fee of £599 the rate goes down ...
Nationwide reintroduces 95% mortgage
by Gill Montia
