News Tag: lending
March 1, 2010
In a round-up of January mortgage lending, Bank of England figures show approvals for house purchases falling 17%, compared to a month earlier.
However, the month-on-month decline takes into account the end of the stamp duty holiday, which resulted in transactions being pushed through in time for December completions, and winter weather conditions that would have deterred ...
New Year usher in 17% fall in new mortgage approvals
by Gill Montia
February 17, 2010
Lenders are backing the proposed regulation of the second-charge mortgage market.
Responding to a Treasury consultation, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has also said it wants to ensure borrowers are sufficiently protected when mortgage books are sold on.
On second-charge lending, the body has restated its longstanding position that all residential mortgage lending should be regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). ...
Lenders back regulation of second-charge mortgages
by Gill Montia
January 31, 2010
A survey by accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed that many business managers are concerned that Britain is heading towards a double-dip recession (whereby the economy goes into recession twice without having undergone a full recovery in between.)
Last week, official figures revealed that the UK economy grew by 0.1% between the October and December period, suggesting that the economy had finally emerged ...
PwC survey reveals fears over double-dip recession
by Kay Murchie
January 22, 2010
Ethical bank Triodos reported a record year for its UK operations in 2009, with lending and commitments growing by 73%.
During 2009 the bank loaned nearly £250 million to organisations in the UK delivering social, environmental or cultural benefits.
Bevis Watts, the bank's head of business banking, said the surge in lending for 2009 was "phenomenal".
Environmental enterprise was a strong growth area for the bank, with lending to environmental ...
Ethical bank Triodos reports “phenomenal” growth
by David Masters
Are lenders loosening their purse strings?
by David Masters
December 30, 2009
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is calling on banks to return to their "normal lending criteria" next year.
The FSB, which represents 215,000 small firms across the UK, said Britain’s five million small businesses will be at the heart of the UK’s move out of recession, but need more help.
FSB chairman John Wright said: "2010 must see ...
FSB calls for banks to lend more next year
by Kay Murchie
December 15, 2009
After the $700 billion (£430 billion) bailout of the banking industry, US President Barack Obama has now asked banks to do their part and increase lending to small and medium-size businesses.
A meeting yesterday with executives from Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup, among others, came a day after Mr Obama said he had not run for ...
Obama tells US banks to increase lending to SMEs
by Kay Murchie
November 30, 2009
Figures from the Bank of England show the value of mortgages approved for house purchases rising for the 11th consecutive month in October, to £8 billion.
The total is up from £7.6 billion a month earlier and compares with a previous six month average of £6.7 billion.
Volumes increased to 57,345, up from 56,205 in September and 18% higher than a year ...
New mortgage lending still nudging ahead
by Gill Montia
October 29, 2009
Abbey has captured 20.5% of the UK mortgage market.
The share is up from 16.3% of gross mortgage lending during the six months to the end of June 2009.
Impressively, the bank's prudent approach to lending meant that arrears of three months or more stood at 1.34% in the third quarter of the year, compared with an industry average of 2.43%.
The lender, ...
Abbey captures one-fifth of UK mortgage market
by Gill Montia
October 27, 2009
According to the European Central Bank (ECB), bank lending to companies within the euro zone declined for the first time ever in September, sparking fears that weak lending could hind a recovery within the economy.
The euro zone, which comprises 16 countries, is still officially in recession and the fall in lending comes at a time when European ...
Euro zone lending falls for first time on record
by Kay Murchie
October 19, 2009
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today set out "major reforms" that it intends to impose on UK mortgage lending.
The proposed new measures are aimed at making the market "sustainable" for lenders and borrowers and reflect "a more intrusive and interventionist style of regulation".
Key features include imposing affordability tests for all mortgages and making lenders ultimately responsible ...
“Major reforms” in hand for UK mortgage lending
by Gill Montia
October 12, 2009
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today revealed a slight fall in the number of home loans for house purchase in August.
According to the CML, there were 53,000 new mortgages granted in August compared to 56,000 in July.
While the figure represents a 5% fall on the month, the figure represents a 30% rise when compared with August last year.
The CML ...
CML: Mortgage lending falls in August
by Kay Murchie
October 9, 2009
First time buyers are being further squeezed out of the mortgage market with one of the UK's biggest lenders pulling its 10% deposit products.
Britannia, which merged with Co-operative Bank earlier this year, said it will no longer offer mortgages to borrowers with a 10% deposit.
The news further diminishes the tiny number of lenders willing to offer loans to buyers with small deposits.
Over the ...
Britannia pulls 10%-LTV mortgages
by David Masters
October 5, 2009
Ethical bank Triodos increased its lending in the UK by nearly one third in the first half of this year.
Current lending by the bank rose to £223 million, with a further £82 million in loan commitments that have yet to be drawn down.
This £305 million total represents an overall lending increase of 29% compared to the first half of 2008.
Customer funds held at ...
Triodos increases UK lending
by David Masters
September 30, 2009
HSBC is boosting the UK mortgage market with extra cash for buyers with a 10% deposit.
The bank is promising to increase mortgage lending in this category by £500 million, taking its total commitment for 2009 to £1.5 billion.
The move will be particularly helpful to first-time buyers, many of whom have been excluded from the property market by fierce loan-to-value ...
HSBC ups lending for those with 10% deposit
by Gill Montia
September 23, 2009
The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has reported that in August, gross mortgage lending by the UK's High Street banks followed a similar pattern to earlier months of the year.
Net lending (gross lending with repayments and redemptions stripped out) returned to trend, increasing by £2.8 billion, compared to a rise of £1.9 billion in July.
Last month 38,095 home loans were approved for house ...
Bank mortgage lending stabilises
by Gill Montia
September 18, 2009
Mortgage lending showed a seasonal dip in August, registering a 13% decline on July.
New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) estimate gross lending for the month at £12.6 billion, compared with a revised total of £14.5 billion a month earlier.
The fall stands at 37% when compared to gross lending of £19.9 billion in August of last year.
Reflecting on the ...
Mortgage lending shows August dip
by Gill Montia
September 1, 2009
The Bank of England has today reported that the total amount of personal debt in the UK has declined for the first time since records began - more than 16 years ago.
The economic downturn and fears over rising unemployment has meant consumers are reducing their debt with personal borrowing falling by £600 million in July, taking the total ...
Personal debt falls for first time since records began
by Kay Murchie
August 13, 2009
Britain's turnaround and recovery professionals, TMA (UK) is warning that recent house price gains and rises in share prices should not be taken as an end to the economic downturn.
According to the group, there is still a severe lack of bank lending to businesses, which in turn has an impact on the capacity of consumers to demand ...
TMA warns not to be fooled by signs of recovery
by Kay Murchie
August 4, 2009
Blighted by its "Together" 125% loan-to-value mortgages, Northern Rock has revealed that residential mortgage accounts over three months in arrears rose to 3.92% in the six months to the end of June.
The proportion compares with a national average of 2.39% and is up from 3.67% at 31st March 2009 and 2.92% at 31st December 2008.
Excluding "Together" loans, residential mortgage ...
Northern Rock “Together” mortgages push up arrears
by Gill Montia
