Tag: loan
Northern Rock sees improvement prior to split
Crisis-torn Northern Rock, which is due to be split after receiving approval from the European Union, provided an upbeat statement after it said that in the three months to the end of September, losses from bad loans being written off had lowered, its costs remained under control and net income had risen. Northern Rock collapsed [...]
Fixed rate popularity sees June peak
Last month saw homebuyers and remortgagers opt for fixed-rate loans as never before. According to mortgage broker, John Charcol (JC), the proportion of customers choosing fixed-rate deals rose to a record 83.1% in June and the firm’s mortgage activity monitor also showed the average take-up at 81.2% over the past four months. However, the broker [...]
Restructure sees Northern Rock split into two divisions
Nationalised Northern Rock is to be split into two divisions – a deposit bank and a mortgage platform. The crisis-torn bank collapsed at the onset of the credit crunch in autumn 2007 after savers staged a nationwide run on the bank. It was then nationalised in February 2008. However, following European Union (EU) approval, it [...]
Charging Orders – the latest threat to indebted homeowners
The Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) claims that lenders are increasingly threatening customers in England and Wales with charging orders, in attempts to intimidate debtors into making unaffordable repayments. A charging order is a means of securing an unsecured loan against equity in the debtor’s property. In a new report entitled “Out of order” the charity [...]
Chrysler to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection
In a bid to strengthen and relaunch US carmaker, Chrysler, the company is set to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection immediately. The procedure will see the company gain protection from its creditors and according to President Obama, give the company “a new lease of life.” Detroit-based Chrysler was given a deadline (which ends at [...]
Daimler redeems 20% stake in Chrysler
There is now a definitive separation between car firms Daimler and Chrysler after the German carmaker has reached a deal to give up its 19.9% stake in the US firm. The agreement will also see Daimler forgive repayment of the loans extended to Chrysler, which were already written off in the 2008 financial statements, said [...]
GM embark on further brutal job cuts
Struggling US carmaker General Motors (GM) has announced further job cuts to its workforce with 21,000 US jobs to be axed. GM, which is the world’s largest carmaker, has a deadline of 1 June to restructure the business in order to achieve a multi-billion dollar loan from the Government to avoid bankruptcy protection. So far, [...]
Pakistan cuts interest rates for the first time in 6 years
Pakistan has cut interest rates for the first time since 2002, with a 1 percent cut bringing down lending rates to 14 percent for commercial banks. The central bank raised interest rates by 2 percent back in November, which was the fourth consecutive increase since the global economic outlook receded in 2008. However, since the [...]
More good news for US banks as Citigroup reports profit of $1.6bn
Citigroup has today boosted the stock market by announcing its first quarterly net profit in almost two years. The bank made a profit of $1.6 billion (£1.1 billion) for the first three months of 2009, compared to a loss of $5.1 billion in the last three months of last year, while revenues rose 99% to [...]
Poland seeking $20bn loan from IMF
Despite Poland previously stating that it did not need help, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has announced it is in the process of considering loaning $20 billion (£13.44 billion) after weeks of speculation. According to the IMF’s managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the IMF board is considering a one-year flexible credit line arrangement after Poland’s Prime [...]
Stricken AIG reveals fourth quarter loss of $62bn
US insurance company AIG has today announced a fourth quarter loss of $61.7 billion – the largest corporate loss in US history. The second largest quarterly loss of $54 billion was announced by Time Warner in 2002 following its merger with AOL. AIG’s loss is the equivalent of $678 million per day in the October [...]
Northern Rock staff receive 10% bonus
Northern Rock, which was nationalised in February of last year, has paid almost all of its 4,500 employees a 10% bonus – an average of £2,000 each. The bonus fund, which amounts to £8.8 million, has sparked outrage among politicians with Lib-Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable, describing the action as extraordinary since millions of people [...]
Debt consolidation could save UK £20 billion
Better debt management could save Brits up to £20 billion, according to price comparison site uSwitch.com. With total personal debt across the nation at £1.45 trillion, borrowers in the UK pay out £98 billion in interest every year. New research by uSwitch found that debt consolidation would save the UK £20 billion in interest payments, [...]
Lenders react to base rate cut
Yesterday’s 1% cut in the Bank of England’s base rate, to 2%, has met with a mixed response from mortgage lenders. Despite pressure from Government Ministers, Halifax and Nationwide are opting not to pass on the full reduction to customers with standard variable rate (SVR) loans. So far, HSBC, Bristol & West, Lloyds TSB and [...]
Tracker rates hit seven year high
Last week’s 1.5% cut in the Bank of England’s base rate was accompanied by several leading mortgage lenders withdrawing their tracker products for repricing. This week, research has shown that interest on tracker loans is at levels last seen in January 2001. According to Bank of England figures, the average cost of a tracker mortgage [...]
Lloyds TSB and Woolwich up tracker rates
Two High Street mortgage lenders have increased their tracker rates, despite last week’s 0.5% cut in the base rate. Lloyds TSB is hiking its mainstream tracker rates by between 0.3% and 0.5% and Woolwich, the mortgage lending unit of Barclays, is increasing rates on its lifetime and offset tracker deals by 0.2%. Woolwich actually reduced [...]
RBS and NatWest launch 5.74% two-year fix
RBS and its subsidiary, NatWest, have launched a new two-year fixed-rate home loan. Borrowers with a minimum 15% deposit can benefit from a rate of 5.74% and a reduced fee of £499. The rate on the new deal is up to 0.45% below those on similar products offered by the lenders, while the fee is [...]
BoE to loan £100m to Landsbanki
Talks between the UK and Iceland look like they have reached a satisfactory conclusion after the Bank of England (BoE) has agreed to provide a short-term secured loan of up to £100 million to the UK division of Icelandic bank, Landsbanki. It is hoped that the loan, announced to parliament this afternoon by Chancellor Alistair [...]
Tracker mortgage rates down as base rate cut to 4.5%
Homeowners on existing tracker mortgages will benefit from today’s 0.5% cut in the Bank of England’s base rate, to 4.5%. Halifax has already confirmed that it is reducing its standard variable rate (SVR) from 7% to 6.5%, from 1st November. Lloyds TSB and subsidiary, Cheltenham & Gloucester, are making a similar reduction in SVR, to [...]
