News Tag: mortgage
March 13, 2010
Lloyds Banking Group is inviting its standard variable rate (SRV) mortgage customers to increase their monthly repayments.
Under a new scheme that will run for a year, borrowers can overpay by up to 20% without incurring a financial penalty.
Research by the bank, which is the UK's biggest mortgage lender, suggests over 63% of mortgage customers would definitely consider overpaying, or increasing their existing ...
Lloyds launches mortgage overpayment scheme
by Gill Montia
February 4, 2010
Spanish banking giant Santander has today revealed a 13% rise in fourth-quarter net profit to €2.2 billion (£1.9 billion).
Meanwhile the bank, which is the second largest banking group in the world after HSBC, said gross income grew almost 24% to €10 billion.
For the 2009 year as a whole, net profit was up 1% to €8.94 billion, with good performances in continental Europe, Latin ...
Santander profit grows 13%
by Kay Murchie
Twenty per cent rise in home loans on offer
by Gill Montia
January 26, 2010
Mortgage borrowers in arrears stand to get a better deal from lenders under new proposals published today by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).
The package is aimed at ensuring home owners in financial difficulties are treated fairly, by strengthen existing rules on arrears handling and promoting the regulator's "tough stance" on mortgage fraud.
Under the proposals lenders will not be able to: ...
FSA defends home owners with mortgage arrears
by Gill Montia
January 23, 2010
Both Northern Rock and the Post Office have launched new mortgage deals with lower rates.
The Post Office has cut the cost of its Bank of Ireland lifetime tracker loans from 3.29% to 2.99%, or from 3.59% to 3.49%, dependent upon the loan-to-value ratio.
Bank of Ireland has also reduced the price of its five-year fixed-rate offering by 0.5% ...
Mortgage rate cuts from Post Office and Northern Rock
by Gill Montia
January 11, 2010
New research from Shelter suggests that in the past year, up to one million UK households have used credit cards to pay the mortgage or rent.
According to the housing charity, the findings present a disturbing picture of up to a million people taking "desperate measures" to keep the roofs over their heads.
The highest proportion of those afflicted ...
One million use credit cards pay mortgage or rent
by Gill Montia
January 5, 2010
HSBC has jumped on the bandwagon of January sales by launching cut-priced mortgages, savings accounts, and insurance products.
"All over the world, people are making New Year resolutions and sorting out their finances is often high on that list," said Brendan Cook, HSBC spokesperson.
"This year, we want to make it easier for our customers to keep that resolution.
"We are providing a wide range ...
HSBC announces January sale
by David Masters
January 4, 2010
Figures published today show that people in the UK continue to repay debt as the incentive to save remains low in the current historically low interest rate environment.
According to the Building Societies Association (BSA), its members withdrew more money than they saved for the ninth consecutive month in November.
The BSA said there was a net withdrawal of ...
Savings continue to fall as consumers opt to repay debt
by Kay Murchie
December 3, 2009
Figures from realpricecomparison.com show that in October and November, first-time buyers accounted for nearly a third of all mortgage searches.
However, small deposits mean would-be homeowners are seeking out deals at 80% loan-to-value (LTV) ratio or above, with around 8.5% of searches for mortgages with LTVs of between 90% and 95%.
According to the price comparison website, average rates for 80% LTV loans are ...
First-time buyers dominate mortgage searches
by Gill Montia
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
November 5, 2009
With the prospect of new entrants into the UK mortgage market following the break up of RBS and Lloyds Banking Group, moneysupermarket.com has conducted a study that indicates Britons prefer to deal with established lenders when it comes to buying a property.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling has already made it clear that the owners of the High Street chains to ...
Mortgage borrowers prefer banks to supermarkets
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 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
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 22, 2009
Potential first-time buyers continue to be excluded from the best mortgage deals, with risk the overriding factor in setting rates.
According to Moneyfacts.co.uk, competition among lenders is still taking a back seat with rates on home loans dipping a mere 0.12% on average for those with a 10% deposit, despite the cost of funding to lenders dropping 4.35%.
By comparison, those with a ...
Lenders deny competition to first-time buyers
by Gill Montia
September 18, 2009
Homeowners are flocking to HSBC in droves following the launch of the bank's 1.99% fixed-rate mortgage.
Traffic on HSBC's mortgage website has doubled since the mortgage was announced, while calls to HSBC call centres have increased 78%.
"Since announcing the 1.99% deal we have seen a huge amount of interest from customers," said Martijn van der Heijden, HSBC head of mortgages.
Van der Heijden was ...
Homeowners flock to 1.99% mortgage
by David Masters
September 17, 2009
Woolwich has announced its second round of mortgage rate cuts this month.
From today, the lender is introducing a one-year tracker mortgage at 1.98% for a 60% loan-to-value (LTV) deal, which comes with a £999 fee.
The Barclays-owned firm is also cutting rates on its two-year 70% LTV fixed-rate deals with a £999 fee, to 3.99%; or 4.09% with a reduced fee of ...
Woolwich launches one-year tracker at 1.98%
by Gill Montia
September 7, 2009
New research from MoneyExpert.com indicates that mortgage lenders are keener than ever to apply fees based on a percentage of the loan they are providing.
Application fees have become something of a scandal in the credit crisis, with banks and building societies applying levels that make headline rates nonsensical.
The charges have offered a convenient method of increasing margins for lenders, many ...
Lenders convert to “percentage” arrangement fees
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
