Marks & Spencer Money is offering borrowers a personal loan at a rate of just 6 per cent. This represents the lowest rate since 2008 when Moneyback Bank was offering 5.8 per cent, while just one year ago Tesco Bank offered the lowest loan rate, of 8.4 per cent. Marks & Spencer Money’s 6% deal [...]
The FSA’s report into lending, due to be published next week, is expected to include proposals to help home owners in negative equity. The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that one in 12 homeowners are in negative equity, with their home now worth less than the price they paid for it, making it impossible for [...]
The government has announced a review of its Support for Mortgage Interest scheme (SMI), which helps people receiving certain benefits if they are finding it difficult to pay their mortgage interest. SMI, which is available to people on benefits such as Income Support, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance and Pension Credits, costs the Government around £400 million [...]
Lenders and financial experts have highlighted a number of potential problems with the Government’s mortgage indemnity scheme, which was announced yesterday. Banks and building societies have commented that the scheme was rushed through with insufficient thought, while financial commentators warned that first time buyers taking advantage of the scheme could end up owning a house [...]
Although the mortgage market is currently stable, the outlook remains uncertain in the face of the eurozone crisis. The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that 48,200 mortgages were taken out to buy homes in September, two per cent less than in the previous month. However there was a 3 per cent improvement in [...]
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals fell in September for the first time in six months. According to the Bank, there were 50,967 loans approved in the month – down 3% on August’s figure. However, September’s figure was broadly in line with forecasts and suggests the UK mortgage market will remain subdued [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in August. According to the Council, there were 52,000 loans advanced for house purchase (worth £7.9 billion) in the month – up from 48,700 (£7.2 billion) in July. The Council described today’s figures as “welcome signs of life” [...]
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals picked up significantly in August to a 20-month high. According to the Bank, there were 52,410 loans approved in the month – almost 3,000 more than the level seen in July and the highest figure since December 2009. The figure was also higher than the 49,500 [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), which represents lenders who offer around 94% of all residential mortgage lending in the UK, has today reported UK mortgage lending grew in August. According to the Council, lending was 6% higher in August on a monthly basis, attributed to seasonal factors. The figures come after July saw a [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in July. According to the Council, there were 48,400 loans advanced for house purchase in the month – up by 1,000 from June’s figure but almost 7,000 lower when compared with July 2010. Commenting on today’s figures, Paul Smee, [...]
Housebuilder Bovis has today reported profits more than doubled in the six months to the end of June as a result of cost-cutting and rising house prices. The company said pre-tax profits surged to £8.1 million in the six month period compared with £3.5 million in the same period a year earlier, while revenue rose [...]
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals picked up significantly in July to a 14-month high. According to the central Bank, there were 49,239 loans approved in the month – higher than the upwardly revised 48,500 for June and a significant improvement on April’s 45,855 which represented a four-month low. The figure was [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported a fall in home repossessions. According to the Council, lenders seized 9,000 properties in the April to June period – 100 less when compared with the first three months of the year. Meanwhile, there were 18,100 repossessions in the first half of 2011, compared with compared [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported the number of loans for house purchase rose in June. According to the Council, there were 46,700 loans advanced for house purchase in the month – a rise of 22% compared with the previous month but 11% lower on an annual basis. However, despite the annual [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has today reported a pick up in mortgage lending for the month of June. According to the Council, gross mortgage lending last month totalled £12.9 billion – this represented a 16% rise on a monthly basis but was 3% lower compared with June 2010. Meanwhile, the CML said mortgage [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has reported that the number of loans for house purchase rose in May. According to the Council, there were 41,500 loans worth £5.9 billion advanced for house purchase in the month, up from 40,800 in April. However, the figure remains lower than the 43,800 loans advanced in May 2010. [...]
Figures from Moneyfacts have revealed in the number of mortgage products. The credit crunch resulted in a tightening of lending criteria and mortgages have been hard to secure without a substantial deposit. However, the number of different mortgage products has risen to its highest level since November 2008, according to Moneyfacts, due to increased competition. [...]
The Bank of England has today revealed mortgage approvals remained weak in May. According to the Bank, there were 45,940 loans approved in the month – slightly higher than April’s 45,447 but lower than forecasts of a level of 46,100. Furthermore, May’s figure was lower than the average for the previous six months. Today’s figures [...]
Consumer group Which? has warned homeowners with SVR mortgages that they will be financially squeezed once interest rates are lifted. A Standard Variable Rate (SVR) is a mortgage in which the rate of interest is varied from time to time by the lender but it is usually set at about 2% above the Bank of [...]
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) today reported a rise in mortgage lending for the month of May. According to the Council, mortgage lending rose 12% in May compared with April as demand was boosted by the public bank holidays. Gross mortgage lending in the month totalled £11.3 billion, said the CML. The figure was [...]
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, [...]
Younger generation shunning credit cards
Consumers are shunning credit cards in favour of debit cards, digital payment and payday loans, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Although UK households paid off some unsecured debts in 2011, the average debt was around £7,900 at the end of the year. The Ernst & Young Item Club has also reported a [...]
Bank of England to launch £50bn economic stimulus
The bank of England is expected to launch another round of quantitative easing (QE) this week, in the hope of preventing the UK falling into another recession, after the economy contracted by 0.2 per cent at the end of last year. The bank is likely to pump at least £50 billion into the economy by [...]
About | Privacy | Disclaimer | Resources | XML Feeds | Press Releases | Directory | Contact us
