Savers with money in both Northern Rock and Virgin Money will not be disadvantaged by Virgin’s takeover of the Newcastle-based bank if either of the banks collapses. Both Virgin Money and Northern Rock will keep separate banking licences following the £747 million deal, which is expected to be rubber-stamped in January. This means that the [...]
Shares in financial institution NBNK has had its shares suspended on AIM after it confirmed it is in merger talks. The bank, which is run by Gary Hoffman who is the former chief executive of crisis-torn Northern Rock, was established a year ago to make acquisitions and is set to build a significant presence in [...]
In his Mansion House speech later this evening, Chancellor George Osborne is to announce plans to sell off state-owned Northern Rock. The crisis-torn bank, which collapsed on the eve of the credit crisis, is expected to be auctioned off and will raise around £1 billion. The Chancellor will say he hopes to find a buyer [...]
Crisis-torn lender, Northern Rock, is understood to be launching a series of mortgage products which require just a 10% deposit (90% loan-to-value). The announcement, revealed by the Financial Times, comes as mortgage lending continues to remain subdued as first-time buyers, in particular, struggle to obtain a mortgage unless they have a substantial deposit. Since the [...]
The chief executive of nationalised Northern Rock is leaving the crisis-torn bank to join NBNK. According to reports today, Gary Hoffman will assume the chief executive’s role at NBNK - the banking institution set up by two City financial-sector heavyweights. NBNK is set to build a significant presence in the UK and is now trading [...]
A report has revealed around 100,000 finance jobs have been lost since the onset of the credit crisis three years ago. On the third anniversary of the run on Northern Rock, there have been significant job losses within the sector. The Unite union said that little had changed to improve the regulatory regime in order [...]
State-owned bank Northern Rock has today announced losses for the 2009 year fell to £258 million, compared with £1.36 billion in the previous year. Despite the loss, the Newcastle-based bank said it is awarding staff £14.9m in bonuses but Gary Hoffman, the chief executive of Northern Rock, is waiving his payout. Northern Rock said Mr [...]
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 [...]
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% [...]
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 [...]
Northern Rock is once again offering mortgages to existing customers. The move follows a gap of well over a year during which period borrowers coming off fixed deals either reverted to the Rock’s standard variable rate or were forced to go elsewhere. The nationalised lender is strictly interested in retaining its best customers and only [...]
Northern Rock is leading the field in “prime” mortgages that have fallen into negative equity. A new report from ratings agency, Fitch, reveals that almost one in six households at the upper end of the UK property market have home loans that exceed the value of their properties. In the case of the state-owned Northern [...]
The nationalised mortgage lender, Northern Rock, has announced plans today to increase lending over the next two years to £14 billion to Britain’s homebuyers. Having sought out a £25 billion bailout from the Bank of England in February last year, it is now in a position to help the stumbling property industry with up to [...]
HSBC is the best high street bank for customer service, according to mystery shopper research by Prophet. The innovation strategy consultants found that of the ten banks surveyed, only HSBC and Citi offer a customer experience ‘above expectations’. Barclays came in third place behind HSBC and Citi, providing a customer experience that met expectations. Lloyds [...]
Lord Turner, the Financial Service Authority’s chairman, has said that as a result of increased regulatory control consumers are likely to face higher mortgage rates as costs are passed on. The FSA is now considering a number of new measures in order to avert any future banking crisis. The primary consideration is looking to increase [...]
Northern Rock has reported that its home repossessions rose by 63% last year to 3,620. Arrears also soared with 17,264 borrowers three months or more behind with their repayments at the end of 2008, up from 3,492 at the close of 2007. The rise takes the percentage of the bank’s total mortgage book in arrears [...]
Northern Rock is reversing its post-nationalisation strategy of running down its mortgage book and will begin offering new loans of up to 90% of a property’s value. The move offers hope to the UK’s beleaguered housing market, which despite the recent rise in new buyer enquiries reported by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and [...]
The bank bail-out package announced today by the Government could contain good news for Northern Rock borrowers and the UK mortgage market generally because the bank is being reinstated as a lender. Since its nationalisation in February 2008, Northern Rock has focused on paying back its debt to the Government. During last year, it was [...]
Northern Rock mortgage borrowers will not all receive the full benefit of last week’s cut in the base rate. The nationalised lender’s tracker rate customers will see the full 1% reduction but for those on its standard variable rate (SVR) the reduction will be 0.5% taking the rate down to 5.34%, from 1st January. Mortgage [...]
The Government yesterday announced further help for mortgage borrowers who are falling behind with repayments. The new measures should mean that middle-income homeowners who lose their jobs or part of their income are less likely to face repossession. In a scheme guaranteed by the state, borrowers will be able to approach their lenders to request [...]
A year has passed since the government replaced Child Trust Funds with Junior ISAs (JISAs) but more than half of parents are unaware that they exist, according to research by friendly society Family Investments Children born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011 were eligible to open a Child Trust Fund and to receive [...]
PPI costs increase for Lloyds and Barclays
Lloyds Banking Group has set aside a further £1 billion to cover compensation costs for customers who were mis-sold Payment Protection Insurance (PPI). Yesterday, Barclays revealed £700m of PPI costs in the 2012 third quarter increasing its total provision to £2bn. Lloyds Banking Group, which has made the largest PPI provision out of all the [...]
Bonfire Night worst day for burglaries warns Aviva
Insurance group Aviva is warning households to be vigilant over security at this time of the year, as burglaries tend to increase signficantly between Halloween and Bonfire Night. On Bonfire Night the number of burglaries increases by around 25 per cent compared with an average day, according to the company’s research. Aviva also reported a [...]
Consumer confidence hits six-month low
Although the UK has officially emerged from recession, consumer confidence fell to -30 in October from -28 in September, according to market researcher company GfK NOP. This is the lowest level of consumer confidence since April when the UK was in an economic slump. Analysts had expected the index to remain stable at -28. Respondents [...]
100,000 mortgage holders escape negative equity trap
New figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) reveal that the number of borrowers in negative equity fell 13 per cent to 719,000 between the first quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012. The number of borrowers paying a mortgage greater than the value of their property fell despite a further small [...]
Banking commission appoints counsel to cross-examine witnesses
The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards has appointed counsel to cross-examine witnesses during its inquiry into the collapse of Halifax Bank of Scotland. Barrister David Quest has been appointed to question witnesses in a public evidence session, as part of a sub-committee panel inquiry into the bank. Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Commission said: “This [...]
Mortgage approvals increased in September
An increase in the number of mortgage approvals in September suggests that the ‘Funding for Lending’ scheme, launched by the Treasury and the Bank of England, may be starting to give the property market a boost. According to Bank of England figures, the number of loans approved for house purchase increased by 2,103 to 50,024 [...]
Five million paid less than living wage
Five million people in the UK are paid less than the ‘living wage’ of £7.20, or £8.30 in London, according to a new report by KPMG. In Northern Ireland, 24 per cent of workers receive less than they require in order to pay for essentials and the situation is little better in Wales where 23 [...]
Commission calls for radical change in housing market
A new study by the Future Homes Commission suggests that the way homes are built in the UK is dysfunctional and needs a radical overhaul. The organisation, which was established by the Royal Institute of British Architects, believes that 300,000 extra homes could be built every year without any input from Government funding. Instead, the [...]
The UK economy emerged from recession yesterday and now leads the way in Europe according to research group Capital Economics. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by one per cent in the third quarter from July to September, the biggest rise for five years, the latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show. [...]
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