Northern Rock is to follow the lead established earlier this week by Royal Bank of Scotland and not begin repossession proceedings until mortgage borrowers are six months or more in arrears with repayments. The nationalised lender has come in for criticism over its repossession policy. In October, debt charity Credit Action claimed that the bank’s [...]
In a move that could be seen as a snub to the Government, state-owned Northern Rock has increased rates on some of its most attractive mortgage deals. For new borrowers, the bank’s one-year fixed mortgage rate has increased from 3.99% to 4.19%. Meanwhile, rates on the lender’s two and five-year fixed-rate home loans have risen [...]
Leading lenders withdrew tracker mortgages just hours before the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee agreed an historic 1.5% cut in the base rate, to 3%. Lloyds TSB and its Cheltenham & Gloucester (C&G) unit, Northern Rock and Woolwich have all withdrawn tracker products today. Yesterday, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) warned that lenders [...]
The downturn in the property market is forcing 60,000 homeowners a month into negative equity. According to the credit rating agency, Standard & Poor’s, research suggests that 335,000 homes will be worth less than their mortgages by the end of October, a rise of 260,000 over four months. If the trend continues, the number of [...]
Credit Action is claiming that Northern Rock’s level of repossessions is twice that of its rivals. The debt charity is calling on the Treasury to intervene and insist that the nationalised lender responds more sympathetically to borrowers who fall behind with their mortgage repayments. It would like the bank to introduce mortgage payment holidays to [...]
Northern Rock has revealed the extent to which its “Together” mortgage, which offered borrowers up to 125% of their property’s value, is putting pressure on its levels of arrears and repossessions. “Together” loans, which were withdrawn in February, are a combination of a mortgage and personal loan. They were particularly popular with first-time buyers who [...]
The Government’s own advisers, Goldman Sachs, have warned that taxpayers could lose up to £1.28 billion due to the nationalisation of crisis-torn Northern Rock. Northern Rock was nationalised in February after the Government rejected takeover bids from the board of Northern Rock and a consortium led by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group. A judicial review [...]
As the housing market downturn continues, Northern Rock customers are more likely to be facing negative equity than borrowers with other UK lenders. While the number of people in arrears with their mortgage repayments is rising across the banking sector, Northern Rock is more exposed than most of its competitors because prior to the credit [...]
Former vice chairman of Barclays, Gary Hoffman, has been named as Northern Rock’s new chief executive. Newcastle-based Northern Rock will pay Mr Hoffman almost £2 million over two years to manage the crisis-torn bank. Mr Hoffman’s basic salary is £700,000 plus three separate payments of £400,000 in compensation for the loss of his participation in [...]
Mortgage customers of Northern Rock who are seeing their fixed-rate mortgages run out are facing huge increases because they are trapped on expensive rates with the crisis-torn lender. The business plan for the nationalised bank saw attractive rates scrapped in an attempt to put-off new customers and encourage existing ones to re-mortgage with another lender. [...]
Northern Rock chairman, Ron Sandler, has warned that sharp house price falls could delay its plans to repay the billions of pounds it owes the Bank of England. Mr Sandler said if house prices were to decline 5%, 10% or 15%, that would seriously impede fulfilling the plan and added I can’t give you a [...]
Ron Sandler, who was appointed by the Government to revive Northern Rock, said solid progress has been made against the business plan. The Bank of England loan facilities are reducing and the balance sheet is contracting as a result of planned mortgage redemptions, added Mr Sandler. Mr Sandler’s strategy is to reduce the mortgage book. [...]
Crisis-torn Northern Rock, which was taken into public ownership on February 22, has commenced talks with staff over plans to axe 2,000 jobs. Northern Rock said the company will now commence the formal 90-day consultation period with Unite and other employee representatives, with the inaugural meetings planned for May 1, 2008. The likely start date [...]
M&S Money launches 3% cash ISA
M&S Money has launched an Advantage Cash ISA paying 3 per cent, and which allows transfers in from other ISAs. It can be opened with a minimum deposit of £100 lump sum followed by minimum monthly deposits of £25. The 3% rate is variable, but there is no short-term bonus so the return won’t plummet [...]
Google suspends UK Compare Mortgages site
Google has closed its UK mortgage comparison site which it launched in July last year, after it proved to be less popular than expected. Mortgage comparison sites are designed to allow visitors to compare mortgages quickly and easily without having to visit each lender’s individual site. Google was competing with several well-established comparison sites, including [...]
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, [...]
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