Lloyds TSB has extended a mortgage deal previously only available to first-time buyers, to home movers. Sellers opting for the bank’s Lend a Hand loans can take out a mortgage with a deposit of just 5%, at a rate normally associated with a larger down-payment. However, their funds have to be backed up with the [...]
Sainsbury’s Finance has boosted the interest rate on its Easy Saver account for new customers. Interest on accounts opened after 25th June 2010 will be paid at 2.7% Gross AER, an increase of 0.2 percentage points on the previous rate. The 2.7% rate will be paid to new customers for 12 months provided they maintain [...]
A survey by Scottish Widows has found that the squeeze on household incomes, as a result of the economic downturn, has hit pension savings with nearly half of people in the UK saving less. According to the Edinburgh-based life and pensions provider, 41% of people saved less for their pensions – many of them blaming [...]
A report by the Centre for Policy Studies think-tank has said the UK’s savings system needs to be reformed in order to encourage people to bank their money. According to the think tank, schemes need to be simplified if people are going to save as the current system is too complex with multiple tax regimes. [...]
Savers are finding it increasingly difficult to get a good return on their money, and many are opting to pay off debt rather than keep their savings in a bank account, Moneynet.co.uk has claimed. Andrew Hagger, spokesperson for the price comparison site, said at least a dozen best-buy savings deals have disappeared from the market [...]
Saving rather than borrowing has been the “major victim” of the credit crunch, according to new research published this week. The study by unbiased.co.uk found that savings levels dropped from £38.7 billion between April and June 2008 to £19.9 billion between July and September 2008 and haven’t recovered since. In the first three months of [...]
People seeking financial advice should work out what they want to achieve with their money before visiting an advisor, a financial expert has claimed. Mike Fosberry, president of the Personal Finance Society, said people can have all sorts of objectives for their money, such as building up their pension, paying off debt, or making a [...]
Savings experts have warned that a new Football Bond from Nationwide is a World Cup “gimmick”. Customers who take out the bond will he paid a bonus if England wins the World Cup trophy this summer. The four-year fixed rate bond pays 4.15% (AER) gross per year. If England win the World Cup, the interest [...]
Interest rates paid by banks on passbook accounts are “derisory”, a financial expert has claimed. Pierre Williams, head of research at MoneyExpert.com, said more than half of passbook accounts pay gross returns of under 1%. Passbook accounts pay an average interest rate of just 0.99%, 0.24 percentage points lower than the average paid on all [...]
Savers wanting to earn a good rate of interest while avoiding high street banks now have an alternative option. Zopa matches up people who have spare cash to lend with those who want to borrow money. John Hudson, professor of economics at Bath University, hailed Zopa as “a new way of borrowing and lending money”. [...]
Tony Hobman has been appointed by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to run the newly created Consumer Financial Education Body (CFEB). The CFEB is aimed at enhancing consumers’ financial education and their ability to manage their finances. The newly-established CFEB comes at a time when the Government is concerned that a lack of financial knowledge [...]
Putting aside small amounts of money into a savings account quickly adds up, Fidelity International has claimed. The group calculated that saving £50 a month into a fund with 6% annual growth could add up to over £7,500 in ten years, and nearly £38,000 after 30 years. “A monthly investment plan can be a good [...]
Leeds Building Society this week launched an ISA paying interest at 4.6%. The five-year fixed rate account can be opened with just £1. Savers can access up to 25% of their savings at any time without notice or penalty. Kim Rebecchi, Leeds Building Society’s Sales and Marketing Director said the ISA is a “market leading [...]
The Post Office is set to launch a new range of banking services aimed at people on low incomes. The plans the revamp the institution, backed by £180 million government funding, will help to ensure the future of the group’s 11,500 branches. New accounts will include a “weekly budgeting account”, designed to help people on [...]
Chancellor Alistair Darling’s plans to automatically increase ISA limits in line with inflation are merely a “token gesture”, according to one industry expert. Andrew Hagger of financial advice site Moneynet said the new measures will cost banks more money to implement than the potential benefits for savers. “This is a token gesture that is likely [...]
Savers are being urged to make full use of this year’s ISA allowance before the 5 April deadline. Unbiased.co.uk warned that Brits are set to unnecessarily spend £35 million on tax this year because they haven’t bothered to put their savings into an ISA. Research by the financial advice website found that 5.9 million adults [...]
High inflation continues to diminish the value of money put aside into savings accounts, a financial expert has claimed. Michelle Slade of Moneyfacts.co.uk said that with the Consumer Price Index at 3%, basic rate taxpayers need to find a savings account paying 3.75% interest to ensure their savings pot retains its full value. However, only [...]
It has been announced today the ‘bad banks‘ of Northern Rock (NRAM) and Bradford and Bingley (B&B) are set to merge. The move is designed to cut costs and bring greater returns for the taxpayer. The UK Financial Investments (UKFI), the body which was set up at the height of the financial crisis to oversee [...]
Self-employed people are failing to put enough money aside for their retirement, Standard Life claimed this week. The pensions provider said half of self-employed people aged 35-44 have saved less than £3,500 towards retirement. This is compared to an average of £73,000 in pensions savings for employed people of that age. “The recession has created [...]
British workers could be put off saving for their future in the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) because of the upfront fees charged by the Trust, a pensions expert has claimed. The Department for Work and Pensions announced the 2% fee on NEST investments earlier this week. Ros Altmann, pensions advisor, said the 2% upfront [...]
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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