Mortgage rates: Banks warn of more ‘financial difficulty’ – but arrears increase will be small July 11, 2023 Leading bankers have said that an increasing number of customers will face financial difficulties as mortgage rates rise, but remained confident that both consumers and lenders could withstand the pressure. Bradley Fordham, mortgage director at Santander, said that with rates at six per cent, the average increase in monthly payments for customers coming off a [...]
Mortgage rates climb to 15-year high following surprisingly strong wage growth July 11, 2023 The typical rate available on a two-year fixed mortgage has climbed to a 15-year high, surpassing the levels seen last Autumn in the wake of the disastrous mini-budget. According to Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate hit 6.66 per cent, marginally higher than the 6.65 per cent seen last October. This was the [...]
Labour mortgage summit amid brewing repayments crisis July 9, 2023 Labour are set to hold crunch talks with mortgage brokers this week amid a brewing repayments crisis. Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged homeownership will be the core of her ‘securenomics’ philosophy as she claimed Labour is now the party of house buyers. Reeves and shadow levelling up secretary Lisa Nandy will attend the summit [...]
OneSavings Bank shares plunge by nearly a quarter after £180m hit from ‘step change’ in customer behaviour July 7, 2023 Shares in OneSavings Bank (OSB) plummeted this morning after the lender revealed it would take a hit of up to £180m from a “step change” in customer behaviour. In a statement released after market close last night, the FTSE 250-listed bank said customers in a certain part of the loan book were choosing to refinance [...]
FCA moves fast to let firms provide mortgage breathing space June 30, 2023 The City regulator says it has moved quickly to make rulebook changes, to help give households some relief from rising mortgage rates. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said lenders should make the options available to borrowers clear and accessible. Sheldon Mills, executive director for consumers and competition at the FCA, urged homeowners who are struggling [...]
House price growth faces ‘significant drag’ from rate rises but London remains ‘buoyant’ June 30, 2023 House price growth may face “significant drag” from high interest rates as fresh figures show they remained relatively stable in June despite yearly growth being negative. The latest Nationwide House Price Index show house prices remained broadly flat in June, but down 2.5 per cent compared to last year, owing in part to 13 successive [...]
Mortgages: Number of people securing a home shot up weeks before BoE hiked rates June 29, 2023 Mortgage approvals continued to show signs of improvement in May, rising to 55,500 for the month as a whole up across the UK – up from 49,000 for the month of April, new data shows. The data provided by the Bank of England (Boe) is a fresh kick in the teeth for prospective buyers, who [...]
Labour: Force banks to pass on interest rate hikes to savings accounts June 25, 2023 Labour has called on the government to ensure that banks are passing on higher interest rates to savers in an attempt to cool inflation. Speaking on the Sophy Ridge show on Sky News, Lisa Nandy said: “What we are proposing is that the Government ensures that those (interest rate) rises are passed on so that [...]
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt to meet lenders as mortgage crisis worsens June 23, 2023 Chancellor Jeremy Hunt will ask banks if they can do more to support struggling households after a shock interest rate hike deepened the mortgage crisis. He is meeting large lenders including HSBC and Santander in Downing Street this morning as the government comes under pressure to relieve the pain. Prime minister Rishi Sunak and Hunt [...]
Labour’s plan to force banks to help on mortgages branded ‘risky’ and ‘counterproductive’ June 22, 2023 Labour’s plans to force banks to help struggling borrowers with their mortgages have been slammed as “risky” and “counterproductive”. The party says lenders should be compelled to help mortgage holders struggling with payments in a bid to avert a looming mortgage crisis as interest rates are expected to keep rising to bring inflation down. Shadow [...]