Lloyds profit beats forecasts on pandemic mortgage boom October 29, 2020 Lloyds posted a forecast-beating profit for the third quarter as Britain’s biggest domestic lender cashed in booming demand for mortgages and set aside a smaller amount to cover bad loans. The bank returned to profitability in the three months to September after posting an unexpected loss in the first half. Lloyds reported a pre-tax profit [...]
Homeowners worried about mortgage renewals as payment holiday ends October 16, 2020 A quarter of the UK’s home-owners are worried about renewing their mortgage as the payment holiday comes to an end this month. As the country grapples with an impending recession the UK’s homeowners are concerned they will be unable to renew their mortgages as earnings stagnate and mass unemployment looms. A poll commissioned by Willow [...]
Banking sector warns against irresponsible lending after PM’s low deposit mortgage pledge October 7, 2020 The banking sector has cautioned against irresponsible lending after the Prime Minister announced plans to help millions of potential buyers onto the housing ladder by allowing low deposit mortgages. Boris Johnson yesterday said he wants to turn “generation rent” into “generation buy” by allowing people to purchase homes with a five per cent deposit. The [...]
UK housing market continues strong recovery as prices surge September 30, 2020 UK house prices rose by five per cent in September compared with a year previous according to the latest data from Nationwide. The building society said the annual rate of growth was at its highest in four years as the post-lockdown recovery continued. Its lending data revealed that there had been a 0.9 per cent [...]
UK mortgage approvals hit 13-year high in August as post-lockdown surge continues September 29, 2020 UK mortgage approvals hit a 13-year high in August as pent-up demand post-lockdown continued to boost the housing market, but consumers became more cautious about day-to-day borrowing. Mortgage approvals for the month were 84,700, according to new data from the Bank of England — the highest rate of approvals since October 2007, just before the [...]
Bank of England warns of ‘scarring’ to the UK economy September 2, 2020 Bank of England policymakers have stressed that the UK economy faces big risks in the coming months, saying that the “scarring” could be worse than they predicted in August. Speaking to the Treasury Committee of MPs, governor Andrew Bailey said the Bank’s latest forecasts were highly uncertain. He said it was unclear the extent to [...]
UK house prices recover from lockdown to hit all-time high in August September 2, 2020 UK house prices recovered from a lockdown-inspired dip to hit an all-time high last month. Annual UK house price growth picked up 3.7 per cent in August, according to Nationwide’s house price index. Prices rose two per cent month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal factors. The average UK house price rose to £224,123, up from [...]
UK mortgage lending rises in July as housing market picks up post-lockdown September 1, 2020 UK mortgage lending accelerated in July, a latest sign of a post-lockdown bounce-back in the housing market, and consumers returned to borrowing, data from the Bank of England showed today. Mortgage approvals jumped to 66,300 from just under 40,000 in June and seven times higher than their coronavirus pandemic low of barely more than 9,000 [...]
Women in banking are judged differently, says Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia August 18, 2020 Former Virgin Money boss Dame Jayne-Anne Gadhia has said she believes women in the City are treated differently to men. Gadhia, who left Virgin Money to set up fintech startup Snoop, recalls being labelled a “bloody difficult woman” throughout her career. Speaking to entrepreneur podcast “Can I ask you a personal question?” she said: “There is [...]
Metro Bank agrees £12m deal for Ratesetter in lending push August 3, 2020 Metro Bank will snap up peer-to-peer lender Ratesetter after agreeing a £12m sale it hopes will push it into more profitable banking avenues. The challenger bank will pay an initial £2.5m, it said today, and another £9.5m over the three years following the completion of the deal, based on performance criteria. Daniel Frumkin, Metro Bank’s [...]