BBA: UK high street banks approved fewer mortgages than expected in April as stamp duty surge ends May 26, 2016 The number of mortgages approved by high street banks last month fell more than expectations, after a surge in the start of the year driven by the rush to buy before new stamp duty charges came in. BBA figures out this morning show that the number of mortgages approved in April fell to 40,104 – [...]
Week ahead: Investors look to economic data as G7 leaders meet May 22, 2016 Market movements this week will be heavily influenced by both the meeting of the group of seven world leaders in Japan and a flood of economic data throughout the week. After a strong finish on Friday, with the FTSE 100 closing up 102.97 points to end the week at 6,156.32, investors will be looking for [...]
Buy to let stampede not enough to stop mortgage lending from rising in April May 19, 2016 The housing market shows no sign of letting up as mortgage lending came to a post-crisis high for the month of April, despite the buy to let stampede in March. Gross mortgage lending – the amount dished out by lenders to people buying new homes – came in at £18.5bn in April, up 16 per cent over the year [...]
Confident challenger OneSavings Bank reveals net loans and advances growth May 11, 2016 OneSavings Bank revealed today that its net loans and advances had grown in a trading statement ahead of its AGM, with its chief executive noting that the challenger bank remained "confident" for the year ahead. The bank, which launched in 2011, reported that net loans and advances grew by £460m in its first quarter of the year, [...]
Bank of England: Yes, there was a mortgage stampede in March April 29, 2016 The final – and perhaps most definitive – proof that mortgage lending surged in March has been published by the Bank of England this morning, showing just how much tax changes distorted the property market. After a string of industry reports said that investors and landlords rushed to snap up houses before the three per cent [...]
EU votes through law designed to prevent Libor rigging April 28, 2016 The European parliament today voted to approve a new law designed to make the manipulation of benchmark rates, such as Libor and Euribor, much trickier to do. The legislation, which aims to make the rate setting process more transparent and less likely to be subject to conflict of interests, was voted through by 505 votes to 113. [...]
Purrplexing: Halifax faces questions over decision to give “dodgy”, “high-risk borrower” Top Cat a mortgage loan April 28, 2016 Halifax's latest advert has left some purrplexed. The bank has been teased over its decision to make Top Cat the star of a mortgage advert. In the clip, the gangster cat is approved a loan in a branch of Halifax. Read more: That Robert Dyas Christmas ad: What were they thinking? But some on social media have [...]
Property market mushrooms in March as mortgage borrowing hits a post-crisis high April 26, 2016 The property market was in full swing last month with yet another industry report showing mortgage lending shot up as investors piled in to beat the stamp duty surcharge which came into effect on 1 April. According to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), banks and building societies dished out £17.1bn to people taking out mortgages in March – [...]
London house prices will continue to grow even if the UK leaves the EU, say homeowners April 21, 2016 Parts of London's property market might be stumbling, but that's not stopping the capital's homeowners being the most confident people in the country that Brexit would not affect their house prices. Foolhardy? Maybe. But according to a new survey, London's homeowners expect to see double-digit growth in their property prices over the next six months – [...]
Persimmon narrowly dodges revolt over new director Nigel Mills and executive pay, as shares slump over sales slowdown April 14, 2016 Persimmon narrowly avoided a revolt today over the appointment of Nigel Mills to the board after shareholders raised concerns over his links to the housebuilder's financial advisers. More than 47 per cent of shareholders voted against appointing Mills as an non-executive director at the company's annual general meeting held at York race course – with 107m votes in favour [...]