Fannie Mae comes to Maastricht as Dutch government backs mortgages October 28, 2013 The Netherlands will attempt to revive its faltering housing market by issuing mortgage bonds backed by the state, in a bid to prevent a credit crunch. The Dutch government is planning to establish a finance company to buy securitized mortgages with government-guaranteed home-loan bonds. The scheme is to be worth £42bn over five years. The [...]
Bank of America found liable for fraud at US trial October 23, 2013 BANK of America was found liable for fraud at trial yesterday, as part of a case over its Countrywide arm’s sale of defective mortgages dating back to the financial crisis. A New York jury found that Countrywide, which was bought by Bank of America in 2008, was liable for one charge of civil fraud. The [...]
The UK economic growth surge exposes the real evidence on bank lending October 23, 2013 WHEN Charlie Bean, deputy governor at the Bank of England, gave his speech this week on the UK’s economic outlook, he admitted that the Old Lady was surprised with what was happening. The Bank’s analysis showed that the “recent run of UK data has been unusually strong relative to market expectations”. There are “at last [...]
UK banks benefit from housing upturn as corporate lending remains weak October 23, 2013 Citi Research has released a report concluding that there is an increasing upside to UK banks. Analysts cite several positive indicators leading to a positive assessment of the sector. There was a significant increase in mortgage volumes in July and August, with gross mortgage lending for the eight months to August 2013 amounting to £99bn, [...]
What you need to know before the open – 23/10 October 23, 2013 US markets continued to climb yesterday after US job numbers missed expectations, sending the S&P500 to new record highs for the third day in a row. Despite the upward revision to the jobs data, markets seem to be interpreting this as a staving off of tapering. European markets seem more restrained this morning, following a [...]
Bank’s Bean says UK some way off a housing boom October 22, 2013 Charlie Bean, deputy governor for Monetary Policy at the Bank of England, has said that he thinks we are "still some way off seeing an unsustainable house-price boom" despite "increasingly noisy commentary" to that effect. The third override condition, delegated to the Bank’s Financial Policy Committee, relates to whether the monetary policy stance is resulting [...]
Banks lent less to businesses in three months to August October 18, 2013 (Bank of England) The Bank of England's latest Trends in Lending survey shows that, whilst bank lending to businesses in the three months to August fell, mortgage approvals for households rose markedly. So did lending to individuals. (Release) Net lending to businesses of all sizes fell by £2.3bn over the period. Net lending to businesses [...]
Why the clouds surrounding the banking industry may be starting to shift October 2, 2013 YOU COULD forgive me for being a little nervous at the prospect of the party conference season. Bankers have hardly been flavour of the month at these political jamborees in recent years. And at all three parties’ annual get togethers, there have previously been vocal elements unafraid to let rip at our industry – at [...]
Mortgage lending hits 2008 levels even before Help to Buy extension September 30, 2013 THE HOUSING market had begun picking up steam even before the government rushed forward the next stage of its Help to Buy scheme, Bank of England figures showed yesterday. In August, when lenders still believed that the latest set of mortgage guarantees would not be available until January, the number of mortgages approved rose to [...]
Mortgage numbers rise to February 2008 highs September 30, 2013 Mortgage numbers have swelled in the UK this August – hitting 66-month highs. They're up from 60,624 to 62,226 in a single month, above analyst estimates of a rise to 61,500. That's before the accelerated second stage of Help to Buy even kicks in. Yet at 62,226, mortgage approvals stand at 73.5 per cent of [...]