UK housing market in moderate pick up March 1, 2011 SIGNS of life emerged from the UK’s ailing housing market yesterday, with mortgage approvals edging upwards and house prices recording an unexpected rise. Approvals rebounded by seven per cent from December’s slump, to number 45,723 in January, according to the Bank of England. Meanwhile, the Nationwide house price index was up 0.3 per cent in [...]
Mortgage approvals pick up in January March 1, 2011 Mortgage approvals picked up more than expected in January and mortgage lending rose to its highest in almost a year, Bank of England figures showed. However, consumer credit contracted at its fastest pace in over a year and money supply growth remained weak, suggesting overall credit conditions remained far from normal at a time of [...]
Appetite for borrowing stays low as mortgage market remains in slump February 23, 2011 BRITAIN’S slump in mortgage lending continued in January, the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) revealed yesterday. Mortgage approvals for house purchases stuck at 28,932 for the month – virtually unchanged from December’s figure of 28,907, which was close to a two-year low. Mortgage approvals tumbled 20.9 per cent year-on-year, to less than half the average monthly [...]
UK property market stagnant February 23, 2011 The UK property market is still stalled, according to figures from the British Bankers’ Association. The BBA said mortgages approved by its members in January for home buyers were 29 per cent lower than a year ago. They approved just 28,932 loans for house purchase, although this was slightly higher than in December. Meanwhile property [...]
BoE says mortgage lending flat in January February 18, 2011 The country’s major lenders approved 41,000 mortgages for house purchase in January, the Bank of England said on Friday, the same number as in December and a further sign that the housing market remains in the doldrums. The BoE, updating its Trends in Lending statistics, said net mortgage lending picked up slightly in January to [...]
The top ten real causes of the crisis February 9, 2011 IN the end, Merlin turned out a damp squib. This is goodish news, because the deal is based on a faulty interpretation of the crisis. Here are the ten most important causes of our problems. 1) Loose, ultra-interventionist monetary policy from central banks that kept stepping in whenever growth slowed or the stock market fell. [...]
Merlin claims to boost lending to businesses February 9, 2011 HOUSTON, we have an agreement.” So joked one of the chancellor’s key allies yesterday, clearly relieved to have finally signed a deal of sorts with the four Merlin banks. But the government has got precious little for the weeks it has spent locked in negotiations with HSBC, RBS, Lloyds and Barclays. Here City A.M. looks [...]
Grainger sales fall as it reshapes debt February 9, 2011 LANDLORD Grainer yesterday said its sales pipeline has dropped £20m year-on-year, and that it has taken steps to streamline its debt with a £100m facility with M&G Investments, an arm of Prudential. FTSE 250 member Grainger, the UK’s largest listed housing landlord, yesterday said that sales between October and January dropped 32 per cent by [...]
Santander in £3.6bn deal February 7, 2011 SANTANDER will splash out 16.58bn Polish zloty (£3.6bn) on a full buy-out of Poland’s third-biggest banking franchise, Bank Zachodni WBK, the bank announced yesterday. Santander, led by chief executive Alfredo Sáenz, confirmed that a formal offer of 227 zloty (£49) per share in cash has been accepted by Allied Irish Banks, which owns 70 per [...]
Housing market dip continues February 3, 2011 Mortgage approvals dipped in January, according to chartered surveyors e.surv. Purchase approvals were down 6.2 per cent, it reported. “Far fewer people were able to get out and about house hunting in December with snow disrupting travel or simply offering something more fun to do at the weekend,” said e.surv’s Richard Sexton. “As a result, [...]