One Savings Bank and Charter Court shares soar after merger talks confirmed March 11, 2019 Shares in One Savings Bank and Charter Court Financial Services soared this morning on the news that the firms are in the final stages of talks regarding a potential merger. One Savings Bank saw its share price jump 9.84 per cent to 406p this morning, while Charter Court’s stock was up 10.31 per cent to [...]
One Savings Bank and Charter Court Financial Services Group confirm £1.6bn merger talks March 10, 2019 Challenger banks One Savings Bank and Charter Court Financial Services Group are in final talks over a potential £1.6bn merger, the firms have confirmed. The companies said they are in advanced discussions regarding an all-share combination, which would see One Savings Bank chief executive Andy Golding become the boss of the combined group. Read more: [...]
IFISA investments in local businesses mean you can support your community in exchange for attractive returns March 6, 2019 There is an old saying that goes: “Neither a borrower nor a lender be.” Originally taken from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, the line is about the risks of lending or borrowing money from your friends, because you might lose both the money and the friendship. Over time, the saying has morphed into a piece of general financial [...]
Co-operative Bank returns to operating profit for first time in five years but heavy IT costs leads to overall loss February 28, 2019 The Co-operative Bank returned to operating profit last year for the first time since 2013 but heavy IT costs and PPI payments led to the bank to widen overall losses. The bank said the return to profit was a “key milestone” as it continues to recovery from a restructuring in 2017 but warned of challenges [...]
Remortgaging in London hits decade high as homeowners capitalise on competitive deals February 27, 2019 Remortgaging in London has reached a decade-high and the number of first-time buyers also rose at the end of last year, according to UK Finance data. The number of new homeowner remortgages in the capital rose to 60,400 in 2018 – a 6.2 per cent increase on 2017 and the highest annual figure since 2008, [...]
Property legal Q&A: Can I change my solicitors part-way through the purchase of my flat? February 15, 2019 You do not say why you wish to change your solicitors, but among the most common reasons for doing so are dissatisfaction with the level of service being provided, where a conflict of interest has arisen, or the need for particular expertise. If you have a complaint about your solicitor, this can often be resolved [...]
Busting the millennial myth February 11, 2019 Last month I was invited to present at a conference in Berlin; I spent a couple of days preparing and got up at 4am to fly over. The speaker before me confidently told the audience that millennials lacked their elders’ work ethic so would drag down productivity and GDP growth. As I took to the [...]
Should we be worried about the rise of the Bank of Mum and Dad mortgage? January 30, 2019 In the years leading up to the financial crisis, it was relatively easy for wannabe homeowners to get loans for the full value of a property – otherwise known as a 100 per cent loan-to-value mortgage. Of course, we know the problems caused by these mammoth loans, and since then, affordability criteria have become stricter [...]
Legal Q&A: I bought a leasehold house 10 years ago and I am worried I may have difficulties selling it. What should I do? January 24, 2019 Firstly, please do not assume that a leasehold house is bad news. There are many parts of the UK, especially in London, where there are a considerable number of leasehold houses that are perfectly saleable and mortgageable. You need to look through the documents you received from your solicitor to check if whether there are [...]
DEBATE: Are falling house prices in London a good thing? January 18, 2019 Are falling house prices in London a good thing? Daniel Hegarty, founder and chief executive of digital mortgage broker Habito, says YES. Provided it stops at a pricing correction and doesn’t go further, the drop in house prices is good news. London’s sky-high prices have left the average 34-year-old first-time buyer needing to borrow 13 times [...]