Lloyds loses mortgage market share as HSBC and RBS rise July 18, 2018 Lloyds lost market share in UK mortgages last year as Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), HSBC and a host of challengers gained, according to new data published today. Competitors to Lloyds bit off almost one per cent of their market share, which fell from 22.1 per cent to 21.2 per cent of mortgage balances outstanding [...]
Bank of Cyprus offloads UK subsidiary for £103m to ‘Cynergy’ consortium July 10, 2018 The Bank of Cyprus has agreed to sell its UK banking operations to a consortium of investors in a £103m deal. The all-cash sale, which will complete by the end of the year, comes as Bank of Cyprus refocuses its efforts on the Cypriot economy. The lender was bailed out in 2013 by European authorities, [...]
Positive thinking on negative equity: What to do if your home is worth less than your mortgage July 4, 2018 Less than a year ago, it was all talk of bubbles in the UK housing market. But we all know that what goes up must come down, and the first signs that the market was losing steam came at the start of this year. The market continues to look skittish, with the most recent figures [...]
Paragon buys Titlestone developer and loan book in £274m deal with Oaktree Capital Management July 3, 2018 Challenger bank Paragon today announced the purchase of £48m residential developer Titlestone and a £226m loan book from Oaktree Capital Management. Paragon, which offers mortgage and business lending, said the moves are part of a strategy to diversify into specialist lending markets. Titlestone advanced £274m in loans to small and medium-sized developers during the year [...]
Paragon buys Titlestone developer and loan book in £274m deal with Oaktree Capital Management July 3, 2018 Challenger bank Paragon today announced the purchase of £48m residential developer Titlestone and a £226m loan book from Oaktree Capital Management. Paragon, which offers mortgage and business lending, said the moves are part of a strategy to diversify into specialist lending markets. Titlestone advanced £274m in loans to small and medium-sized developers during the year [...]
Can the UK economy cope with sustained house price falls? June 19, 2018 Brexit uncertainty is far from over. Indeed, as we approach the crunch point in negotiations over the summer, we expect rhetoric of hard Brexit and a cliff edge to reach a crescendo, before a final deal is agreed in September or October. Meanwhile, business and consumer confidence are likely to continue to suffer, causing decisions [...]
UK mortgage borrowing soared in April with £4.4bn in new lending June 14, 2018 Mortgage lending in the UK increased considerably in April, according to a report published this morning by trade association UK Finance. UK Finance’s mortgage trends report revealed that there were 26,700 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in the month, some 3.5 per cent more than in the same month a year earlier. The £4.4bn of [...]
Fintech and funding: LendInvest’s path from adversity to opportunity June 13, 2018 Entrepreneurs often thrive in circumstances where traditional, established companies struggle – Microsoft, General Electric and Disney were all started during recessions. Nonetheless, 2008 was a precarious time to set up a mortgage business – as LendInvest co-founders Christian Faes and Ian Thomas candidly pointed out during a recent Leap 100 Breakfast. Although the online marketplace [...]
Don’t get caught up in your mortgage lender’s game of Space Invaders June 13, 2018 You might be familiar with Space Invaders – the computer game where you have to shoot aliens. According to UK Finance, that retro 70s game resembles the challenge that lenders face in the interest-only mortgage market. That is, once lenders have recouped cash from the easy targets (or borrowers), they then have to take [...]
TSB gave business customers 1,500 free Android smartphones to replace card readers prior to IT meltdown May 22, 2018 Under-fire lender TSB handed out around 1,500 free Android smartphones to business banking customers – ones which were rendered almost useless amid the lender’s calamitous IT upgrade. Firms were offered free phones to replace card readers as part of TSB’s planned lift-out from legacy Lloyds Bank systems. TSB wrote to businesses informing them card readers [...]