Nationwide profits slip for second year running after planned mortgage retreat May 22, 2018 Nationwide, Britain’s biggest building society, today announced a slump in mortgage lending amid concerns of a “fiercely competitive market”. Net lending fell from £8.8bn to £5.8bn in the year to 4 April. Annual profit slipped seven per cent to £977m A planned retreat from the buy-to-let mortgage market was the driving force behind falling lending, [...]
Barclays Qatari loan fraud charges thrown out by Crown Court May 22, 2018 Barclays celebrated a significant victory over the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) yesterday when the Crown Court dismissed charges surrounding the bank’s huge capital raising during the financial crisis a decade ago. The SFO alleged that a $3bn (£2.2bn) loan Barclays gave Qatari investors led to the Qatari acquisition of shares in a Barclays fundraising, an [...]
Lloyds Bank share price rises after striking £4bn deal with Barclays to offload its loss-making Irish mortgage book May 18, 2018 Lloyds Bank today struck a deal to sell its multi-billion euro Irish property book to rival Barclays – a move that crystallises a £110m loss for the lender. Barclays, which is fronting the deal on behalf of a number of parties such as M&G Prudential, will pay £4bn for a mountain Lloyds’ residential mortgages from [...]
Royal Bank of Scotland boss Ross McEwan rejects suggestions he will quit: ‘The job’s not done yet… I’d like to be around a little longer’ May 11, 2018 Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Ross McEwan has hit back at reports he is preparing to step down, today insisting he wants to remain at the helm until 2020. The New Zealander wants to oversee the return of the state-backed bank back to private ownership. Yesterday RBS announced it had finally ticked off one [...]
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors: London house prices predicted to keep falling as market has worst month since 2009 May 10, 2018 London’s housing market has experienced its worst month in nearly a decade, with surveyors expecting prices to drop even further over the next year. A highly-regarded survey published this morning reveals that 65 per cent more property surveyors saw London prices fall during April rather than rise, the weakest reading since February 2009. Sinking prices [...]
Challenger bank Paragon confirms it’s in talks to acquire housebuilders’ lender Titlestone May 8, 2018 Challenger bank Paragon has revealed it is in the “early stages of considering a possible acquisition of Titlestone”, a firm which lends to residential developers. Though FTSE 250-listed Paragon – which focuses on mortgages, savings and providing business finance – did not expand on how much it was likely to offer for Titlestone, the housebuilders’ [...]
Oliver Holbourn, the head of UKFI which manages the government’s stake in RBS, is set to join the bank as head of strategy May 5, 2018 Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is set to get a new head of strategy, as it recruits the man who has spend the last several years managing the government’s stake in the bank. Oliver Holbourn, who was formerly chief executive of UK Financial Investments (UKFI), is in talks with RBS about taking the senior role, [...]
FCA says UK’s 150,000 ‘mortgage prisoners’ need help switching to better deals May 4, 2018 The UK’s financial watchdog has said it wants to help around 150,000 “mortgage prisoners” who are trapped in their current borrowing find a better deal. Releasing its interim report into the mortgage market this morning, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said that there were a number of ways in which the industry could work better [...]
Bank of England official warns of risks building in the British mortgage market April 19, 2018 A top Bank of England official has warned that the UK’s mortgage market is showing signs of increasing risk in a speech today. Alex Brazier, executive director for financial stability strategy and risk at the Bank of England, said that the UK’s mortgage market was showing signs of greater risk. “A sharp slowing in credit [...]
How to sell the home of a relative following a death in the family April 6, 2018 Selling a property after a death in the family can be difficult for many reasons. Whoever has been named executor of the deceased’s will is forced to sort through the home of someone who was very dear to them, whilst also dealing with the many complications that come with selling a property. To help simplify [...]