London startup Ahauz is helping millennials buy a home with an innovative new Help to Buy-style scheme January 31, 2018 Forget ditching coffee and avocados, a new startup which describes itself as the “bank of mum and dad for everyone” is aiming to help more young people get on the property ladder with an innovative take on the Help to Buy scheme. Ahauz is set to start offering first-time buyers help by offering a loan [...]
Challenger bank Paragon boosts mortgage lending despite crackdown on buy-to-let loans January 23, 2018 Mortgage specialist Paragon has pulled a rabbit out of the hat once more, as it has boosted mortgage lending by 84 per cent year-on-year despite a government crackdown in its core buy-to-let market. The challenger bank increased its buy-to-let mortgage book by 85 per cent to £342.9m, battling through stricter underwriting rules introduced by the [...]
Wells Fargo has cashed in on Donald Trump’s tax reforms January 12, 2018 US banking giant Wells Fargo said today it benefited to the tune of $3.35bn (£2.46bn) in the fourth quarter of last year, after Donald Trump slashed corporation tax. The lender said although it had incurred costs of $370m on adjustments to leveraged leases, low income housing and tax-advantaged renewable energy investments, as well as a [...]
Banks expect significant tightening in consumer lending in first quarter says Bank of England survey January 11, 2018 British banks are planning to rein in their lending to consumers further over the first quarter as regulators’ efforts to raise lending standards start to bear fruit. Lenders expect a “significant decrease” in the availability of unsecured credit – such as consumer loans and credit cards – in the first quarter of this year, according [...]
What’s up with mortgage rates? December 20, 2017 Last month, we saw economic policy turn a corner, with the first base rate rise in the UK since the start of the financial crisis. Savers now see the light at the end of the tunnel after being burdened with pitiful interest rates for years. Yet in the same breath, if you’re a homeowner, you’ll [...]
Millennial mortgages are here: Automatic switching is go at proptech startup Trussle December 19, 2017 The era of millennial mortgages has arrived. A couple from London are the first homeowners to switch their mortgage automatically and entirely online, without the hassle of searching new deals and lengthy paperwork, thanks to an innovative property technology startup. Trussle's switching alert lets users know when they should remortgage to find a better deal. [...]
How the UK’s regulatory framework protects P2P investors December 7, 2017 The peer-to-peer (P2P) lending market was established in 2005, when Zopa became the first platform to connect individual lenders directly with borrowers. Since then, the market has evolved rapidly, as have the regulations underpinning investor protection – and this looks set to continue. In the UK, the sector has been overseen by the [...]
A stroke of genius: How to get a loan by securing against art November 30, 2017 The world was stunned earlier this month when a 500-year-old Leonardo da Vinci painting smashed the world record by fetching $450m at auction. This figure might sound absurd, but understanding the multitude of factors that determine the value of art will remain a mystery to many of us. “Art is very personal,” says Freya [...]
What will innovation look like in 2018? Bird & Bird’s Digital Innovators tell us all about the year ahead November 24, 2017 In a year when quantum computing made major leaps forward and using your face as a password became a reality, you’d be forgiven for being hard pushed to imagine just how much further technology can take us. But 2018 will certainly be a year for driving even more innovation for the 50 up-and-coming companies chosen [...]
Deutsche Bank opts for Barclays, Citigroup and Credit Suisse to be senior bookrunners on its asset management arm IPO, Reuters reports November 11, 2017 Deutsche Bank has chosen Credit Suisse, Barclays and Citigroup to be the senior bookrunners for the flotation of its asset management unit, according to reports. A source close to the matter told Reuters Deutsche Bank had selected the heavyweight lenders to assist the initial public offering, though a spokesman for Deutsche Asset Management declined to [...]