Proptech startup Habito lands £18.5m to make mortgages digital in series B led by Atomico September 3, 2017 A fintech startup focused on making mortgage applications easier has bagged millions more in funding from top investors. Atomico, the venture fund set up by Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom, led the £18.5m series B round with existing investors Ribbit Capital, Mosaic Ventures and Revolutionary (ad)Ventures also participating. It brings total funding for the startup – [...]
Proptech startup Habito lands £18.5m to make mortgages digital September 3, 2017 A fintech startup focused on making mortgage applications easier has bagged millions more in funding from top investors. Atomico, the venture fund set up by Skype founder Niklas Zennstrom, led the £18.5m series B round with existing investors Ribbit Capital, Mosaic Ventures and Revolutionary (ad)Ventures also participating. It brings total funding for the startup – [...]
Mortgage approvals jump to 16-month high while consumer credit growth slows, Bank of England figures show August 30, 2017 Mortgage approvals for house purchases jumped to a 16-month high in July, new figures from the Bank of England released today show. Last month, some 68,689 mortgages were approved, up from 65,318 in June and a seven-month low of 65,140 in April. Howard Archer, chief economic adviser for the EY Item Club, noted that July’s [...]
How to avoid paying the loyalty penalty on your mortgage August 2, 2017 Whether we think of family, friends or our pets, most of us see loyalty as a positive attribute to have. But for homeowners, it can be quite the opposite, as new evidence suggests many of us are forking out thousands of pounds every year in excessive mortgage fees by sticking with one lender. A [...]
The global financial crisis 10 years on: six charts that tell the story July 31, 2017 It is hard to believe but it is 10 years since the start of the global financial crisis. Triggered by a collapse in the US housing market it caused the deepest recession in living memory and the near-collapse of the financial system. Banks failed, government institutions were bailed out, stockmarkets crashed and countries had to [...]
Fears rise on £200bn debt pile as Moody’s warns Britons may be borrowing too much July 31, 2017 Rising levels of household borrowing at a time of macroeconomic weakness will cause Britons to struggle with loan repayments, according to influential ratings agency Moody’s, as consumer debt rose back over £200bn. Moody’s has changed its collateral outlook on two of the UK’s structured finance sectors to reflect the declining ability of Britons to make [...]
Why interest rates predictions have suddenly shifted July 11, 2017 Pressure is building for interest rates to be raised in the UK following a surge in inflation to a five-year high. Why are there fresh calls for rate rise? The Bank of England’s monetary policy committee (MPC) is tasked with keeping inflation at around 2% in the years ahead. But the consumer prices index (CPI) [...]
The Little Big Short: Subprime car loans could be fuelling the next financial crash July 11, 2017 Lenders are forgetting the lessons of the past. Those are the words of Mark Carney on the rapid growth of the car finance industry. It’s a decade since the financial crisis brought institutions around the world to their knees, triggered by a meltdown in subprime mortgages. Yet here we are again – the only [...]
RBS’ mis-selling fine is certain to highlight American hypocrisy, Worldpay’s bid invitation and no rush for the new Ofcom chair July 7, 2017 It was hard to suppress a laugh last week at the sanctimonious angst of corporate America at the fine doled out by Brussels over Google’s anti-competitive behaviour by favouring its shopping service over those of rivals. Those Europeans, came the wailing from across the Atlantic, are extracting money from flagship US companies with little justification. [...]
The new voice of British banking: UK Finance launches today with new board members revealed July 3, 2017 The British finance industry will be publicly represented from today by a single new body, UK Finance, after the merger of six separate lobby groups. The new body, which officially starts operations today at Angel Court, behind the Bank of England, will represent over 300 British firms providing credit, banking, markets and payments services. The [...]