Learning the hard way: As the interest on student loans rises further, should parents help their children cut the cost of going to university? August 24, 2016 As school leavers jumped for joy at their A-Level results last week, parents may have had cause to grimace. Despite the government’s emphasis on apprenticeships, a university degree remains a passport to higher paid employment. Nevertheless, the costs of higher education have spiralled in recent years, and students are having to take on much larger student [...]
Bank of America escapes $1.3bn fine after court declines to go back on decision August 22, 2016 Bank of America has dodged a $1.3bn (£990m) fine, after a US court decided to drop the issue. The 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals in New York opted not to reconsider its previous decision to overturn the bumper penalty the bank had been initially slapped with after a jury decided the lender was liable for mortgage [...]
The government’s high-profile Help to Buy scheme has come under fire because extra financial support cannot be used towards deposits August 20, 2016 A government scheme to support first-time buyers has been blasted by political rivals because a so-called "top-up" on savings cannot be used towards the deposit on a new home. Revealed in the pre-election 2015 Budget, the Help to Buy ISA provided a government boost to savings at a rate of 25 per cent. So a saver [...]
Bringing home the bacon: Three ways you can use alternative finance to invest in property August 18, 2016 Property crowdfunding and marketplace lending aren’t for everyone. The former can involve high fees, and you won’t know what your investment is worth without selling it – which can be hard if you’re buying a stake alongside numerous other people. There are risks even with the latter. The property market is very sensitive to the [...]
Saving no longer as easy as 1, 2, 3: Santander chops interest rate on top account – and now Lloyds is considering a rate change too August 15, 2016 Santander has today confirmed it is slashing interest rates on its popular 1,2,3 account to 1.5 per cent, while Lloyds has revealed it is mulling its options. Santander's change in rate will be effective from 1 November, and it is also making some changes to the overdraft rates. In a statement issued this morning, the bank [...]
The number of mortgages in arrears and repossessions fell in the last quarter August 11, 2016 The number of mortgages in arrears continued to fall in the second quarter, reaching its lowest level since records began. According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML), at the end of June there were 92,500 mortgages in arrears of at least 2.5 per cent of the total mortgage outstanding – down from 95,900 at [...]
Aldermore becomes the latest challenger bank to shrug off Brexit with 50 per cent boost to profits August 11, 2016 Aldermore has today reported a huge boost to its bottom line, while revealing it feels it can keep on smiling throughout the Brexit uncertainty. The figures The challenger bank reported profit before tax of £59m for the first half of 2016, up 50 per cent from the prior year's £40m. Meanwhile, underlying profit before tax increased to £63m, [...]
First-time buyers secured more mortgages in June than at any other point since August 2007 August 10, 2016 First-time buyers boosted mortgage lending in June as tax changes designed to deter buy to let landlords took effect. June mortgage lending was up by 29 per cent month-on-month, according to lending data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). Mortgage lending was up by 12 per cent compared to the same month last year. First-time [...]
Rents continued to climb in July – but the rate of growth is slowing August 9, 2016 Rents kept climbing in July – but the rate of growth is cooling in the second half of the year. According to data from Homelet, rents agreed on new tenancies in the UK over the past three months increased by 2.3 per cent as compared to the same period last year – excluding London. Read [...]
Fintech founders choose their favourite business books August 8, 2016 Stuck for what to read this summer and want to use the time improving your business acumen? City A.M. has asked five of London’s leading fintech founders what they’d recommend. Hiroki Takeuchi, co-founder of GoCardless, the online direct debit provider Five dysfunctions of teams, by Patrick Lencioni I love books that introduce me to [...]