The Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme is boosting high loan-to-value lending December 17, 2015 The government's Help to Buy mortgage guarantee scheme, which offers greater protection for lenders, is boosting high loan-to-value (LTV) lending, according to new figures released today. The number of mortgage deals offering loans equal to 95 per cent of the value of a property climbed to 260 in November, the data from mortgage insurer Genworth [...]
City Moves for 17 December 2015 | Who’s switching jobs December 16, 2015 L&G Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) Real Assets has announced the appointment of Tony Doherty as head of product development in its business development team. Tony takes over from Dan Batterton who has moved into the new role of build-to-rent fund manager . Prior to joining LGIM Real Assets, Tony spent 15 years at [...]
Top regulator Andrew Bailey writes to challenger banks over Basel Committee buy-to-let capital requirement proposals December 15, 2015 A top City regulator has taken new steps to reassure Britain’s challenger banks about capital requirements ahead of a meeting today between bank bosses and Treasury officials. In a letter sent to challenger bank bosses today, Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) chief executive Andrew Bailey said that smaller lenders should not be overly worried about the [...]
London rents cool off as tenant demand softens December 15, 2015 London rents dropped in November as the market was hit by a seasonal slowdown. Figures published this morning by peer-to-peer mortgage lender Landbay show rents dropping 0.6 per cent compared with October. The monthly drop took annual London rental growth down to 3.1 per cent in November from 4.3 per cent. The dip in rental [...]
Getting onto the housing ladder is £2,300 a year cheaper than renting, says Santander December 14, 2015 First-time buyers could save £2,300 a year by getting on the property ladder compared to renting, according to research by Santander Mortgages. The average monthly rent in the UK is currently £995 compared to monthly repayments of £805 for the average first-time buyer household, meaning buyers could save £190 a month, the lender said. In [...]
Treasury to pave way for tighter control of the buy-to-let market December 14, 2015 Regulators are expected to consult on the buy-to-let mortgage market this week, as they pave the way for the next salvo on the booming sector. George Osborne has committed to launching a consultation before the end of the year on handing the Bank of England new powers to apply rigorous rules to the buy-to-let market. [...]
Challenger bank bosses to meet with Treasury this week over proposed new capital requirements for buy-to-let mortgage lenders December 13, 2015 Bosses from Britain’s challenger banks are expected to meet with Treasury officials this week to make the case for lower capital requirements for smaller lenders. Ten bank bosses are set to meet Charles Roxburgh, the Treasury’s director of financial services, on Wednesday. One source told City A.M. that while the banks will ask for a [...]
How P2P can take the strain of tighter bank capital rules December 10, 2015 Harriet Green asks Assetz Capital where platforms will go from here – and where the pitfalls lie Should retail investors be worried about the rise of institutional money in the peer-to-peer (P2P) industry? What should we think about the growing role of funds within it? And is it just banks who will find their [...]
UK house prices: repossessions drop by 55 per cent as north-south divide narrows December 4, 2015 Home repossessions have dropped by 55 per cent year-on-year across England & Wales, new figures released today show, thanks to the ongoing economic recovery. The gap between home repossessions in the north and south has also narrowed by 80 per cent since the recession to 1.1 per 1,000 households in the north compared 0.7 per [...]
Growing personal debt is a ticking time bomb and trouble will come when rates and inflation start to creep up December 3, 2015 It’s no surprise that we’re borrowing like there’s no tomorrow; prices are low, credit is cheap and coupled with wage growth you could say there’s a feeling of positivity in the air. Make the most of this sweet spot now; we’re watching a ticking time bomb and trouble is likely to be on the horizon. [...]