Stressing out: Britain’s lenders will be ticked off by the Bank of England as new tests bite December 14, 2014 If you happen to stroll down to Threadneedle Street in the early hours of tomorrow morning and find a hive of activity do not be alarmed – it’s just the start of the Bank of England’s inaugural stress tests results. While most of London slumbers at 5am, prudential regulation authority (PRA) officials will be locked [...]
UK house price lull could be over as lending picks up December 11, 2014 The recent slowdown in house price growth may have already ended, a new set of data shows. House price growth accelerated to 11.3 per cent in November from 11 per cent in October, according to figures released today by LSL property services. The growth rates were lifted by London and the south east. “After a [...]
Northern Rock to repay £261m: Thousands of customers to receive over £6,000 each December 10, 2014 The remains of Northern Rock have been ordered to pay back £261m in interest and fees to borrowers, due to badly worded paperwork, the High Court decided yesterday. Northern Rock Asset Management (NRAM) is owned by the government, which nationalised the Newcastle-based lender when it collapsed in 2007. As a result, the bill for compensation [...]
Competition is boosting home loan borrowers December 9, 2014 MORTGAGE lending continued to make gains in the three months to September despite stricter rules on lenders, the Bank of England revealed yesterday. Mortgage advances totalled £55.9bn in the third quarter – an increase of 12.8 per cent compared with last year and the highest level of lending for six years. Meanwhile, the number of [...]
As the Bank says borrowers can cope with rate hikes, are fears of a repayment crisis overdone? December 8, 2014 Rob Wood, chief UK economist at Berenberg Bank, says Yes. Some households will be poorly prepared for a rise in rates, but this is a question of magnitude. The Bank of England yesterday showed that, if wages grow, even a 2 percentage point rise in rates would just increase the number of vulnerable households to [...]
Bank of England: Most mortgage borrowers could cope with an interest rate rise December 8, 2014 The majority of mortgage borrowers could cope if interest rates rose two percentage points, the Bank of England said today. According to the Bank's quarterly bulletin, which looked at the results of the annual NMG Consulting survey of household finances, if interest rates rose from their historic low of 0.5 per cent to 2.5 per [...]
It’s official: The Bank of England says mortgage borrowers could cope with an interest rate rise December 8, 2014 The majority of mortgage borrowers would be fine if interest rates rose, reckons the Bank of England. According to the Bank, if interest rates rose by two percentage points, just four per cent of mortgage borrowers would need to "take action", ie. cut their spending or work longer hours. That represents 1.3 per cent of [...]
Virgin Money snaps up £363m of credit card assets from MBNA December 1, 2014 Challenger bank Virgin Money yesterday bought another portfolio of credit card assets from MBNA, continuing its acquisition spree as the lender bulks up. Virgin Money paid £363m for the assets, 11 months after it bought a similar book for £1bn. The lender snapped up the good bank part of Northern Rock to fully launch itself [...]
Bank of England: UK mortgage approvals fall to their lowest since 2013 December 1, 2014 The number of mortgages approved by banks fell to their lowest since June last year in October, figures by the Bank of England showed today. There were 59,426 approvals for house purchases during the month, down from 61,234 in September. That's down from an average of 63,727 over past six months. Mortgage approvals have been [...]
Paragon Group banks on shift from home owning as Britain becomes nation of renters November 25, 2014 Britain is increasingly becoming a nation of renters rather than home owners, Paragon Group’s boss told City A.M. yesterday. The lender increased its buy-to-let mortgage loans by more than 80 per cent this year, as homes become increasingly unaffordable. On top of sharp price rises in London, the mortgage market review (MMR) rules put in [...]