Bubble fears too high – the housing market is ordinary September 19, 2013 The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has announced that gross mortgage lending remained steady in August at an estimated £16.6bn. (Release) In July, the figure was £16.7bn and up 28 per cent from August 2012 (£13bn). Not unexpectedly, the CML highlighted that: Prospects for the UK economy continue to brighten, although there is a risk [...]
Ireland’s central bank lays down tougher goals on mortgage debt September 17, 2013 IRELAND’S central bank and bailout lenders set the country’s lenders tougher targets yesterday to solve a mortgage arrears crisis that has left one in five of all Irish homeowners unable to repay their loans. Ireland took an €85bn bailout in 2010 after rescuing its banks, whose easy lending had fuelled a credit bubble, and the [...]
Mortgage rates could be on the rise September 17, 2013 With rising costs and house price highs spooking homebuyers, shop around for a good deal NEWS that house prices in England have hit record highs – now 0.9 per cent higher than their previous peak in January 2008 – has heightened fears that the government’s Help to Buy subsidised mortgage scheme is fuelling a housing [...]
Five years since Lehman failure heralded crisis September 15, 2013 THIS WEEKEND marked the fifth anniversary of the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the landmark moment that began the sharp spiral into the financial crisis. The iconic investment bank was declared bankrupt after more than 150 years of business, and its web of complex trades around the world baffled investors and regulators, and sparked panic globally. [...]
Risky loans are back as house market booms September 12, 2013 MORTGAGE lending is up by almost one-third on the year, according to industry data out yesterday, as borrowers gain confidence and the market gathers pace. And the belief that a boom could be underway was backed up again by figures from surveyors group e.surv showing a rise in high loan to value mortgages. In July [...]
Lloyds ordered to give another £240m to help build new TSB September 11, 2013 NEW HIGH street lender TSB was given another boost last night as the Office for Fair Trading (OFT) said its parent Lloyds should give it more financial help to establish a foothold in the market. The decision is believed to remove the final hurdle before the government can go ahead with selling Lloyds Bank, as [...]
First time buyer loans swell by nearly a third September 10, 2013 MORTGAGE lending to first time buyers has jumped upward, rising by 31 per cent to £8bn in the year to June, according to Bank of England figures released yesterday. New government schemes to boost activity in the housing market appear to have had the desired effect in the second quarter, as the Funding for Lending [...]
Gross new lending hits record high as Help to Buy kicks in September 10, 2013 Figures published today by the Bank of England (BoE) and Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) show new high for gross new lending and interest rates on gross new lending for the second quarter, since the start of the series in 2007. Mortgage lenders and administrator statistics show record levels; at 1.6 percentage points higher than [...]
Osborne has defeated Ed Balls – but UK’s economy still fragile September 9, 2013 WITH the economy finally growing much more quickly, it is no surprise that the chancellor chose yesterday to show off about it. He is certainly right to be celebrating having seen off Labour’s Ed Balls, whose strident opposition to modest cuts and claims they would inflict permanent havoc are no longer credible. Osborne is also [...]
TSB opens doors as bank prepares Lloyds spin off September 8, 2013 THE NEW TSB Bank will open its doors to customers this morning, as the spin-off from Lloyds Banking Group unveils its rebranded high-street sites. When it is fully sold off from Lloyds, the 632 branches will represent a new competitor on the high street and has pledged to focus on local, traditional retail banking. Its [...]