Lenders fear new housing bubble most August 27, 2013 NEARLY two thirds of lenders suggest that an artificial boom in house prices is the biggest threat to George Osborne’s Help to Buy scheme. Both brokers and lenders think that a price bubble is most likely to jeopardise the policy, with 59 per cent and 60 per cent respectively citing it as one of the [...]
Regional gulf as house lending hits 2008 level August 20, 2013 MORTGAGE lending in July leapt back to levels last seen five years ago, but some parts of the country are still yet to see any boost from the budding recovery to the housing market. According to staggering figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) yesterday, gross mortgage lending rose to £16.6bn in July, [...]
Record bad loans still hitting Spain’s banks August 19, 2013 THE BANK of Spain suggested yesterday that bad loans are still haunting the country’s financial system, with a record 11.6 per cent of lending going to people categorised as doubtful debtors. According to the central bank’s balance sheet, which calculates total lending by Spanish credit institutions, in June €176.42bn (£150.59bn) was extended to customers who [...]
Rising lending sparks surge in house prices August 12, 2013 THE PROPERTY market is steaming ahead of the rest of the economy, as mortgage lending and a surge of buyers in July drive the UK’s emerging recovery. Figures revealed today show that July saw the largest rise in house prices since before the crash, after statistics out yesterday confirmed that lending to first-time buyers [...]
Buy-to-let loans surge to 5-year high in fresh boom August 8, 2013 LENDING to buy-to-let landlords has soared to its highest level in nearly five years thanks to strong tenant demand and increased mortgage availability. Lenders advanced 40,000 mortgages worth £5.1bn in the three months to the end of June, up 21 per cent in value on the previous quarter and the highest since 2008, according to [...]
What the other papers say this morning for 8 August 2013 August 7, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES High-speed orbital rail for London A new high-speed “rail bagel” encircling London will become a priority for the capital as its population soars to 10m over the next 20 years, Boris Johnson’s transport adviser has said. Isabel Dedring, deputy mayor for transport at City Hall, said new light-rail and tram services – now [...]
Ratings agency says Help to Buy will push up house prices August 6, 2013 Ratings agency Fitch has said that chancellor George Osborne's mortgage backing scheme Help to Buy will "probably push up house prices" (release). The policy is also unlikely to help with very low housing supply, Fitch says that the "impact on the number of new homes built is less clear". House builders stand to benefit, but [...]
Legal bills drag down Deutsche Bank’s earnings July 30, 2013 GERMAN lender Deutsche Bank saw profits plunge on soaring litigation fees in the second quarter, the institution announced yesterday, while it had to announce further cuts to operations to hit new regulatory capital targets. Net income fell 50 per cent to €335m (£291.5m), despite net revenues rising two per cent to €8.2bn. Corporate banking and securities [...]
Spain’s lenders show recovery in line with healing economy July 25, 2013 THREE Spanish banks reported strong growth in profits in the first half of the year yesterday, as new official data showed joblessness down for the first time in two years. Any economic improvement should help banks, which were hit hard by the recession, as households fell behind on paying their mortgages after the property boom. [...]
Hedge fund in £400m deal for Northern Rock’s bad assets July 24, 2013 NORTHERN Rock’s so-called bad bank has sold £400m of unsecured personal loans, government agency UK Asset Resolution (UKAR) announced yesterday. The better performing loans are going to OneSavings Bank, a lender that is backed by US hedge fund JC Flowers. And the lower quality loans are going to Marlin Financial Group. The combined deals cover [...]