Big banks could be forced to hold more capital February 27, 2013 The Financial Services Authority chairman, Lord Adair Turner, is currently before the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards. Our banking reporter Tim Wallace is following proceedings: Turner: Big banks could be forced to hold extra capital against mortgage lending because their internal models give them too easy a ride — Tim Wallace (@Tim_Wallace) February 27, 2013 [...]
First-time buys up to five year high in London February 26, 2013 FIRST-TIMERS rushed back to the London housing market in 2012, with first-time sales up to their highest since 2007. London housing transactions involving first-time buyers rocketed up 15 per cent between 2011 and 2012, from 32,400 to 37,300, according to Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) figures out yesterday. And the figure continued to rise through to the [...]
Strong start to the new year for Persimmon February 25, 2013 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon yesterday reported a sharp rise in full-year profits and said its strong performance has continued into 2013, with forward sales reaching £1bn. Britain’s largest housebuilder by market value said underlying profit before tax increased by 52 per cent to £225.1m in the year to 31 December while its operating margin rose 10 per [...]
RBS and Lloyds results look set to show losses February 24, 2013 STATE-BACKED banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group are both expected to announce full-year results this week, with analysts forecasting both lenders will remain loss-making. Investec believes RBS, which will deliver its 2012 figures on Thursday, will announce an attributable loss of £2.2bn for the final quarter – or a £5.6bn loss for [...]
Mortgage rates fall to new low with state aid February 21, 2013 MORTGAGE interest rates dropped to their lowest level ever in February, new figures showed yesterday, six months after the Bank of England started offering banks cheap funding in an effort to boost lending to the private sector. The average five-year fixed mortgage costs just 4.14 per cent, according to finance research site MoneyFacts. That is [...]
Buy to let loans grow to 12pc of market in 2012 February 14, 2013 THE BUY-TO-LET market enjoyed rapid expansion in 2012, ballooning back up towards its pre-recession peak, according to figures out yesterday. Buy-to let lending exploded 19 per cent between 2011 and last year, from £13.8bn to £16.4bn, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said. This boom saw it taking up 11.5 per cent of total gross [...]
Work placements for the unemployed make a lot of sense February 12, 2013 UNEMPLOYMENT remains obscenely high in today’s stagnant Britain, and far too many people – young and old – have been on the dole or on other out of work benefits for far too long. Anything that allows them to break out of their present predicament should be welcome. The government should be able to ask [...]
HSBC to publish regional loan data in new transparency drive February 12, 2013 HSBC will become the first major bank to publish regional lending data on a regular basis, City A.M. has learned, after business ministers called for the industry to become more transparent over the allocation of credit. Despite several state schemes, lending to businesses is falling so ministers are trying to find new ways to put [...]
House prices climb steadily through 2012 February 12, 2013 HOUSE prices chugged upwards steadily during last year, according to official statistics out yesterday. The average UK home was worth 3.3 per cent more at the end of 2012 than at end of 2011, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in its house price index, up from the 2.2 per cent annual growth seen [...]
Regulators fear loan insurance may be at risk February 11, 2013 TOUGHER rules are needed to make sure mortgage insurers are up to the job of protecting banks, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said yesterday, calling for closer supervision of the insurers. The group called for insurers to build up bigger capital buffers against potential losses as well as extra reserves to keep them safe [...]