US mortgage applications slump despite more relaxed loan terms October 31, 2012 US CREDIT conditions on bank loans eased in the three months to October, data showed yesterday, but this improvement was not enough to boost demand for mortgages, according to separate statistics. Banks are dropping both standards and terms, the Federal Reserve said, driven by fierce competition from other banks as well as non-bank lenders. US [...]
Tougher income checks if you want a mortgage October 24, 2012 INTEREST ONLY mortgages will not be banned under new proposals published by the regulator today, but banks will have to be more careful to ensure borrowers can pay back the loans. The richest borrowers will not need to go through extensive affordability checks under the new mortgage market review (MMR), while small changes to contracts [...]
The new loan rules October 24, 2012 ■ All borrowers will have to satisfy lenders they can afford the mortgage and provide evidence of their income ■ High loan-to-value mortgages will still be allowed as long as the borrower shows they have a credible repayment strategy ■ The same tests will apply to interest-only mortgages – a lighter regulation than the complete [...]
Will the FSA’s new mortgage lending rules help to improve the UK’s housing market? October 24, 2012 YES Tony Ward At last, we can stop speculating about what may come out of the mortgage market review, and get on with the business of mortgage lending. Much has been carried over from previous consultation papers and the FSA has gone out of its way to incorporate industry feedback. There is an argument that [...]
No shortage of literature for banking bookworms this month October 23, 2012 RECENT City A.M. award winner and property giant Westfield welcomed the Prime Minister’s wife to their Shepherd’s Bush store yesterday. Samantha Cameron, ambassador of Save the Children, gave a special reading of The Snail and the Whale at Foyles Bookstore to a group of children from Larmenier & Sacred Heart primary school. But for grown-up [...]
Small lenders fear new rules only aid giants October 22, 2012 FINANCIAL regulators are failing to promote competition in the banking sector and perpetuating the “too big to fail” problem, a small bank claimed yesterday, by favouring big lenders under new capital requirements. Paul Lynam, chief executive of Secure Trust Bank, pointed to Sir John Vickers’ proposals allowing a large bank to risk-weight mortgages at five [...]
Bank data reveals loans drop despite Funding for Lending October 18, 2012 NET lending was negative in August, statistics showed yesterday, with more businesses paying off debt than taking more out. The net monthly flow of lending to businesses was minus £2.2bn in the month, according to Bank of England data. The total stock of lending shrunk 2.2 per cent at an annualised rate in the three months to [...]
Wheatley’s new City watchdog shows its teeth October 16, 2012 THE FINANCIAL Conduct Authority (FCA) yesterday unveiled its plan to regulate behaviour in the City, pledging to force companies to “put consumers at the heart of their business”. Martin Wheatley, who will be chief executive of the FCA when it is spawned from the disbanding Financial Services Authority (FSA) next year, outlined its approach. New [...]
It might be prime time to refinance October 14, 2012 HISTORICALLY low interest rates and government schemes mean that it may make sense, for some borrowers at least, to remortgage their homes. But data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders serves as a stark reminder as to how tight conditions still are. In 2011, £46.6bn worth of remortgages were taken out by borrowers in 375,000 [...]
BBA’s Browne set to face MPs October 11, 2012 THE NEW head of the British Bankers’ Association will tell MPs next week what the industry body thinks of new powers set to be handed to the Bank of England. A new committee within the Bank could soon be able to impose capital rules for lenders and set charges to dampen lending in overheated parts [...]