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 [...]
What the other papers say this Morning October 9, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Channel Islands unite over deficits Guernsey and Jersey are setting aside centuries of rivalry to defeat a common foe: the budget deficit. Senior politicians on the two islands, which have struggled to balance their books since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, are considering radical moves to combine public services, including [...]
Boost for mortgage lending October 8, 2012 The number of mortgages available to prospective home-buyers has started to expand, according to the Moneysupermarket website. The group also claimed that lenders are offering high loan to value (LTV) ratio deals. “Since April, there has been a 14 per cent increase in the number of 75 per cent LTV mortgages available, rising from 636 [...]
Nationwide to scrap interest-only loans October 4, 2012 ONE of the UK’s biggest mortgage lenders yesterday said it would withdraw interest-only mortgages to future homeowners from next week, in a further sign of the squeeze on higher risk lending. Nationwide Building Society, the third biggest mortgage lender in the country, wrote to brokers yesterday saying it would stop offering the mortgage on 11 [...]
Halifax data points to house prices stuck in the doldrums October 4, 2012 HOUSE PRICES slipped in September, according to data released by Halifax yesterday, adding to the evidence suggesting a weak housing market. The average UK house price slipped 0.4 per cent during September to £159,586, the Halifax house price index showed, with analysts putting the decline down to poor fundamentals. “The generally weak economic climate remains [...]
EU reveals new crackdown on biggest banks October 2, 2012 BANKS across Europe will be split by new ringfencing rules, and be forced to hold more capital against mortgages in EU plans outlined yesterday. The new plans are aimed at making banking safer, but lawyers warned they will increase banks’ costs, hitting consumers and the wider economy, as well as causing confusion as they do [...]
Lenders should reflect changes by offering 50-year mortgages October 1, 2012 LENDERS should consider offering mortgages for terms of up to 50 years, according to a report released yesterday by City giant Legal & General. The research compares 35-year-olds today with their equivalent in 1977 and alleges that the financial services industry has failed to keep up with demographic changes. Highlighting increases in intergenerational dependency and [...]
Britain needs more venture capitalism – not a state bank September 25, 2012 HERE is a simple question. What do you think would do more to help the provision of finance for small firms? Vince Cable’s new state bank, which will begin its operations in 18 months’ time, or a radically improved tax system to improve the provision of equity financing and venture capital? In other words, is [...]
We will soon find out whether America’s recovery is real September 23, 2012 FEDERAL Reserve chief Ben Bernanke took aim at the housing market this month, saying it was one missing piston in the economic engine. The Case-Shiller Home Price Index tomorrow will be the economic equivalent of a peek under the US bonnet at the start of the third quarter, with some wondering if the hum of [...]
Crest Nicholson mulls return to stock market September 20, 2012 CREST Nicholson, one of the UK’s biggest housebuilders, is mulling a return to the stock market five years after it was taken over during the housing crisis as it looks to take advantage of returning optimism in the housebuilding sector. A source familiar with the company told City A.M that a flotation was one of [...]