Mortgage lending falls November 18, 2011 Gross mortgage lending decreased four per cent from September, down to an estimated £13.1bn in October, said the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) today. Though there was a 13 per cent increase from October 2010, up from £11.6bn, housing market activity is still low compared to long term averages, industry experts said. Housing prices are [...]
UK taxpayers swallow a loss on Rock sale November 17, 2011 THE GOVERNMENT accepted a loss of at least £400m yesterday as it offloaded the bailed-out lender Northern Rock for just over half of the cash it originally put into the bank. Virgin Money paid £747m in cash for the Rock, but promised that it would give the Treasury up to £280m more if it manages [...]
Government sells Northern Rock to Virgin Money November 17, 2011 The government has agreed to sell Northern Rock, the failed mortgage lender it nationalised in 2008, to Virgin Money, the banking arm of Richard Branson’s Virgin empire. “The sale of Northern Rock to Virgin Money is an important first step in getting the taxpayer out of the business of owning banks,” Chancellor George Osborne said [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING November 10, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES EXXON SIGNS KURD EXPLORATION CONTRACTS ExxonMobil has become the first of the “supermajor” oil companies to venture into Kurdistan, in a controversial move that will be seen as a huge vote of confidence in the semi-autonomous region of Iraq but could spark a backlash in Baghdad. Exxon, the largest international oil company, signed [...]
London still in housing price boom November 10, 2011 HOUSE prices in the capital are increasingly detached from those in the rest of the country as international wealth pours into London, according to a report from real estate adviser Savills, published today. Central London prices are set to grow by 22.7 per cent over the next five years, the report predicts, as over £4bn [...]
Firms are unclear on FPC’s role November 3, 2011 TOO LITTLE is known about the new Financial Policy Committee’s (FPC) role and instruments and how it will impact on lenders, Paul Smee, director-general of the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. Smee warned the post-Financial Services Authority (FSA) landscape for mortgages is going to become more complex under the Prudential Regulation Authority and [...]
House prices edge up in a soft market November 1, 2011 HOUSE prices nudged up last month, beating expectations for no change, driven by sales in more affluent areas, data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed yesterday. House prices rose 0.4 per cent in October having risen 0.1 per cent in September, pushing them 0.8 per cent higher than a year ago, the first time annual house [...]
BBVA sees impairments rise in Spanish business October 26, 2011 SPAIN’S second biggest lender, BBVA, saw profits drop and impairments in its core Spanish business rise in yesterday’s third-quarter results. The bank also gained market share in mortgages, increasing its exposure to the country’s troubled property market. Group pre-tax profits dropped by 21.2 per cent to €4.15bn (£3.61bn), while in Spain pre-tax earnings lost a [...]
Virgin Money to make second Northern Rock bid October 24, 2011 Virgin Money will put in a second round bid to buy nationalised bank Northern Rock, a shareholder has said. Billionaire investor Wilbur Ross, one of the biggest shareholders in Richard Branson’s high street lender, said the bid would be submitted tomorrow. Northern Rock was fully nationalised three years ago but the government has said it [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 20, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES KKR BETS ON CHINA SLOWDOWN WITH HK EXPANSION Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is set to expand into Hong Kong in an early bet by the US private equity group on a slowdown in the Chinese economy. The buy-out group, which is among the largest in the world, is planning to expand into Hong Kong [...]