Fewer UK mortgages in arrears May 12, 2011 The number of mortgages in arrears has continued to fall this year, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed yesterday. At the end of March 166,000 mortgages showed arrears of more than 2.5 per cent of the outstanding balance, down from 170,000 at the end of last year. While there has been a slight upturn [...]
House prices slide despite more activity May 9, 2011 HOUSE prices continued their decline last month despite increasing signs of the market stabilising, two separate surveys have shown. Prices were down 1.4 per cent in April, the Halifax announced yesterday, while this morning the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) revealed that 29 per cent of surveyors are still reporting falling prices, compared to [...]
House prices fall 1.4 per cent in April May 9, 2011 House prices fell 1.4 per cent in April, mortgage lender Halifax said. That confounded analysts’ forecasts for a rise of 0.1 per cent, and left average prices in the three months to April 3.7 per cent lower than a year earlier. The average price of a home stood at £160,395 pounds, according to the figures.
INTERIORS May 5, 2011 Tim Hassell DIRECTOR OF CENTRAL LONDON LETTINGS FIRM DRAKER LETTINGS, SPECIALISING IN BELGRAVIA, CHELSEA, KENSINGTON AND PIMLICO Q. I have received an offer on my property from a tenant who has a dog. Should I allow tenants to have pets? A. Generally pets such as dogs or cats can cause a lot of wear and [...]
Bank lending data shows slump May 4, 2011 Lending to consumers and homebuyers rose less than expected in March, Bank of England data showed, adding to evidence of a sluggish economy from the construction sector and falling house prices. A slew of weaker-than-expected data, kicked off by tepid first-quarter growth figures last week, have caused economists to push back their expectations of a [...]
US sues Deutsche Bank for more than $1bn for mortgage fraud May 3, 2011 GERMAN lender Deutsche Bank is to be sued by the United States for more than $1bn (£605m) over alleged mortgage fraud. The Frankfurt-based bank is accused of “years of reckless lending practices” by the US Justice Department. It is also accused of defrauding the federal government by repeatedly lying to obtain insurance guarantees on mortgage [...]
HSBC axes its Russian retail banking unit April 25, 2011 HSBC has become the latest international lender to pull the plug on its retail operations in Russia, as foreign banks struggle to crack the dominance of the country’s state-backed giants. The London-based bank’s exit follows that of Barclays, which quit its Russian retail banking operation last month. Barclay’s boss Bob Diamond said at the time [...]
Wells Fargo hit as drop in its revenues disappoints April 20, 2011 WELLS Fargo, the fourth-largest US bank, posted a decline in revenue sending its shares down 4.9 per cent as a bank known for outsmarting rivals turned in an average performance. Net earnings rose 50.5 per cent, but gains were driven mainly by setting aside less money to cover bad loans. The bank’s loan book shrank [...]
Gross mortgage lending springs back in March April 20, 2011 MORTGAGE lending bounced back in March from the previous month but is still two per cent lower than a year ago, data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) showed yesterday. Evidence of a seasonal recovery for the UK’s housing sector is emerging, as gross mortgage lending rose 21 per cent from £9.3bn in February [...]
Allied Irish Bank’s losses soar in 2010 April 12, 2011 ALLIED Irish Bank is to slash more than 2,000 jobs following annual results yesterday showing that it lost a staggering €12bn (£10.6bn) pre-tax last year due to ongoing toxic property loans. The loss is a more than four-fold increase on 2009. The bank reported an impairment rate of 28 per cent in its property and [...]