Don’t bet on strong bank earnings July 18, 2010 REACTIONS were mixed as the first of the season’s US bank earnings rolled in last week. Some analysts – like GFT’s David Morrison – were blaming poor revenue growth reported by Citigroup and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch (BoA-ML) on Friday for the subsequent dip in the S&P 500 as it plunged 2.09 per cent in [...]
Redstone fined £630K by FSA July 15, 2010 REDSTONE Mortgages has received a £630,000 fine from the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for failing to treat customers facing mortgage arrears fairly. The FSA said yesterday the fine, which could have been as high as £900,000 if the sub-prime lender had not co-operated with the regulator, was handed to Redstone for “a number of serious [...]
Mortgage overhaul hurts entrepreneurs July 15, 2010 NEWS that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) plans to overhaul the mortgage market may have left some entrepreneurs a little uneasy. From now on, to get a mortgage you need to pass an “affordability” check and self-certified mortgages will be banned. Business groups were quick to state the drawbacks of these plans: “Business owners who [...]
FSA mortgage plans under fire for punishing borrowers July 13, 2010 MORTGAGE bodies criticised the FSA’s plans to crack down on risky lending yesterday, as the regulator released full details of its paper on overhauling lending rules. The Building Societies Association said planned curbs on interest-only mortgages risk punishing credit-worthy customers. “The FSA needs to proceed with caution so as not to restrict their use as [...]
FSA SET TO RIP UP MORTGAGE RULES July 12, 2010 THE FINANCIAL Services Authority (FSA) unveiled plans to overhaul the mortgage market this morning, with some warning the changes will punish borrowers while doing little to tackle the number of repossessions. The FSA said in a report today it will impose “affordability tests” on all borrowers, effectively banning self-certified mortgages and further restricting credit for [...]
Mortgage lending up in May but outlook unclear July 12, 2010 MORTGAGE lending rose slightly in May thanks to continued record low interest rates, the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. It reported that 42,000 loans worth £6bn for house purchase were advanced in May, a 15 per cent increase on a year earlier. Remortgaging activity recovered a little as well in May, rising on [...]
BoA hid billions of dollars of debt through bad accounting July 11, 2010 BANK of America (BoA) has admitted it incorrectly classified figures of up to $10.7bn (£7.1bn) in short-term lending and repurchase deals for mortgage securities as sales. The lender said it had beefed up internal accounting controls after the transactions. It flagged up the fault to the Securities and Exchange Commission itself and no punitive action [...]
Property prices drop in June July 8, 2010 HOUSE prices in Britain dropped 0.6 per cent in June, the third successive monthly fall, a survey from mortgage lender Halifax has shown. Halifax said the decline was a continuation of a trend since the start of this year and was in line with its view that house prices would be broadly flat over 2010 [...]
Home loans at a 10-year low July 7, 2010 Mortgage lending by British banks last year fell to the lowest net level since 2000 and bank robberies rose for the first time in seven years as the recession took its toll. Net mortgage lending by British banks fell to £36.3bn last year, compared with £59.4bn the year before and almost £80bn in 2006, according [...]
Mortgage lending down – bank robberies up July 7, 2010 MORTGAGE lending by British banks last year fell to the lowest net level since 2000 and bank robberies rose for the first time in seven years as the economic recession took its toll. Net mortgage lending by British banks fell to £36.3bn last year, compared with £59.4bn the year before and almost £80bn in 2006, [...]