US property loans may fail February 11, 2010 US banks face a fresh crisis as a wave of commercial property loans threatens to go sour. The US Congressional Oversight Panel (COP), which monitors government spending under the $700bn (£450bn) bailout programme, has warned that $1.4 trillion of loans covering commercial premises such as offices, shops and factories will mature between 2011 and 2014. [...]
Britain’s eurozone liabilities revealed February 11, 2010 THE exposure of Britain to the eurozone’s weakest members was laid bare last night as French and German officials scrambled to agree a rescue package for Greece. Based on Bank for International Settlement numbers, in total the UK’s financial sector has just under £250bn in exposure to Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain (Piigs). The data [...]
Repossessions fall as rates kept low February 11, 2010 THE number of homes repossessed in 2009 reached its highest level since 1996 but an unexpected decline in repossessions in the fourth quarter saw the annual figure beat forecasts, the Council for Mortgage Lenders (CML) said yesterday. A 13 per cent fall in the number of repossessions in the fourth quarter meant that only 46,000 [...]
Virgin Money wins acceptances for Church House Trust purchase February 9, 2010 VIRGIN Money yesterday said it had received acceptances from shareholders representing all of the voting rights for small bank Church House Trust, which it is buying to gain a full UK banking licence. The company, headed by Jayne Anne Gadhia, has already confirmed its interest in buying assets from Northern Rock, Lloyds Banking Group and [...]
Bank urged to support lenders February 8, 2010 The Bank of England needs to extend its £300bn support package to lenders or risk intensifying the drought in credit, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders. The CML warned the cost of borrowing for individuals could soar if the Bank withdrew its props too soon.
Exiled banker thrown $7.5m lifeline by CIT February 8, 2010 Ousted banker John Thain has been brought in from the cold with a new role as chairman and chief executive of US commercial lender CIT worth up to $7.5m (£4.8m) a year. The former Merrill Lynch boss, who oversaw the bank’s acquisition by Bank of America (BoA), will receive $500,000 in cash, $2.5m of restricted [...]
EU extends ABN Amro probe February 8, 2010 EUROPEAN regulators yesterday extended an in-depth investigation into state aid granted to nationalised Dutch banks ABN Amro and Fortis Bank Nederland and temporarily approved a €6.9bn (£6bn) recapitalisation to finance their merger. The European Commission, competition watchdog of the 27-country European Union, said it would assess the combined effect of all the aid and the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING February 8, 2010 THE SUNDAYS The Sunday Telegraph MANDELSON ATTACKS US AND EUROPE The full scale of world tension between governments over the way to deal with the banking crisis has been revealed today after Peter Mandelson, the business secretary, said that neither America nor the European Union had shown global leadership on the issue. As the G7 [...]
Q&A: BUYING February 4, 2010 Q.Dear Camilla, I am thinking about selling my home this year. But is it the right time given that there is both economic and political uncertainty at the moment? A.There has been a lot of positive press about property prices in recent weeks, which should support the UK housing market. For example, mortgage lender Nationwide [...]
Housing market rebound starts to run out of steam February 4, 2010 HOUSE PRICES continued to rise in January but the pace of growth fell to its slowest level in six months, mortgage lender Halifax said yesterday, reiterating its view that UK property prices would remain flat in 2010. The monthly survey showed that house prices rose 0.6 per cent on the month in January, taking the [...]