UK banks’ earnings season is tough one to call October 20, 2021 Wall Street’s biggest banks have reaped the rewards of a booming deal environment, the release of loan loss reserves and swelling deposits. Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and JPMorgan all flexed their muscles as they kicked off US earnings season last week. Now, it is the turn of their British pretenders, starting tomorrow with the [...]
Energy efficiency requirements may slow housing market October 19, 2021 The housing market may be stalled by government plans to require buyers to improve their new homes’ emergency efficiency under their mortgage terms. Property Mark, the trade body that represents letting agents, said the requirements – which have yet to be set out in detail – could initially deter people from moving homes. Mortgage lenders [...]
Energy efficiency requirements may slow housing market – CityAM : CityAM October 19, 2021 The housing market may be stalled by government plans to require buyers to improve their new homes’ emergency efficiency under their mortgage terms. Property Mark, the trade body that represents letting agents, said the requirements – which have yet to be set out in detail – could initially deter people from moving homes. Mortgage lenders [...]
4.5x borrower’s earnings: ‘Risky mortgages’ rising fast, mostly in Wandsworth, Walthamstow and Croydon October 18, 2021 South London is the UK’s hotspot for high-risk mortgages – with more than 6,300 mortgages written at 4.5 times the borrower’s earnings or higher in the last year, according to new research shared with City A.M. this morning. Bank of England guidance says mortgages are considered ‘high-risk’ if they are lent at 4.5 times the [...]
Find your new home by the riverside at Leaside Lock, East London’s newest neighbourhood October 18, 2021 A new collection of contemporary studios, 1, 2 & 3 bedroom apartments in Bromley-by-Bow is launching 13th November, available with the London Help to Buy: Equity Loan* scheme on selected plots. As the prices in nearby Bow, Hackney Wick, Bethnal Green and London Fields have dramatically risen in recent years, many first-time buyers are finding [...]
NatWest to launch first eco-friendly loans as part of new £100bn green funding pot October 13, 2021 NatWest said this morning it plans to bring £100bn to green funding to the market by the end of 2025 and the City bank will also roll out its first eco-friendly business loans. The bank stressed its strategy is to help small firms capitalise on the drive to tackle climate change. The pledge sees the [...]
Perpetual debt is already here October 12, 2021 “Be still indebted to somebody or other, that there may be somebody always to pray for you, [. . .] fearing, if fortune should deal crossly with you, that it might be his chance to come short of being paid by you.” François Rabelais, Gargantua and Pantagruel, Book III Pundits worldwide are debating what to do with [...]
UK’s big five banks set to pay out £7bn in dividends as their earnings soar October 10, 2021 The UK’s largest banks are preparing to hand out a collective £7bn in dividends this year, on the back of earnings hitting their highest level for the sector since 2008. The £7bn payout would be more than double the £3.3bn handed out in dividends by the UK’s big five in 2020. The UK’s five largest [...]
End of furlough: ‘Time for the UK economy to put its big girl pants on’ September 27, 2021 This week, the government’s £70bn furlough support scheme comes to an end. The end of the Job Retention Scheme, or furlough, will force organisations to make decisions regarding the future of furloughed employees. City A.M. sought the views of a number of small business owners about whether now is the correct time to remove the [...]
London property: First-time buyers make a comeback September 20, 2021 Nearly three in every ten home sales went to first-time buyers last month, the highest proportion in over a year, according to new data from various large estate agents. It marks the highest percentage since June 2020, when 29 per cent sales went to people getting on the property ladder, according to estate agents’ body [...]