Treasury mulling plans for ‘bad bank’ to manage stakes in bailed-out firms May 17, 2020 The Treasury is considering plans to develop a so-called “bad bank” in order to hold stake in bailed out companies, the Sunday Times reported, amid fears that key firms could fail due to the coronavirus pandemic. The initiative reflects similar steps taken by the Labour party during the 2008 financial crisis, when it set up [...]
Co-operative Bank takes £12m hit from coronavirus as losses continue May 6, 2020 The Co-operative Bank booked a loss in the first quarter as it took a £12m hit from coronavirus, it has said in a trading update. The challenger bank said today that it made an underlying loss of £14.2m in the first three months of the year. This was down from a loss of £5.1m in [...]
UK house prices: Experts predict sharp recovery after coronavirus lockdown May 1, 2020 UK house prices could rebound after the coronavirus lockdown eases, after they grew at the fastest pace since 2017 before the crisis, Nationwide said today. The value of British homes grew at their fastest rate since February 2017 before the coronavirus lockdown brought the market crashing to a halt, Nationwide data released today showed. UK [...]
Lloyds first quarter profit crashes 95 per cent on coronavirus April 30, 2020 Lloyds Banking Group posted a huge 95 per cent fall in profit for the first quarter of 2020 today as the coronavirus crisis took hold in the UK. Profit before tax slumped to £74m from £1.6bn the previous year as Lloyds took a massive impairment charge of £1.43bn as it expects bad loans to mount [...]
Lenders grant 1.6m mortgage payment holidays to homeowners April 28, 2020 Lenders have granted 1.6m mortgage payment holidays to homeowners facing financial difficulties due to the coronavirus outbreak. Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in March that households with mortgages would be entitled to three-month payment holidays. Over a third of payment holidays approved so far were done in the first week of the UK’s lockdown. One in [...]
Coronavirus: Government must be more imaginative to save small businesses April 27, 2020 The Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILs) was launched to much fanfare, with people lining up to praise the far-sighted, generous nature of the programme and proclaim how much it would do for small business. A staggering £330 billion was set aside for interest-free loans, with the Government willing to sit behind 80 per cent [...]
It’s official: Coronavirus killed UK house prices’ Brexit recovery April 22, 2020 Signs of recovery in UK house prices at the start of the year have been brought to an abrupt halt by the coronavirus crisis. Figures from the Land Registry and the ONS show inflation fell back to 1.1 per cent in February after climbing to an eight-month high of 1.5 per cent in January. The [...]
UK house prices dip as coronavirus lockdown makes sales ‘almost impossible’ April 20, 2020 UK house prices dipped during the coronavirus lockdown as experts warned the housing market was barely functioning due to the restrictions. The latest data from Rightmove showed that the average price of property coming to market dipped 0.2 per cent to £311,950. In April last year UK house prices increased 2.1 per cent. However, Rightmove [...]
Coronavirus: Knight Frank and Rightmove call for stamp duty holiday to reignite market April 20, 2020 Estate agent Knight Frank and property platform Rightmove have both backed a stamp duty holiday as part of a package of measures to reignite the housing market after the coronavirus lockdown is lifted. The companies have separately called for a stamp duty holiday to be among a range of measures designed to stimulate the market, [...]
FCA pushes car finance firms to halt repossessions amid coronavirus April 17, 2020 The UK’s financial watchdog has proposed a freeze on car finance repayments, ruling out repossessions of vehicles during the coronavirus crisis. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) told car leasing firms today to offer three-month repayment pauses for customers in financial difficulty as a result of coronavirus. “We are very aware of the continued struggle people [...]