Buy-to-lose? With new restrictions on buy-to-let mortgages and the introduction of other punitive measures in 2017, is there any value left in letting for mortgaged landlords? January 11, 2017 As we enter 2017, the tide has truly turned against Britain’s buy-to-let landlords. First, George Osborne discouraged people from buying a second residential property by imposing extra stamp duty of 3 per cent. Now, the Bank of England is demanding that mortgage lenders “stress test” loans to landlords. Since 1 January, the Bank’s Prudential Regulation [...]
Why solving the country’s housing crisis means backing – not battering – landlords January 10, 2017 Politics is a strange world, and the year’s events (Trump, Brexit and elsewhere in Europe) are topsy-turvy. But I still find it strange that Britain’s best and most effective form of housing provision, the private rented sector, is coming under such consistent attack. Policies such as changes to the way landlords are taxed, the stamp duty [...]
The key US dollar three-month Libor rate rises above one per cent for first time since 2009 January 4, 2017 The key benchmark interest rate for banks to lend to each other has risen above one per cent for the first time since May 2009, in a long overdue sign of recovery in banking sector lending. The three-month US dollar Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) rose to 1.00511 after being fixed at 0.99872 on Tuesday, [...]
Deutsche Bank’s head of financial crime quits after just six months in role January 4, 2017 Deutsche Bank's man in charge of fighting financial crime is leaving his role after just six months. Peter Hazlewood, a veteran of HSBC, JP Morgan and Standard Chartered, was appointed global head of anti-financial crime and group money-laundering reporting officer at the German banking giant last July. He was based in Frankfurt and reported to Sylvie Matherat, the [...]
UK home-buying stays solid in November but consumer credit rises by highest amount since 2005 says the Bank of England January 4, 2017 British house purchase numbers stayed flat in November, but still remained steady above pre-referendum levels, while UK consumer borrowing increased by the most since March 2005. UK banks approved 67,505 mortgages in November, compared to 67,371 in October, according to the Bank of England (BoE), but remortgaging levels rose to the highest levels since October [...]
Deutsche Bank share price up as merger and bailout rumours shot down January 2, 2017 Shares in Deutsche Bank are trading up today after the German banking giant's chairman silenced murmurs of mergers and bailouts. The share price for the country's biggest bank had a turbulent 2016, particularly after it was revealed in September that the US Department of Justice was considering slapping the lender with a fine of as [...]
The average rent in London has reached a record high December 30, 2016 The government may have spent the last few years doing everything in its power to reduce the number of people buying second homes – but that hasn't hurt the capital's rental prices, after new research suggested rents in London reached a record high in November. The Your Move rental index showed average rents in the capital [...]
UK house price growth has edged up from its November low December 29, 2016 December may traditionally be a bad time to try to sell your house – but UK house prices bucked the trend this month, with growth edging up from their low in November. Nationwide's house price index showed prices rose 4.5 per cent in the year to December, up from 4.4 per cent in November, its [...]
A sign of things to come? Mortgage approvals fall in November, although consumers are still borrowing at ultra-low rates December 28, 2016 Mortgage approvals are nine per cent lower than the same point last year, but UK consumers were still borrowing to power the economy in the five months after EU referendum. The number of house purchase mortgage approvals fell slightly in November to 40,659, down from 40,835 in October, according to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), [...]
Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse share prices rise after multi-billion pound settlements with US Department of Justice December 23, 2016 Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse's share prices have risen this morning after the two lenders agreed to multi-billion dollar settlements with the US Department of Justice (DoJ). Deutsche Bank announced it had reached a $7.2bn (£5.8bn) agreement in principle with the US authorities early this morning over the sale and pooling of mortgage-backed securities in the run-up [...]