Legal & General says it will double new business sales in retirement division in 2016 September 27, 2016 Legal & General said today that it's on track to double new business sales in its retirement division, with sales currently at £5.4bn – compared with £2.9bn for last year. The group said its retirement business "continues to experience strong growth in pension de-risking and lifetime mortgages," and demand has not been hindered by the introduction [...]
As a beleaguered Deutsche Bank faces a $14bn fine, Angela Merkel has ruled out state aid, but could a bailout be on the cards? September 27, 2016 Recent discussion of possible European bank bailouts has focused on Italy. Saddled with €360bn of souring loans and enfeebled by a stagnant, over-regulated economy, a number of Italian lenders face a very real risk of insolvency. In July, the country’s third largest, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, failed a stress test set by the European Central [...]
Doom and gloom for European banks as Deutsche drags down sector September 26, 2016 Deutsche Bank cast an ominous shadow over the banking sector today, after fresh doubts over the German giant's capital position emerged, prompting investors to take flight across the sector. Investors panicked that government patience for bailouts had run dry and Deutsche Bank's share price closed down 7.5 per cent at €10.55, its lowest level since [...]
Why it’s been a very bad year to be Deutsche Bank September 26, 2016 Deutsche Bank shares plunged to a new record low today, dropping 7.5 per cent to close at €10.55, prompted by reports in Focus magazine over the weekend that German Chancellor Angela Merkel has ruled out state assistance for the bank. However, this is far from the first piece of bad news to have hit the [...]
Number of mortgage approvals down by over a fifth in August September 26, 2016 House purchase approvals dropped by more than a fifth in August, according to figures from the BBA. The number of approvals was down by 21 per cent as compared to August 2012. In the first eight months of this year, approvals were two per cent lower than in the same period of 2015. Read more: [...]
First-time buyers still have to save for over a decade to get a home in London September 26, 2016 First-time buyers may have hoped the EU referendum would reverse house price growth in the UK, but a Brexit housing crash has not materialised, and saving for a deposit has not become any easier. Would-be homeowners have to save for just over 10 years to get a deposit, according to research by Hamptons International, a figure [...]
House price growth in London to drop to six per cent this year September 23, 2016 House price inflation in UK cities is set to slow to 8.2 per cent – and annual growth in London is predicted to fall to six per cent by the end of this year. According to Hometrack, house price growth has slowed in cities across the south of England especially, due to the weaker demand for homes after the Brexit [...]
This new proptech startup wants to help generation rent buy their first home September 22, 2016 Zoopla and top investor Robin Klein are backing a new property technology venture designed to help first time buyers hop on to the incredibly difficult first rung of the property ladder. Wannabe homeowners can invest in a property Isa with Bricklane.com which launches today. Cash will go into a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which will invest in rental [...]
Brexhausted: The number of UK property transactions has plateaued as the market adjusts to new taxes and Brexit September 21, 2016 The number of property transactions fell in August year-on-year as the market adjusted to a more uncertain economic environment. There were 97,600 residential transactions in August, 6.1 per cent lower than in the same month last year, when adjusted for seasonal variations. The figures from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) show little change on the number [...]
Why big banks have lost their way, according to the boss of Arbuthnot Latham September 20, 2016 Banking's biggest players have forgotten how to fine tune their wealth offerings, creating opportunities for some of the sector's smaller firms, according to the boss of one long-established private bank. Speaking to City A.M., Ian Henderson, chief executive of Arbuthnot Latham, said his bank's strategy was "around continuing to nibble away at customers either disenfranchised or unhappy with [...]