Four of the best bank accounts: Get paid £100 just to change your current account June 8, 2016 Banks are offering customers free cash for switching their current accounts. The UK’s big four – Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and RBS – have been shaken up by the arrival of newcomers, from online-only “challenger” banks to European giants. Banks are working harder to draw customers, with several offering between £100-£200 to newcomers. “It appears free-in-credit accounts [...]
The CMA’s retail banking recommendations have been slammed by experts addressing parliament’s Treasury Select Committee June 7, 2016 The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) work on the retail banking market is a failed opportunity, MPs have been told. One challenger bank boss said that the concentration risk in the market will take “decades” to unwind, speaking at a Treasury Select Committee hearing earlier today. Meanwhile, a former Competition Commission member said that the provisional recommendations issued [...]
Halifax says house prices could be reaching unsustainable levels as property prices soar despite EU referendum June 7, 2016 There were no surprises in the latest numbers on house prices, released this morning – they are still going up. The average house was worth £213,472 in the three months to May, according to the Halifax house price index, 9.2 per cent more than the same period last year. The bank said the same old story [...]
Bond yields in the developed world hit a record low – even the EU referendum won’t stop them falling June 6, 2016 Bond yields across the advanced world have touched a record low. The fall comes as the US looks set to delay its next interest rate hike, the effects of quantitative easing and negative interest rates continue to take hold and political uncertainty mounts. The yield on Bloomberg's global developed sovereign bond index dropped to 0.62 per cent – [...]
David Cameron warns of mortgage rise if Britain votes for Brexit June 5, 2016 David Cameron has warned that mortgages could rise for millions of homeowners if Britain votes to leave the EU. The Prime Minister has said average repayments could rise by nearly £1,000 a year because leaving Europe could lead to tighter credit controls as well as pushing up interest rates. But the claim has been called "desperate" [...]
Why the mortgage market is due to be shaken up by the tech revolution June 3, 2016 Scaling the housing ladder can feel like climbing Everest and nowhere more so than in the capital. From saving every penny for a first deposit, to scouring the tube map for the next undiscovered, reasonably priced gem, the affordability challenges are well documented. But there are other unnecessary challenges driven by an outdated industry that [...]
Homemover loan applications had the highest success rate for mortgage approvals in the first quarter June 2, 2016 Homemover loan applications registered the highest success rate for converting mortgage applications into completed deals in the first quarter, according to the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA). The IMLA data shows that 80 per cent of homemover applications resulted in an offer and the same percentage of offers led to a deal. Read more: Nearly two out [...]
You’ll probably live far longer than you think – and the implications are huge June 2, 2016 What is the most important number you can think of? Your bank balance? Your mortgage? US GDP or the FTSE 100? All of these are important but the one number you should be very focused on is a guess of your own life expectancy. Get that wrong and the chances are you will get a [...]
UK mortgage lending dropped to its lowest level since the height of the eurozone crisis in April June 1, 2016 Mortgage approvals have hit their lowest level since the height of the Eurozone crisis, according to the Bank of England. Mortgage loans totaled just £281m in April, their lowest level since August 2012, after the hike in stamp duty came into effect at the beginning of the month and buy to let landlords fled the [...]
House price growth falls to its lowest since October 2015 as stamp duty changes take their toll June 1, 2016 Have George Osborne's changes to house prices had their desired effect? House price growth fell in May, to its lowest since October last year – suggesting things could be about to look up for those struggling to move up the property ladder. Nationwide's House Price Index showed prices rose 1.3 per cent to £204,368 in the [...]