Property market mushrooms in March as mortgage borrowing hits a post-crisis high April 26, 2016 The property market was in full swing last month with yet another industry report showing mortgage lending shot up as investors piled in to beat the stamp duty surcharge which came into effect on 1 April. According to the British Bankers’ Association (BBA), banks and building societies dished out £17.1bn to people taking out mortgages in March – [...]
Masthaven secures first retail banking licence of 2016 as challenger banks keep up the pressure on traditional groups April 21, 2016 Here's proof – if you needed it – that the rise of challenger banks continues. The government has granted its first retail banking licence of the year to Masthaven Bank – and the group is promising to "disrupt the market" with its approach to savings, mortgages and staff. Masthaven Bank received the thumbs up from the Prudential Regulation [...]
Mortgage lending rockets in March 2016 as stamp duty tax changes prompt a borrowing spree April 21, 2016 Mortgage lending ballooned in March as landlords and investors piled into the property market to beat a slew of tax changes which came into effect at the start of April. A total of £25.7bn was borrowed for home purchases in March, according to figures released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) this morning – 43 [...]
London house prices will continue to grow even if the UK leaves the EU, say homeowners April 21, 2016 Parts of London's property market might be stumbling, but that's not stopping the capital's homeowners being the most confident people in the country that Brexit would not affect their house prices. Foolhardy? Maybe. But according to a new survey, London's homeowners expect to see double-digit growth in their property prices over the next six months – [...]
Tesco is going deeper into the mortgage market April 19, 2016 Another surefire sign UK house price madness isn't showing any signs of abating: now Tesco wants a bigger slice of the pie. Or that's the suggestion from a statement this morning, in which the supermarket said its banking arm (the snappily-titled Tesco Bank) is launching its own mortgage intermediary service – called, you guessed it, Tesco Mortgage Intermediaries. The [...]
What to expect Mark Carney to be grilled about by the House of Lords today – from Brexit to current account, inflation and Panama Papers April 19, 2016 The most watched man in Threadneedle Street will trundle over to SW1 today to face his annual grilling from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee. That’s right, the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, will be up against 13 of the Lords’ sharpest minds, all desperate to peer into the soul of [...]
Lending standards dip in the Eurozone as banks open up their coffers in response to the European Central Bank’s negative interest rates April 19, 2016 Businesses across the Eurozone are finding it easier to secure bank loans, according to the European Central Bank (ECB)’s quarterly lending survey, released this morning, which also shows that negative interest rates are encouraging banks to lend more. Banks across the single currency bloc said they were loosening their standards for businesses applying for loans [...]
Challenger banks: More than just a fancy app? April 19, 2016 It was hard to go a week last year without hearing another story about a startup threatening the existence of the banks. Challenger banks in particular popped up left, right and centre, looking to take a swipe at the established players. Many of them are mobile-only banks, allowing customers to carry out traditional banking tasks via [...]
These five London areas were among the worst in the UK for disposable income growth April 18, 2016 London accounted for half of the 10 worst performing areas for growth in disposable income over the last five years, according to new research released today, which blamed rising housing costs and lower City bonuses in part for the slowdown. Camden and City of London were the only areas in the UK to have experienced a [...]
Persimmon narrowly dodges revolt over new director Nigel Mills and executive pay, as shares slump over sales slowdown April 14, 2016 Persimmon narrowly avoided a revolt today over the appointment of Nigel Mills to the board after shareholders raised concerns over his links to the housebuilder's financial advisers. More than 47 per cent of shareholders voted against appointing Mills as an non-executive director at the company's annual general meeting held at York race course – with 107m votes in favour [...]