Loan provisions hammer profit for Santander April 26, 2012 SANTANDER has blamed Spain’s new property loan rules for a 24 per cent slump in profit for the first quarter of the year. Spain’s biggest bank posted a net profit of €1.6bn, after setting aside €3.13bn to cover non-performing loans, most of which was required under the Spanish government’s plan to get a handle on [...]
SME borrowing down again as demand drops April 23, 2012 BUSINESS lending fell again in February, official data showed yesterday, while the level of mortgage loans is set to plummet after the end of the stamp duty holiday last month. Lending to firms was three per cent lower in February than in the same month of 2011, Bank of England figures revealed, as total corporate [...]
The bank branch of the future will do less but better April 22, 2012 RETAIL banks face a daunting challenge: providing profitable personal banking in a climate of cost cutting and digital disruption. A popular strategy is to focus branch staff on selling high value products and services, such as mortgages, while nudging other customers into self-service, online or mobile channels. In theory, this makes branches more profitable with [...]
Persimmon says government scheme is boosting enquiries April 19, 2012 PERSIMMON yesterday said it enjoyed a strong start to the year, with the government’s NewBuy scheme helping boost demand during the spring selling season. The housebuilder, whose brands include Charles Church and Westbury, said it continued to outperform, with visitor levels to its sites over the first 15 weeks of 2012 up 10 per cent [...]
ANALYST VIEWS HOW DOES PERSIMMON COMPARE TO ITS PEERS IN THE SECTOR? April 19, 2012 CHARLIE CAMPBELL LIBERUM A positive trading update from Persimmon, saying that its private sales rates (per site) are up 20 per cent in the year to date, compared to a 22 per cent rise at the end of February, which is helpful for the sector, but NewBuy appears to have got off to a slow [...]
Mortgage fraud increases 8pc April 18, 2012 MORTGAGE fraud rose by eight per cent last year, according to research out yesterday from Experian. Thirty-four out of every 10,000 mortgage applications were found to be fraudulent, double the overall rate of fraud across the UK’s financial services sector. Most cases involved people providing false personal information on their application and in particular attempts [...]
US Bancorp beats Wall Street forecasts on mortgage sales April 17, 2012 US BANCORP’S first-quarter profit topped analysts’ expectations yesterday as mortgage banking revenue surged. Like other large banks, US Bancorp received a boost as borrowers refinanced home loans at low interest rates. Mortgage banking revenue more than doubled to $452m. US Bancorp has been building up its mortgage business while some large banks pull back, helping [...]
Demand for banks to give early warning of interest rate rises April 15, 2012 BANKS will this week come under fresh political pressure to give customers greater notice of hikes in interest rates. Labour will tomorrow table an amendment to the Financial Services Bill after customers of Halifax were given a minimum of only 14 days’ notice of an increase in the standard variable rate, despite the record low [...]
London’s property: As unsafe as houses April 15, 2012 INSANITY, Albert Einstein famously said, is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” The crash might have petrified property investors at the bottom and middle of the market, but in London’s swankier postcodes prices are back on the up. The question is whether these represent sound long-term investments or another [...]
Time for a few home truths about Britain’s housing crisis April 10, 2012 EVERY so often, a piece of research comes along which is a must-read. A document yesterday from the Institute of Economic Affairs is one such report: it reveals in no uncertain terms why house prices are so high in the UK, and what needs to be done to ensure that generations of young people are [...]