Wells Fargo to pay $85m fine July 20, 2011 Wells Fargo & Co, the largest mortgage lender in the US, has agreed to pay a $85m (£52.6m) civil penalty to the Federal Reserve Board and will compensate borrowers who were allegedly steered into more costly subprime loans with higher interest rates during the housing boom. The fine is the largest ever imposed by the [...]
Mortgage lending drops July 20, 2011 Gross mortgage lending fell three per cent on the year in June but was 16 per cent up on the month, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) said. The CML said gross mortgage lending totalled £12.6bn in June, the highest monthly total in almost a year. It said lending in the first half of this [...]
BofA falls to worst loss in its history July 19, 2011 BANK of America yesterday reported its biggest-ever quarterly loss – $8.8bn (£5.46bn) – as low interest rates squeezed lending margins at the largest US bank. The loss was widely expected after the bank said in June that it settled with mortgage bond investors for $8.5bn and was taking more than $14bn of other home loan-related [...]
The cloud of debt that is hanging over the US July 19, 2011 WHILE the European debt crisis rumbles on, there is also a storm brewing across the Atlantic. As European finance ministers squabble, the GOP and Democrats are locked in a battle of their own. This row has fuelled uncertainty from investors as to America’s ability to address its enormous debt burden. But if they are to [...]
Bank of America posts $8.8bn loss July 19, 2011 Bank of America, the biggest bank in the US, has slumped to an $8.8bn loss in the second quarter of the year, its largest-ever quarterly loss, after it paid more than $14bn of mortgage-related charges. Markets had expected the loss as Bank of America said last month that it had settled $8.5bn claims from mortgage [...]
First time buyer market may ease July 14, 2011 WITH the Bank of England keeping interest rates at the record low of 0.5 per cent, the outlook should be good for those looking to buy a home. But with renting in London costing 50 per cent more than the rest of the country and banks requiring higher and higher deposits, the picture for those [...]
RENTING July 14, 2011 MANAGING PARTNER OF BLACK BRICK PROPERTY Q. I own a flat and I’m just about to move out of London and rent it. What are your thoughts on renting furnished or unfurnished? A.Renting unfurnished tends to encourage tenants to stay longer in properties as they have the hassle of moving their furniture in and out. [...]
JPMorgan profit beats forecasts July 14, 2011 JPMorgan Chase & Co posted a higher-than-expected jump in second-quarter profit as it wrote off fewer bad mortgages and credit card loans. The bank managed to make more loans during the quarter than in the first quarter and added staff, signs that bright spots are emerging in a sector long plagued by credit losses and [...]
Miners lead FTSE up as China injects confidence July 13, 2011 The FTSE 100 bounced back today despite the deepening Eurozone crisis which has seen Ireland’s credit rating downgraded to junk by ratings agency Moody’s. Miners led the fight back on the blue chip index while investors across Europe were given a boost by positive economic data from China. Its GDP rose 9.5 per cent in [...]
Inflation rate unexpectedly falls July 12, 2011 The inflation rate fell unexpectedly in June, with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure down to 4.2 per cent from 4.5 per cent. The Retail Prices Index (RPI) measure of inflation – which includes mortgage interest payments – also fell, from 5.2 per cent to five per cent, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures [...]