Mortgage approvals flatline in wake of stamp duty holiday BANK OF ENGLAND The number of mortgages approved in November last year exceeded expectations, despite dropping slightly compared to the previous month. Some 66,964 mortgages were approved in November 2021, according to fresh data published by the Bank of England this morning. Although November was down on October’s figure of 67,103 the number of approvals exceeded real estate [...]
City fine: Bank of England tells Metro Bank to pay millions for reporting and governance failures that went on for years Square Mile Metro Bank was told this morning by the Bank of England to pay close to £5.4m for failures with regards to the quality of its reporting and governance. The central bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) watchdog confirmed it imposed the penalty on the challenger bank over failings between May 2016 and January 2019. On January [...]
Millions of homeowners will see mortgage rate rises as ‘softer’ house price growth forecast RATES INCREASE Major banks have hiked mortgage interest rates in response to the Bank of England hiking rates 0.15 percentage points to 0.25 per cent. Banks raised rates following the decision on Thursday, meaning millions of households will pay heftier monthly mortgage repayments. Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, Nationwide and Santander will pass on the increase to [...]
Warnings housing market may ‘enter bubble territory’ if lending checks eased December 6, 2021 The Bank of England is readying itself to relax mortgage lending rules despite fears it will trigger a housing bubble, it has been reported. The Telegraph reported that policymakers are looking at relaxing affordability checks for borrowers. The rule changes are being mulled amid a review of market restrictions this will finish shortly. Officials are [...]
Mortgage approvals drop dramatically as market hits ‘tipping point’ after stamp duty holiday November 29, 2021 Mortgage approvals for house purchase dropped sharply after the end of the stamp duty holiday, the Bank of England said. Mortgage approvals for house purchase dropped down to 67,200 in October from 71,900 in September, close to the 12-month average up to February 2020 of 66,700. However, approvals in October remained above the pre-Covid averages [...]
Bank of England defends fossil fuel funding to Extinction Rebellion November 14, 2021 The Bank of England (BoE) reportedly tried to appease Extinction Rebellion (XR) protests earlier this year, as the climate activist group targeted City fossil fuel financing. In emails with XR members, the central bank urged that government instead has the “primary levers for driving the economy-wide transition to net-zero emissions”, The Telegraph first reported. In [...]
Bank of England boss Bailey rebuffs claims he ‘bottled it’ on interest rate call November 5, 2021 The Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey has pushed back on criticism that he talked up a interest rate rise, then failed to follow through. Bailey denied the Bank of England “bottled it” yesterday, adding: “We expect interest rates to rise and we are very clear”. The pound sank against the dollar yesterday [...]
Pound drops against dollar as Bank of England keeps interest rate at record low November 4, 2021 Pound sterling has fallen by almost one per cent against the dollar to $1.36 after a shock decision by the Bank of England to hold rates at 0.1 per cent. It fell similarly against the Euro by 0.51 per cent to €1.172. The market movements follow the surprise decision by the BoE to leave interest [...]
UK inflation could go “above five per cent” this winter says new BoE chief economist October 21, 2021 UK inflation could rise above five per cent next year, said the Bank of England’s new chief economist. Speaking to The Financial Times, Huw Pill said: “I would not be shocked — let’s put it that way — if we see an inflation print close to or above five per cent [in the months ahead]. [...]
Markets brace for Christmas BoE rate hike October 12, 2021 THE UK could be stung by an earlier than expected rate hike as the Bank of England moves to hose down runaway inflation. Investors kicked off the week yesterday by repositioning their bets toward a first rate increase since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis at the Bank’s last rate setting meeting of the year [...]