Mortgage Strategy articles from April 2009

Mortgage Strategy archives from April 2009

COMMENT: The real broker-killers.
April 6, 2009... Last week's news that HSBC is running a pilot programme with London brokerage John Charcol to offer whole of market advice in its branches made a big impact on the market. HSBC has never given brokers access to its products before so what...

LENDERS: Proc fees for retention don't add up, says AfI.
April 6, 2009... Abbey for Intermediaries has ruled out paying brokers proc fees for retention sales in the near future as it says the case for such payments does not stack up financially. Ricky Okey, managing director of intermediary distribution for...

Number of borrowers in arrears at nationalised B&B rockets by 200%.
April 6, 2009... The number of borrowers in arrears over three months at nationalised lender Bradford & Bingley has shot up by a massive 198% in the space of a year. B&B's annual results for 2008 show that the number of cases in arrears by more than...

NETWORKS: Network Data blames error for payment delays.
April 6, 2009... Network Data has told its appointed representatives it is unable to pay them on a set payment date due to a "recently identified" problem, with no word on when commission will be paid. An email, seen by Mortgage Strategy and sent to ARs...

LENDERS: More job cuts on horizon at RBS.
April 6, 2009... The Royal Bank of Scotland last week pledged to scrutinise costs across the organisation as it revealed that more job cuts are in store. At the bank's annual general meeting on Friday chairman Sir Philip Hampton said RBS is looking to...

STRAW POLL: Control buy-to-let deals, say brokers.
April 6, 2009... Two-thirds of Mortgage Strategy Online readers last week voted in favour of buy-to-let mortgages being regulated. Lord Adair Turner, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, says buy-to-let and secured loans are on his regulatory...

L&G unveils online system to cut time brokers spend chasing cases.
April 6, 2009... Legal & General has spent more than #30m developing an online protection system in a bid to eliminate case chasing. The firm's OLP Connect system cuts out the need for advisers to keep checking on their clients' cases. Instead, they can go...

BROKERS: John Charcol brokers in HSBC branch trial.
April 6, 2009... John Charcol is to go where no mortgage broker has gone before and receive proc fees for offering HSBC mortgages. HSBC announced last week that it would be introducing John Charcol advisers into 20 of its branches as part of a seven-month...

FIRST-TIME BUYERS: Call for Labour to help first-timers.(Conference notes)
April 6, 2009... Lord Norman Lamont, the former chancellor who presided over the last recession, has called for first-time buyers to be helped with government loans to spark a revival in the housing market. Lord Lamont, who was chancellor under the...

TRADE BODIES: AMI and AFB to stay as distinct organisations.
April 6, 2009... The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries and the Association of Finance Brokers are here to stay, says director of both organisations Robert Sinclair. Sinclair says that with the backing of the Association of Independent Financial...

SHARED EQUITY: Risks made Abbey pull plug on shared equity.
April 6, 2009... Abbey has revealed that the reason it withdrew from the shared equity market was that it deemed the schemes too risky. The lender pulled the plug on shared equity in the middle of March and has since been processing the remainder of its...

Medium-sized master brokers could face extinction as lenders cut back.
April 6, 2009... Robert Sinclair, director of the Association of Finance Brokers, has warned that medium-sized secured loan brokers face being wiped out as lenders continue to exit the market. GE Money Home Lending is the latest lender to dramatically cut...

FIRST-TIME BUYERS: Government urged to adopt Scottish scheme.
April 6, 2009... The UK government is being urged to adopt the Scottish approach when it comes to addressing the lack of mortgages for first-time buyers. The Open Market Shared Equity Scheme has just been extended in Scotland after a successful pilot in...

HOUSING MARKET: Doubt on house price figures.
April 6, 2009... Data from the two leading house price indices has been called into question as Nationwide and Halifax reported opposite price trends. Nationwide's house price index sparked hope in the housing market when it reported house prices had risen...

REMORTGAGES: RBSIP opts for drive-by valuations.
April 6, 2009... Royal Bank of Scotland Intermediary Partners is instructing drive-by valuations on remortgages up to 75% LTV in a bid to boost efficiency. For remortgage cases of #350,000 or less the lender will carry out drive-by valuations unless the...

BROKERS: Proc fee fears deter potential ARs.
April 6, 2009... Just under two-thirds of directly authorised brokers say that the recent spate of media stories about networks withholding proc fees is putting them off becoming appointed representatives. The Mortgage Alliance's latest DA broker survey...

MPPI: FirstAssist signs white label deal.
April 6, 2009... FirstAssist Insurance Services is to offer white label products including mortgage payment protection insurance through British Insurance. Under the agreement British Insurance will market the products and FirstAssist will provide...

MPPI: Paymentshield extends cover.
April 6, 2009... Paymentshield is offering standalone mortgage payment protection insurance to existing customers again. The firm has launched MortgageProtector Solo for existing borrowers, meaning MPPI is once more available for both new and existing...

IN BRIEF: FSA says documentation standards have risen.(Brief article)
April 6, 2009... The Financial Services Authority says it has noted an improvement in the quality of Key Features Documents since September 2007 when it challenged companies on the issue. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Mortgage approvals increase for the first time since last summer.
April 6, 2009... Figures from the Bank of England last week were hailed as the first material improvement in the level of mortgage approvals since the middle of last year. The figures show the number of house purchase loans approved in February was 37,937....

HIPS: L&G unveils HIP service for DA club members.
April 6, 2009... Legal & General has launched a Home Information Pack service for directly authorised members of its mortgage club. Ben Thompson, director of mortgages at L&G, says: "Direct channels are trying to wrestle clients away from brokers and we...

RESULTS: Pre-tax profits up by 10% at SWB.(Financial report)
April 6, 2009... Scottish Widows Bank says it made a profit of #33.6m before tax in 2008 - an increase of 10% compared with the previous year. Net mortgage lending for the internet and telephone-based bank rose 13% from the end of 2007 to #800m, with...

BANKS: Tesco to open bank branches in 30 of its stores.
April 6, 2009... Tesco is set to open bank branches in 30 of its stores by the end of this year. The supermarket giant has been running an in-store bank in Glasgow since 2006 and plans to open three more branches in Brislington, Blackpool and Coventry...

ANALYSIS: Marketwatch - 06.04.09.
April 6, 2009... Trackers may look like good deals at the moment - but we need to be careful, as in a couple of years' time they may not be such an attractive proposition Swaps fell pretty heavily. One-year swaps are now at the lowest levels I have seen...

ANALYSIS: New rules must allow innovation.
April 6, 2009... The rescue last week of Dunfermline will inevitably re-ignite the debate on the governance of regulated institutions. While Dunfermline was clearly facing a uniquely difficult situation, its story is a vivid illustration of the dilemma...

ANALYSIS: Clients don't want nasty surprises.
April 6, 2009... Not many of us like it when we're taken by surprise, and booking flights with a certain budget airline recently I was astounded to be hit with a #57 credit card fee at the end of the transaction. This was on top of the additional costs...

ANALYSIS: Building societies make errors, too.
April 6, 2009... The protracted termination of the Dunfermline Building Society last week raises some interesting questions. Uncertainty about a building society's future used to be kept under wraps until a suitable takeover partner had been found and a...

ANALYSIS: Revive mortgage indemnity policies.
April 6, 2009... If there has ever been a time for the return of mortgage indemnity guarantees, now is it. For the average first-time buyer on a #20,000 salary with no savings and no money available for a deposit from cash-strapped parents, buying their...

ANALYSIS: Government equity schemes explained.
April 6, 2009... Stimulating the first-time buyer market is now seen as one of the key factors in driving forward the recovery of the housing market. With interest rates at an all-time low and house prices having fallen significantly there is an argument...

ANALYSIS: Jade's death should make people think.
April 6, 2009... With the dangers of cervical cancer in the spotlight after the death of Jade Goody, many more women are now going for cervical screenings. By highlighting that cervical cancer really can happen to anyone - however famous - the press has...

ANALYSIS: It's time to take a look at your brand.
April 6, 2009... The topic of trust in financial services companies was a major talking point at the annual conference of the Financial Services Forum. Given the events of the past 18 months that have seen the spectacular failures of some banks, it was...

ANALYSIS: No excuse for yet another bailout.
April 6, 2009... So the chairman of the Dunfermline Building Society allegedly says that the Treasury "sacrificed" the long-established mutual. This is outrageous! I am hopping mad and have to ask why the taxpayer should bail out a failed business that...

ANALYSIS: So easy to put life policies into trust.
April 6, 2009... Putting life policies into trust is common sense but sadly not common practice. Many policies are sold without being put into trust although the need for this is greater than ever. Nobody's future is certain. With the contraction of the...

ANALYSIS: Meeting the need for life assurance.
April 6, 2009... Could life assurance save mortgage brokers? An increasing number of intermediaries are benefiting from focussing on a product that nearly everybody needs but too few take out or review. Life assurance used to be predominantly a...

ANALYSIS: Equity release stays strong in adversity.
April 6, 2009... Conventional wisdom states that buying a house in a falling market is akin to catching a falling knife. So why is there still an appetite to buy shares in homes in return for equity - just why does the equity release market continue to...

ANALYSIS: Societies could be new model lenders.
April 6, 2009... Can the building society sector withstand the prevailing stormy financial climate? This is a question that will no doubt be occupying the minds of luminaries at the Building Societies Association as more and more mutuals reveal the impact...

LETTER: Guarantee scheme won't attract private backing.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2009... So, the old Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee scheme is said be making a comeback in a new form, with the government - i.e. taxpayers like you and I - underwriting the risk. The lessons about risk sharing and fair pricing of the late 1980s and...

LETTER: HSBC's Trojan horse plan could kill advice sector.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2009... The announcement that HSBC is to become a whole of market operator using the services of John Charcol advisers indicates the lender is once again showing its contempt for the market by wanting to have its cake and eat it. This is a...

LETTER: Dual pricing has caused chaos in the marketplace.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2009... I am writing to point out that there is no longer any such thing as meaningful management information in the mortgage market. This is because brokers recommending direct deals in their clients' interests are not counted as introduced...

LETTER: Woolwich has improved its broker service.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2009... Since the launch of our tranche management system we have been seeking feedback from brokers in order to improve the service. I am pleased to be able to inform readers that several improvements have now been made. The key improvement...

LETTER: Griffiths should apologise for payment delay.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2009... Having read the lead news item in last week's issue of Mortgage Strategy, I feel Network Data Holdings' chief executive Richard Griffiths should apologise for (as I see it) delaying payment of monies over and above what Network Data are...

LETTER: Dodgy brokers are scuttling off to hide in networks.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2009... As an honest directly authorised broker I find Gerry O'Brien's inference in a recent column that DA brokers are cowboys insulting (Mortgage Strategy March 16). From our viewpoint, the dodgy brokers are those who are scuttling off to...

LETTER: Preach to lenders about long-term deals, not brokers.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2009... I was intrigued to read the news item in last week's issue of Mortgage Strategy in which brokers are urged to place borrowers on long-term fixed rate products. If fixed rate deals were even close to the SVRs currently being offered by...

LETTER: If I were a rival of HSBC I would not use John Charcol.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2009... I was intrigued to learn that HSBC is to offer whole of market advice in its branches in conjunction with John Charcol. If I were a rival lender, I would not want to distribute products via John Charcol, using the same excuse HSBC does...

LETTER: HSBC will use its market muscle to cross-sell to clients.(Letter to the editor)
April 6, 2009... I'm worried by the news that John Charcol is to have advisers in HSBC branches. HSBC has the power to get everyone into its branches and cross-sell to them. I can't see how any broker can compete. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd....

CLAIMS MANAGEMENT: Temptation.
April 6, 2009... The mortgage industry is deeply divided when it comes to claims management but brokers may not be able to resist the lure of the income it could provide for much longer The industry's love-hate relationship with claims management firms has...

CLAIMS MANAGEMENT: Avoiding the regulatory gap with claims management.
April 6, 2009... Robert Sinclair director Association of Mortgage Intermediaries Despite the introduction of regulation in the sector in 2007 by the Ministry of Justice, the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries and its members still have concerns about...

CLAIMS MANAGEMENT: A duty of care to clients.
April 6, 2009... In the past two years we have been at the forefront of a dynamic emerging market in the financial services world. This market has caused a wave of excitement among brokers, independent financial advisers and lenders. The mortgage...

CLAIMS MANAGEMENT: No more misleading marketing.
April 6, 2009... The Ministry of Justice has been responsible for the regulation of the claims management sector since April 2007. Any business providing claims management services to individuals making claims for compensation must be authorised. The...

SHADOW MPC: APRIL 2009.
April 6, 2009... This month's decision: hold With the base range now down to just 0.5% and a surprising rise in the Consumer Price Index, the GE Money Home Lending Shadow Monetary Policy Committee votes almost unanimously for a rate hold this month ...

COMMENT: The government must guarantee high LTV loans.
April 6, 2009... To boost the property market, it's vital to help first-time buyers - and that means guarantees for high LTV loans Some people may accuse me of regurgitating ideas in this column but it's amazing how frequently I see an idea I've mentioned...

COMMENT: History has a habit of sticking its oar in things.
April 6, 2009... Historical remains pose a real problem for developers, who have to stop work while the archaeologists move in During my inglorious years of study to become what I am today I was given a priceless gem of advice from an old lecturer of mine...

COMMENT: MIG offers a new way out of lending crisis.
April 6, 2009... Mortgage insurance gives the chance to offer risk-free, high LTV loans - a set-up working well in Canada Just as music and design can come back into fashion, the same seems to be true of financial products. I'm referring to the call...

COMMENT: Government must not hold back on recovery package.
April 6, 2009... Despite renewed interest from buyers we are a long way from recovery and the government must act decisively Surprises are always nice and last week we all got one when the Consumer Price Index showed that inflation had increased from 3% to...

COMMENT: Saving our way out of a vicious cycle.
April 6, 2009... Kevin Paterson Sales and marketing director Assurant Intermediary Brits repaid a record #8bn of mortgage debt in Q4 2008, a far cry from the equity withdrawal trend of previous years. In fact, the same period in 2007 saw a net equity...

COMMENT: Time to expose the silent scandal of actuarial blunders.
April 6, 2009... In my 26 years in this industry I have worked through some tough periods including a couple of recessions and several wars. But one ongoing crisis has gone largely unnoticed - that of actuarial blunders. For years, brokers have borne the...

COMMENT: We need urgent action but not anarchy.
April 6, 2009... As we all saw on our TV screens there were ugly scenes outside the Bank of England last week as angry G20 protestors clashed with police, causing serious disruption and damage in the City of London. Some of the 5,000-odd demonstrators were...

COMMENT: London will lead recovery.
April 6, 2009... Are these green shoots or is it just the annual spring bounce? With Easter just around the corner, the pick-up in market activity is at least encouraging. Data from the Bank of England shows the number of loans approved for house purchase...

COMMENT: Pay commissions on time.
April 6, 2009... Last week's lead news item in Mortgage Strategy about angry appointed representatives of Network Data protesting outside the firm's Botleys Mansion headquarters was a PR disaster for the company. I've known Network Data Holdings' chief...

60 seconds with Dominic Toller.
April 6, 2009... Dominic Toller Managing director Propertyearth.net What are you doing at the moment? I'm preparing for the launch of Propertyearth.net. It's a web portal that looks to match mainly professional buy-to-let investors with chain- free...

COMMENT: Perils of B2L restrictions.
April 13, 2009... In these turbulent times it is understandable that lenders are cautious about who they lend to, but there are mixed industry views about Cheltenham & Gloucester's criteria changes. It will not lend to clients with more than three...

BUILDING SOCIETIES: West Bromwich denies Coventry merger talks.
April 13, 2009... West Bromwich has denied that it is in merger talks with rival mutual Coventry and says the future of the society's national brokerage Mortgageforce is assured. The comments come from Robert Sharpe, who took over as chief executive of...

E-CONVEYANCING: First e-mortgage is industry milestone.
April 13, 2009... The Land Registry last week marked a significant advance for the mortgage sector by completing the first electronically-signed mortgage. The mortgage, or e-charge, involved was signed electronically by a borrower and registered at 11.20am...

APPOINTMENTS: Jeremy Lyons at Shepherd Direct.
April 13, 2009... Jeremy Lyons has joined Shepherd Direct as group business development director. His role at the group will span Shepherd Chartered Surveyors, Direct Valuations and MoneyQuest Mortgage Brokers. He will also function as managing director...

NETWORKS: AMI will push for clampdown on rogue networks.
April 13, 2009... The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries says it will increase pressure on the Financial Services Authority to take action against networks that delay payment. Mortgage Strategy continues to be contacted by an unrelenting stream of...

STRAW POLL: FSA must make networks pay up.
April 13, 2009... A massive 88% of Mortgage Strategy Online readers say the Financial Services Authority should intervene if networks delay paying their appointed representatives. With ARs becoming increasingly angry at delays in receiving payments, many...

Colleys consolidation will lead to over 100 surveyors losing jobs.
April 13, 2009... Colleys, Halifax's inhouse valuation and surveying firm, has placed all 400 of its chartered surveyors into consultation. The decision is part of a move to merge its two support centres by October. The consultation process will result in...

Brokers worry BM Solutions will follow C&G and get tough on B2L.
April 13, 2009... Brokers are concerned about the future of BM Solutions as a major buy- to-let lender after Cheltenham & Gloucester restricted its lending criteria last week. Buy-to-let investors wishing to approach C&G for funding must now have no more...

INTEREST RATES: No change in base rate this month.
April 13, 2009... The usual clamour over interest rates was overshadowed last week as all eyes were on the Bank of England for an update on its #75bn quantitative easing programme. The Bank kept rates on hold at 0.5% and pledged to continue with its...

Loans etc future in question as it stops accepting new business.
April 13, 2009... Graham Brent, managing director of secured loan master broker Loans etc, is believed to be in discussions with his ex-wife over the future of the firm after halting new business. Brent's former wife owns half of the firm's shares. He says...

Brokers urge lenders to follow HSBC's lead on products.
April 13, 2009... Brokers are calling on lenders to follow in HSBC's footsteps and bring more competitive products to the mortgage market. HSBC recently launched a range of products with maximum LTVs of 90% and fixed rates of 4.99%, with the backing of...

Bailed out banks may be unstable, warns Osborne.
April 13, 2009... Banks bailed out by the government could pose a risk to financial stability, shadow chancellor George Osborne has warned. In a speech at the Royal Society of Arts in London last week, Osborne argued that big banks bailed out with...

Brokers turn to discount club to boost income.
April 13, 2009... Utility Warehouse, a discount club which aims to cut consumers' household bills, claims it has seen a surge in the number of mortgage brokers signing up to use its service. Brokers have been using the service to top up their monthly...

Vision looking to recruit 20 BDMs.
April 13, 2009... Mortgage Times' Vision Network last week revealed that it is to embark on a recruitment drive which will see 20 BDMs added to its sales team. Recruitment days will be held at locations including London, Birmingham and Reading. ...

IN BRIEF: Assurant added to Paradigm GI panel.(Brief article)
April 13, 2009... Assurant Intermediary has been added to Paradigm Mortgage Services' general insurance panel. Members can now offer Assurant's GI range, which includes ASU cover with MPPI, PPI and income protection. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd....

REGULATION: Multiple reform plans may cause confusion.
April 13, 2009... The Council of Mortgage Lenders is warning that separate debates over the future shape of mortgage regulation in the UK and Europe risk causing confusion. Proposals by the Financial Services Authority and the European Commission are being...

REGULATION: Two banned in FSA crackdown.
April 13, 2009... The Financial Services Authority's wave of enforcement action against brokers shows no sign of abating, with the regulator banning two more last week. The latest brokers to feel the regulator's wrath are Peter Dean and James Dean,...

Labour wants to see rise in number of high LTV deals to boost market.
April 13, 2009... The government says it is keen to see a rise in the number of 90% LTV products on the market. The comment was made by Ian Pearson, under-secretary of state for business, enterprise and regulatory reform, at a recent House of Commons...

BROKERS: Tories pledge to get rid of HIPs.
April 13, 2009... Shadow housing minister Grant Shapps has pledged that the Conservatives will abolish Home Information Packs if they are elected at the next general election. The party is also proposing to use some of the proceeds from an annual levy on...

Evaluate's consumer sourcing system upgraded after feedback.
April 13, 2009... Evaluate Technologies has developed its consumer sourcing system to allow users to set the level of broker involvement they require. Consumers who shop for mortgages online can use the EvaluateConsumer system to request advice from brokers...

High premiums may hold back MPPI take-up.
April 13, 2009... General insurance network CETA is warning that mortgage payment protection insurance may become unaffordable as premiums rise in line with the number of claims. David Quick, managing director of CETA, says insurers should be looking to...

Call to fund more self-build loans.
April 13, 2009... BuildStore has called for more funding from lenders to help meet demand for self-build mortgages and pull construction workers out of the dole queue. The self-build specialist says enquiry levels for 2009 show there is a growing demand...

IN BRIEF: Overseas deals could pay off for brokers.(Brief article)
April 13, 2009... Mortgage Brain has launched an overseas mortgage service in partnership with Conti, which will pay brokers 25% commission for each completed case. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Debt firm adding 70 introducers per week.(Brief article)
April 13, 2009... TCF Debt Solutions is adding 70 introducers per week as the trend towards debt management gathers pace, says the firm's managing director Andy Moody. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors