Mortgage Strategy articles from January 2005

Mortgage Strategy archives from January 2005

COMMENT: Preparing for yet more regulation.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... A new year and yet more regulation. From midnight on Thursday the general insurance market becomes regulated by the Financial Services Authority. The FSA will further extend its grip to cover all aspects of insurance sales including...

IN BRIEF: GE appointments.(GE Consumer Finance Home Lending)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... GE Consumer Finance Home Lending has made two senior appointments. Paul Thomas takes on the role of head of mortgage processing and Bruno Heese becomes insurance and sales support leader. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

IN BRIEF: Investors' day.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Preferred Mortgages recently held an investors' day, inviting 30 investors to its Haywards Heath offices. Hosted by George Patellis and John Webster, joint managing directors of Preferred, the event gave visitors the opportunity to ask...

IN BRIEF: MPPI relaunch.(mortgage payment protection insurance )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Calibre HomeSolutions has relaunched MortgageSure, its mortgage payment protection insurance product. In addition to improved rates the relaunch includes a no claims bonus feature providing a free 10% uplift in the monthly benefit for...

Tardy brokers will miss out on GI business.
January 10, 2005... Thousands of mortgage brokers could be temporarily unable to conduct general insurance business from midnight this Thursday, January 13, because they failed to register in time with the Financial Services Authority. Intermediaries...

Brokers' lifeline.(General Insurance Regulations)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Mortgage brokers unregulated for general insurance will have a provisional period to continue trading as long as they get a completed application in before January 14. The Financial Services Authority has thrown brokers this lifeline...

Tales of triumph and tragedy in tsunami disaster.
January 10, 2005... A Liverpool-based mortgage broker can thank a hangover for saving his life in the wake of the South-East Asia tsunami disaster. Chris Tyler, 35, a broker at Liquid Financial Services, was supposed to meet friends at Patang Beach in...

IN BRIEF: CCL application turned down.(consumer credit licence )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... A Southwark-based mortgage broker has had his application for a consumer credit licence refused. Soner Orhan Enver had his application refused as he had seven convictions for placing cards in phone boxes advertising prostitutes. This is an...

Home credit industry probe.
January 10, 2005... The home credit industry is to be subjected to a major investigation by the Competition Commission after regulators expressed serious concerns about lending practices in the #2bn-a-year sector. The decision to probe the provision of home...

Accounts show MPLC paid #3.1m for Genesis.(Genesis)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Mortgages PLC paid an initial consideration of #3.1m for Genesis which it acquired on February 5 2004. The 2004 annual accounts for MPLC's parent company Mortgage Holdings filed at Companies House show that goodwill was the largest...

Fees-free remortgages.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Pink Home Loans is planning to shake up the sub-prime market with the launch of a range of fees-assisted remortgage deals. Funded by its branded lender partners - Mortgages PLC, GMAC-RFC and Platform - the product range aims to cater for...

Lib Dem intervention dismissed.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... The Financial Services Authority has dismissed the Liberal Democrats' call for a review of self-cert mortgages. The FSA says it has already looked at the sector and found no need to put checks in place beyond those in MCOB. And...

PAA offers intermediaries half price leads.(Professional Advisor Alliance)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Professional Advisor Alliance, the leads generation arm of financial website moneysupermarket. com, is offering half price leads for two months to its intermediaries. For any intermediary prepared to double their monthly cap of leads...

IN BRIEF: Streamlined IFA service.(Independent Financial Advisers)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Threesixty Services, the fee-based support provider, has launched a deal with LifeQuote to provide express underwriting and administration services to its IFAs. This will provide streamlined underwriting and administration services to the 700...

IN BRIEF: Yorkshire cut.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... The Yorkshire has reduced the cost of its fixed rate mortgages. The revised deals are available to all borrowers whether they are moving home or just moving their mortgage. A two-year fixed rate is now available at 4.59%, down from 4.69%, and a...

Xmas remortgaging concern.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Overspending at Christmas is pushing even more people into paying off credit card debts by remortgaging, a policy industry experts warn can be risky. John Wriglesworth, chief economist for Hometrack, says: "It is increasingly common for...

Non-compliant websites risk being struck off.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Mortgage websites that make no reference to the Financial Services Authority risk being struck off for breaching regulations. Two months into statutory regulation, some sites are still referring to the Mortgage Code of Compliance Board and...

Use regulation to boost equity release sales, says KRS.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Key Retirement Solutions says advisers should be using regulation to help boost consumer confidence in equity release and drive up business. In the month following Mortgage Day, the specialist IFA processed 313 cases, up 16% from 271 in...

IN BRIEF: Completions up 35% at SPML.(Southern Pacific Mortgage Ltd.)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited saw a 35% rise in completions in its 2003/04 trading year. Completions across first and second charge loans rose from #1.7bn in 2002/3 to #2.3bn. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Confident start.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... House hunters started 2005 on a brighter note, says research from property websites assertahome.com and propertyfinder.com. After hitting a low in November, confidence in the housing market recovered slightly in December. Nearly two-thirds -...

Bolton becomes MD of BM Solutions.(appointment of Michael Bolton to managing director)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Mortgage supremo Michael Bolton has been promoted to managing director of BM Solutions. The former head of mortgages at the company will, on top of his role as MD of BMS, take on responsibility for Halifax intermediaries, commanding a...

Year-on-year fall in total lending.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Latest figures from the Bank of England show growth in total lending to individuals in November 2004 was dramatically below that for the same month in 2003. In November 2003 lending grew by #11bn, compared with #7.8bn in the same month...

IN BRIEF: Landlords urged to use agents.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... The National Association of Estate Agents is urging stressed landlords to make an extra new year's resolution - to get a letting agent. The number of landlords has recently soared with the recent boom in buy-to- let investment attracting more...

IN BRIEF: Ipswich gets new services manager.(appointment of Emyr Jones )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Ipswich has appointed Emyr Jones as its head of management services. Jones will be responsible for the delivery of IT services within the society and also for facilities management. His previous roles have included change manager of IT at...

IN BRIEF: Banks were the cheapest lenders in 2004.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... In its latest survey, Defaqto reveals that banks held on to the top spots as cheapest lenders in 2004, with four in the top five places. The annual survey by the financial research company shows that for standard variable rate mortgages or...

Survey reveals networks' share of AR pie.(appointed representatives )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Network Data has almost four times as many appointed representatives as its nearest competitor, a survey of mortgage networks reveals. Information available on the FSA web register shows Network Data has 543 ARs, an 89% increase on the...

IN BRIEF: Rock changes.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Northern Rock has introduced new products and cut rates on much of its range. One option is a flexible fixed rate, without an extended early repayment charge, of 4.99% up to 85% LTV and 5.29% up to 95%. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

IN BRIEF: Move welcomed.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Equity release trade body Safe Home Income Plans has welcomed the government's progress on home reversion plans. The decision to regulate the schemes means all equity release products will be offered within the same market framework. ...

Countrywide drops UK plans.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... US mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp has, for now, killed plans to create a sub-prime lending division in the UK. Speaking to Mortgage Strategy, CFC chairman and chief executive Angelo Mozilo confirms the idea has been put on hold...

Fannie Mae in capital crisis.(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... As Mortgage Strategy went to press, Fannie Mae, the Congressionally- chartered mortgage giant, was designated "critically undercapitalised" by its regulator, a designation that allows the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight to...

VOX POP: Will brokers have to sell cover via their networks?
January 10, 2005... From midnight on January 13 all insurance activities will be regulated by the Financial Services Authority. From that date the regulator will have responsibility for all firms that sell insurance, whether it's protection cover like MPPI to...

With 2005 predicted to be a tough year economically.
January 10, 2005... What do you think is in store for the housing market? A slowing housing sector and low mortgage volumes in 2005 will make Efficiency and innovation more important that every, say our experts Richard Farr is group marketing...

Market Watch.
January 10, 2005... While swap rates have increased marginally since December, this should not have a huge impact on current pricing. * One-year money is up 0.02% at 4.88% * Two-year money is up 0.02% at 4.82% * Three-year money is up 0.01% at 4.82%...

MONTY BURN: Now is the time to consider diversifying.
January 10, 2005... Almost frightening how time flies isn't it? We wait all year for Christmas and the new year to relax and enjoy ourselves, shift a few sherberts and gorge on everything that is bad for us and then bang, it's all over in a flash. But let's...

On the beat.(Financial regulations)
January 10, 2005... With all the column inches devoted to regulation over the past 18 months, I have no wish to add to the total. However, it is undeniably true that any poll of intermediaries' and lenders' concerns will bring to the surface one topic, the Key...

Financial health matters.
January 10, 2005... Among the acres of newsprint devoted to chancellor Gordon Brown's pre- Budget report, one announcement received virtually no media attention, namely the creation of a 'financial inclusion fund.' This fund will give away #120m over a...

Letter: More than tinkering is needed to make KFIs clear and fair.(Letter to the Editor)
January 10, 2005... From Danny Lovey The Financial Services Authority seems to believe that it is right and the market is wrong. The market knows that more than mere tinkering is required to make the KFI 'clear, fair and not misleading' as originally...

Letter: FSA should name and shame complaints-handling laggards.(Letter to the Editor)
January 10, 2005... From Louise Hanson In response to the FSA's letter to CEOs of endowment providers, the number of companies the FSA has identified which are 'failing to meet the required standards' in dealing with complaints is depressing, especially...

Letter: Couple were treated unfairly by an FSA-authorised firm.(Letter to the Editor)
January 10, 2005... From Nigel Pamment I recently got a phone call from a young lady buying her first house with her husband. The couple had used a company initially based in the West Midlands which had been to see them once and taken an upfront fee of #85...

COMMENT: An A to Z guide to 2005.(Chronology)
January 10, 2005... Kevin Duffy looks into his crystal ball to see how certain mortgage luminaries and firms might perform in 2005, with particular emphasis on stock-picking tips for when corporate activity starts in earnest A is for Acquisition, Attrition and...

Look forward, not back, this year.
January 10, 2005... In the competitive times that lie ahead for the industry, sales and marketing activity should be targeted at oncoming business rather than relying on continuing growth, says Stephen Knight Economic outlook The chancellor's predictions...

How many ARs to change a lightbulb?(appointed representative)
January 10, 2005... Mathematical analysis and a revealing trawl through the minutiae of the FSA's web register of AR firms suggest the answer to the above question is 1.4, says Richard Griffiths To move into 2005 with a clear picture of the number of...

Most brokers are poorly prepared to sell regulated insurance products.
January 10, 2005... A final reminder - insurance regulation starts on January 14. Technically it starts at midnight January 13, so as of this Friday, all insurance activities will be regulated by the FSA. Unlike the investment and other financial markets that...

DEAR DELIA: Apartment in desirable location.
January 10, 2005... Dear Delia, Mr James wants to buy an apartment in the desirable location of Castlefield in the centre of Manchester. He has approached several high street banks but has been rejected due to the building type. It is of steel construction with a...

Heading for cover.( authorisation )
January 10, 2005... From midnight January 13, the insurance market will come under statutory regulation. But are mortgage brokers prepared? Stephanie Spicer investigates Many mortgage brokers had a relaxing Christmas and no doubt a merry new year celebration...

Banana skins lie ahead for unsuspecting mortgage advisers.
January 10, 2005... Nick Kirwan, protection marketing director, Scottish Widows The new regulations for protection business and general insurance may feel like more of the same for some IFAs. For others, life under the FSA will transform the way they work. Either...

Ensure you recommend appropriate products.
January 10, 2005... Roger Edwards, products director, Bright Grey 'Your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured on it.' This oft-overlooked warning that appears on all mortgage literature is a reminder that when a...

Price will no longer be the sole consideration.(Mortgage Day)( Insurance Conduct of Business )(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... Kevin Paterson, managing director, Park Row Group Getting through Mortgage Day was traumatic for many brokers, but many more underestimated the impact of the final stage of regulation, coming this week in the shape of GI Day. The main reason...

Rewards will increase along with confidence.( Insurance Conduct of Business )
January 10, 2005... Alan Dring, head of sales, Standard Life Bank There is growing concern about the 'protection gap' that has left many consumers open to financial hardship should they be exposed to redundancy or critical illness. As the media and industry...

This Week - 10.01.05: John Wriglesworth.(on real estate industry)(Brief Article)
January 10, 2005... JOHN WRIGLESWORTH, economist 2004 ended on a subdued note with commentators issuing downward forecasts for 2005. But an important voice that should be heeded is that of house buyers and sellers themselves. Property website...

INSIGHT: Perils of giving advice to debtors.(self-cert mortgages)
January 10, 2005... Advising clients to take out self-cert mortgages for the purpose of debt consolidation could lead to brokers falling foul of the regulator. Direct them to the Citizens Advice Bureau, says Neal Smith Following on from my last article of 2004...

INSIGHT: Make technology pay its way in 2005.
January 10, 2005... This year will be a tough one for the mortgage industry so it is important that all players in the market cut costs by placing technology at the heart of their operations, says Frank Eve This will be a difficult year for mortgage brokers....

Insight: Internetinsite.
January 10, 2005... JEFF SUTHERLAND-KAY Many thanks to all those who have suggested websites I should look at during 2005 - I seem to have enough web addresses to fill my column for many weeks to come. But I thought I'd put my broker website list aside for...

Curriculum Vitae: David Wylie.(Interview)
January 10, 2005... Name: David Wylie Age: 36 Company: c2-financial Job Title: Managing director Where do you live? Chichester, West Sussex Describe your current job: Aside from the usual MD responsibilities I am allowed out of the office...

Packagers thrown into confusion.
January 17, 2005... The future of small regulated mortgage packagers could take a turn for the worse with the publication of the Financial Service Authority's first consultation paper of 2005. CP 05/1 proposes amendments to the Mortgage Conduct of Business...

FSA proposals cause industry confusion.(Financial Services Authority )
January 17, 2005... ThE financial Services Authority has moved to clarify confusion about the future of authorised packagers and branded lenders caused by its new proposals. Some in the industry are worried the regulator's quarterly consultation, posted on...

B&B in radical fees restructure.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Bradford & Bingley aims to shake up high street broking by introducing a fixed flat fee of #199 after research showed consumers hated its pricing model of 0.4% or #200 minimum. The broker has also axed 25 of its 50 panel lenders after...

Xit2 completes MBO led by MD Duckworth.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... IT firm xit2 has completed a management buyout led by managing director Paul Duckworth. The MBO is the latest step of an agreement made when Duckworth joined the company in 2000, and has been personally funded by the directors without...

Breaking News: B&W unveils ambitious plans for 2005.(Bristol & West Mortgages )(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Bristol & West Mortgages says it will focus on remortgaging in the year ahead whilst seeking to aggressively expand its self-cert and buy-to- let market share. Alongside these proposals, B&W is stepping up the marketing of its offset...

Breaking News: Darby exits B&B.(Bradford & Bingley)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Bradford & Bingley's group commercial director Ian Darby and head of public relations Siobhan Hotten have both left the company. Their departure was confirmed internally last Thursday. Speculation was rife last year that Darby, currently on...

OFT moves to close firms linked to Steene.( Office of Fair Trading )
January 17, 2005... THE Office of Fair Trading is attempting to close down three companies controlled by David Steene, founder of the notorious City Mortgage Corporation. OFT officials have issued minded to revoke notices against the Oxford Contact Group...

GMAC-RFC helps debtors.(GMAC Residential Funding Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... In the UK the foundation will fund two Citizen's Advice Bureau debt specialists whose sole purpose will be to help mortgage borrowers struggling with debt problems. Stephen Knight, chairman of GMAC-RFC, says: "Repossession is a dreadful...

Firm told to pull eBay mortgage ad.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Auction website eBay has told a company inviting bids for a mortgage to withdraw its advert from the site as it offers nothing for users to actually bid for. Fitzwilliam Finance had placed an item on the site under the category of...

IN BRIEF: Expanding Chase UK promotes Swyny.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Expanding direct-to-market packager Chase UK has appointed Steve Swyny as sales director. He will be responsible for the 20-strong sales team based in Portsmouth. Swyny has been with Chase for the past two years, running the insurance...

IN BRIEF: IFAs fear PI hike after regulation.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... A survey of IFAs by professional indemnity broker PYV has found that 43% believe general insurance regulation will further hike up the cost of PI premiums in 2005. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

No MCCB money for SE Asia.(Mortgage Code Compliance Board )(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... The Mortgage Code Compliance Board says it will not be able to donate its surplus funds to the tsunami appeal. At a BM Solutions sales conference in Prague at the beginning of January, John Malone, managing director of Premier Mortgage...

MS voters condemn Gummer decision.(John Gummer)(Mortgage Strategy)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Nearly eight out of 10 brokers believe there is a clear conflict of interest in AMI chairman John Gummer accepting a non-executive role at Sovereign Reversions. Last November Mortgage Strategy revealed that Gummer had accepted the post at...

Take care when advising on SPASU, warns AMI.(Association of Mortgage Intermediaries)(single premium accident, sickness and unemployment)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries is warning brokers that recommending single premium accident, sickness and unemployment cover as the answer to all the protection needs of clients is not feasible under the FSA. Single premium...

IN BRIEF: GI checklist.(Association of Mortgage Intermediaries)(General Insurance Checklist)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has produced a GI checklist to help brokers through the transition to FSA regulation. It urges intermediaries to ensure their businesses comply with new rules. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

IN BRIEF: Popular homes.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Though most homebuyers prefer detached housing, the popularity of terraces grew in 2004, says Norwich and Peterborough. The number of loans taken out by N&P customers on terraced homes increased by nearly 2% last year. Copyright: Centaur...

FSA says GI register is fine.(Financial Services Authority )(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... The Financial Services Authority is reassuring brokers it has learnt from the experience of Mortgage Day and claims its general insurance register was absolutely accurate by General Insurance Day last Friday. But Robin Gordon-Walker,...

Cluttons brokerage launched to target upmarket clients.(Cluttons Private Finance)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... London estate agent Cluttons has launched brokerage arm Cluttons Private Finance. The firm is looking to follow in the steps of Savills and Hamptons International which have enjoyed success offering mortgage advice off the back of high net...

KFI awareness campaign hits the national press.(Financial Services Authority)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... The Financial Services Authority kick-started a KFI awareness campaign in the national press last week. Aimed at consumers looking for mortgages, general insurance and financial advice, it warns them not to act "without the key facts"....

AMI warns of regulation costs triple whammy.(Association of Mortgage Intermediaries)
January 17, 2005... The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries is warning brokers they face a triple whamy of regulation-related costs this year. As well as paying the Financial Services Authority's fees, brokers will have to pay into the Financial Ombudsman...

FSA reshuffles department heads.(Financial Services Authority)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... The Financial Services Authority has appointed Stephen Bland as acting director of its small business division, which has responsibility for the majority of mortgage brokers. The position heading up the division, which oversees the...

Heritable approvals slow.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Mark Sismey-Durrant, chief executive at Heritable Bank, says economists who attribute the recent decline in the rate of mortgage approvals solely to a slackening market are overlooking regulation. He says: "While it is undeniable the...

Wolverhampton broker shuts down.(Essential Mortgages)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... A mortgage broker in Wolverhampton closed last week amid reports in the Express & Star that more than 100 people have been left without jobs and thousands of customer accounts are in jeopardy. Staff at Essential Mortgages, based in the...

MPC freezes base rate for another month.(Monetary Policy Committee)(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee last Thursday maintained the base rate at 4.75%, as was expected by the industry. Ray Boulger, senior technical manager at Charcol, says: "Although the possibility of a cut was discussed at...

Anger over non-FSA ads.(Financial Services Authority )(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Industry figures are up in arms over mortgage firms continuing to use non-compliant adverts, three months into Financial Services Authority regulation. Many ads in the consumer press are still not compliant. On one page of a regional...

Pension changes will boost B2L.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Changes to pension funds in 2006 will enhance the buy-to-let market, the National Association of Commercial Finance Brokers claims. From April 2006 consumers will be able to purchase residential buy-to- let property as part of their...

Societies to lead the way in recruitment.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Building societies are expecting a jobs boost despite last year's poor summer, says the Confederation of British Industry. A survey by the CBI and PricewaterhouseCoopers shows jobs in the financial services industry as a whole are to be...

Fast-track FPCs for brokers.(Financial Planning Certificates )(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Mortgage brokers will be able to fast-track their way to obtaining their Financial Planning Certificates on mortgages under training plans unveiled by the Society of Mortgage Professionals. This means those choosing to take the MAQ exam run...

Stars line up for commercial fund.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... SIR ELTON John, Rod Stewart, David Bowie and Pop Idol judge Simon Cowell are among the showbiz stars set to sign up to a #400m commercial property fund. Active Asset Investment Management, backed by Man United manager Sir Alex Ferguson,...

IN BRIEF: 130% Deal launched.(Brief Article)
January 17, 2005... Mortgage Express has launched Max 130 - a product that enables homebuyers to borrow up to 130% of their property's value with no higher lending charge. Max 130 is designed to meet the needs of first-time buyers, people without a deposit...