Mortgage Strategy articles from March 2008

Mortgage Strategy archives from March 2008

COMMENT: Packagers keep faith at Summit.
March 3, 2008... Delegates at Mortgage Strategy's Packager Summit last week were upbeat, despite research from The Mortgage Business showing just 8% of senior staff in the sector were confident about the future. The liquidity crisis has hit the market hard...

Packagers can ride the storm.
March 3, 2008... Remortgages and the buoyant buy-to-let market will act as lifelines for many packagers this year. Research from The Mortgage Business reveals that the huge number of borrowers coming off fixed rates - a market estimated to be worth a...

Sourcing system to take on big boys.
March 3, 2008... The developer of packager software system Gravity is looking to set up a whole of market sourcing system to rival Mortgage Brain and Trigold. Called Orbiter, it will offer sourcing, processing and online compliance services. The...

Lenders move to combat fraud in new-build deals.
March 3, 2008... Several lenders have overhauled their new-build strategies as part of an industry campaign designed to combat fraud. As Mortgage Strategy exclusively revealed last month, Philip Robinson, director of the financial crime and intelligence...

IN BRIEF: Advantage sale rumours denied.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Morgan Stanley has publicly denied rumours that Credit Suisse has submitted an offer to snap up the shell of Advantage, its defunct UK lending arm. But a source inside the US investment firm has confirmed it is considering offers for the...

IN BRIEF: MTE links up with Ipswich.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... The Mortgage Trading Exchange's 26,000 users can now complete online applications for Ipswich's mortgages regardless of which sourcing or point-of-sale system they use. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: FSA threatens TCF fines.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... The Financial Service Authority says it will increase penalties to achieve its Treating Customers Fairly goals. It also says its TCF deadlines will remain in place despite difficult market conditions. Clive Briault, managing director of retail...

IN BRIEF: InterBay plans to axe up to 25 jobs.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... InterBay is to axe up to 25 jobs despite record levels of business over the past month. The specialist commercial lender says that worsening market conditions have led to its decision. The cuts will be made across the company and all...

Godiva enters equity release.
March 3, 2008... Brokers have heralded the dawn of an equity release remortgage market following the launch of early repayment charge-free lifetime deals by Godiva Mortgages. Coventry's intermediary brand's range offers lump sum and drawdown mortgages...

Readers back higher Stamp Duty threshold.
March 3, 2008... A massive 86% of Mortgage Strategy Online readers want the chancellor to increase the minimum Stamp Duty threshold in the Budget. First-time buyers need all the help they can get following the demise of 125% LTV deals. Copyright:...

Liquidator backs under fire chair.
March 3, 2008... BLACKANDWHITE chairman Chris Ollerenshaw has won praise for his handling of the firm's closure. Bob Young, a director of corporate recovery firm Begbies Traynor and the appointed administrator for Blackandwhite, says: "We've had...

Astra to deal with all N&P broker business.
March 3, 2008... Astra Mortgages has been repositioned as Norwich and Peterborough's intermediary brand. As of March 10, all N&P's broker business will be transacted through Astra, which launched as a specialist lender in June 2007. Meanwhile, Astra...

Stock Picker: 03.03.08.
March 3, 2008... Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley shares rose this week thanks to takeover rumours. Following disappointing results, investors speculated that both lenders' valuations now look tempting to predators such as Lloyds TSB. But...

IN BRIEF: Confidence in economy falls.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Britons' confidence in the UK economy is at its lowest level since 1994, research by GfK NOP shows. Its confidence data has fallen four points to minus 17. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Brokers failing to follow up client cases.
March 3, 2008... A shocking 40% of HBOS' remortgage business is submitted by brokers who did not place the original deals. Nigel Stockton, managing director of HBOS Intermediaries, says this is a worrying statistic given the prevailing market conditions....

Rate hikes add to first-timers' woes.
March 3, 2008... Nationwide has ramped up the rates on its 75% and 90% LTV deals by 0.2%. This is a further blow for first-time buyers following the withdrawal of all 125% LTV products from the market. Nationwide's two-year fixed rate 90% LTV deal has...

House prices may plummet.
March 3, 2008... House prices are set to tumble by 6% this year and continue to fall into 2009. In a recent research note, Malcolm Barr, JP Morgan's chief UK economist, says that data from the Bank of England, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors...

E-conveyancing delays under fire on MSTV.
March 3, 2008... The impact of government delays on e-conveyancing is scrutinised by MSTV this week. Eddie Goldsmith, partner at Goldsmith Williams, says that with plans to upgrade the Land Registry to provide electronic fund transfers and a chain matrix...

Omnii launches credit checking software.
March 3, 2008... Omnii Solutions has launched a software programme to help brokers verify clients' credit records. Called Checkit, the software provides credit risk assessments including money laundering checks as well as automated property valuations....

IN BRIEF: House prices rose 0.9% in January.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... House prices in England and Wales rose by 0.9% in January, according to the Land Registry. This takes the average house price in England and Wales to #186,045. London saw annual house price growth of 13.1% with an average price of #357,976....

IN BRIEF: Exclusive self-cert deal launched.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... 3mc has launched a prime self-cert deal available exclusively to Association of Mortgage Packagers and Distributors members. The two- year fixed rate deal has an initial rate of 5.99% and has been launched in partnership with The Mortgage...

IN BRIEF: Eco-town shortlist imminent.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Housing minister Caroline Flint is due to release a shortlist of eco- town sites in the next few weeks. The zero-carbon towns were proposed last year and over 50 plans have been considered by the government. Flint says the shortlist will be...

IN BRIEF: Network appoints father and son.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... FT Partners has made Alan Wheatley its chairman and his son Jon a non- executive director. Alan has served as chairman of Utilico Investment Trust and deputy chairman of Cable and Wireless. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

Third draft for packager code.
March 3, 2008... The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries' code of conduct for packagers is about to enter its third draft. AMI hopes it will be implemented in April. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Goldsmith data bucks trend.
March 3, 2008... Goldsmith Williams figures published last week reveal a 20% increase in completions. The figures compare one-month periods in Q4 2007 and Q1 2008 and defy expectations of fewer completions due to the liquidity crisis. Alan Dring,...

Job cuts likely at London Scottish.
March 3, 2008... Jobs are under threat at London Scottish Mortgages following its parent company's decision to wind up its lending arms. The lender has been consulting with staff about redundancies since January, although it declines to comment on how many...

SPML's head of sales joins Evaluate as BDM.
March 3, 2008... Evaluate Technologies has poached Southern Pacific Mortgage Limited's head of sales to become its first BDM. Lynsey Mitchel has been recruited to help Evaluate compete with the UK's leading sourcing systems. Her appointment follows the...

BDS partners Viva to boost AR numbers.
March 3, 2008... BDS Mortgage Group's network has partnered with overseas lender Viva Costa International Mortgages to help boost its appointed representative numbers by 25% in 2008. Through the deal, BDS' ARs can monitor their cases using Viva's online...

B2L lending soared in 2007.
March 3, 2008... Buy-to-let lending boomed by #2.9bn in the second half of 2007. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders show that buy-to-let lending increased to #24.1bn in the six months to December, up from #21.2bn in the first half of the year. ...

Pre-tax profits up 52% at Newcastle.(Financial report)
March 3, 2008... A surge in gross lending helped Newcastle record a 52% jump in pre-tax profits for 2007. The society's lending topped the #1bn mark last year, compared with #693m in 2006. Jonathan Westhoff, finance director at Newcastle, says: "Some...

Former Paymentshield boss takes role at 3XD.
March 3, 2008... Rick Riding has joined fellow ex-Paymentshield directors at 3XD, where he has been appointed non-executive chairman. Riding, who was founder, director and chairman of Paymentshield, left the company in 2004 following a management buyout....

Sub-prime slump claims sales jobs at Freedom.
March 3, 2008... Freedom Finance has axed 14 employees in response to a downturn in sub- prime lending. This follows the culling of 40 jobs at Freedom and subsidiary Mortgage Next at the end of November. The recent job losses affected 11 field sales...

IN BRIEF: Scottish trends in spotlight at Expo.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Kennedy Foster, Scotland policy consultant at the Council of Mortgage Lenders, will chair a seminar on housing market trends in Scotland at the Mortgage Business Expo in Glasgow on Thursday. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

IN BRIEF: FSA says it will stick to principles.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Financial Services Authority chief executive Hector Sants says that the recent market turbulence and problems at Northern Rock will not affect its commitment to principles-based regulation. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

IN BRIEF: MAB launches POS system.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Mortgage Advice Bureau has launched its MIDAS point-of-sale system following a successful pilot. It analyses lead generation sales results and sources mortgages while monitoring case administration and compliance. Copyright: Centaur...

IN BRIEF: CAB will offer advice by podcast.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Citizens Advice Bureau and YouthNet have joined forces to provide money advice to 16 to 25 year olds online and via podcasts, audio content and mobile phones. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

TMA in secured loan tie-up.
March 3, 2008... The Mortgage Alliance is entering the secured loans market via a strategic partnership with Loanmakers. The deal is part of the mortgage club's move towards offering a full range of mortgage-related products to brokers. The firm now...

Founder of PMPA retires from board.
March 3, 2008... Ian Nelson has resigned from the Professional Mortgage Packagers Alliance's board to concentrate on his retirement. The PMPA founder's decision follows the recent sale of his majority stake in BDS Mortgage Group to Pink Home Loans. He...

Will end of high LTV deals affect your ability to buy or remortgage?
March 3, 2008... Last week the death knell rang for the 125% LTV mortgage, as Coventry, Northern Rock, Alliance & Leicester and BM Solutions pulled their deals. The withdrawals are bad news for first-time buyers who are now likely to have an even tougher...

IN BRIEF: GMAC launches e-newsletter.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... GMAC-RFC has launched an online newsletter for brokers. Called E-news, it will be issued every month and will aim to keep brokers informed about industry news and forthcoming events. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: KRS and Ipswich join forces.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Ipswich and Key Retirement Solutions have launched an equity release partnership. This means all of Ipswich's equity release customers will be introduced to the specialist broker for advice. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

ANALYSIS: Market watch - 03.03.08.
March 3, 2008... Swaps continued to edge upwards last week, but they seem to play virtually no role in dictating what happens to mortgage rates. * One-year money is up 0.11% at 5.39% * Two-year money is up 0.15% at 5.09% * Three-year money is up...

Are firms prepared for regulator's Treating Customers Fairly deadline.
March 3, 2008... Although small brokers have struggled to implement TCF in the past, our experts think they are on course for the FSA's first deadline this year Peter Curran is head of distribution at Bank of Scotland Mortgages Last May the Financial...

ANALYSIS: It's wise to call clients home owners.
March 3, 2008... About a week ago I conducted a telephone interview with Toni Moss in the US. Moss, who prefers to describe herself as a Texan rather than an American, is the driving force behind a pan-European conference on mortgage servicing called...

ANALYSIS: Grass up Arthur Daley types to FSA.
March 3, 2008... If you haven't seen the spoof sales pitch of a US broker on Videojug.com (www.videojug.com/film/how-to-buy-a-home-with-no-money- down), I urge you to because it's hilarious. In the short film, an actor playing the role of an overzealous...

ANALYSIS: Three definitions of what's fair are unfair.
March 3, 2008... Our industry has some difficult issues to face right now. Liquidity remains sparse and lenders continue to chop and change their products and criteria. We've also got a regulator with an agenda made up of its Treating Customers Fairly...

ANALYSIS: Trust's key to win battle for hearts and minds.
March 3, 2008... These days consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the companies behind the products they purchase and their buying decisions are influenced by their perceptions of the firms involved. Classic examples of this are the recent campaign...

ANALYSIS: Save FTBs before Jordan gets them.
March 3, 2008... In the past I've been adamant that home ownership is a privilege not a right. Not everyone will be able to buy property and if they are not in a financial position to do so, they shouldn't be encouraged to live beyond their means. But I...

ANALYSIS: Advantage's fall no sign of US retreat.
March 3, 2008... There was more bad news for the mortgage market recently when US investment giant Morgan Stanley decided to close Advantage. The sub-prime lender is the highest profile casualty of the liquidity crisis that has been raging for over six...

ANALYSIS: Hurrah for legal judgement against FOS.
March 3, 2008... Sense prevails, but how long will it last and how widespread will the ramifications be? I refer to the little reported but sagacious decision of a County Court judge in Trowbridge who ruled against the Financial Ombudsman Service. In...

ANALYSIS: Packagers will survive the downturn.
March 3, 2008... The recent news that Bill Warren has been made redundant from the Regulatory Alliance of Mortgage Packagers and that Eddie Smith has left the Professional Mortgage Packagers Alliance is a sign of the times. Having completed a strategic...

ANALYSIS: Rent-back strives to clean up its act.
March 3, 2008... The sale-and-rent-back industry has been in the news recently because it is addressing its negative image. An industry trade body, the National Association of Sale and Rent Back, has been established to target poor practice in the sector....

ANALYSIS: Credit crisis moves into the courtroom.
March 3, 2008... The decision by Germany's HSH Nordbank to sue Swiss bank UBS for failing to manage assets according to prudent investment objectives is an interesting move and represents the next stage of the ongoing credit crisis. The concept of...

ANALYSIS: Immigrants may boost brokers' B2L business.
March 3, 2008... A number of recent reports have highlighted the fact that buy-to-let is now a mature sector and should perform relatively well in 2008, despite the expected economic downturn. There is no shortage of statistics available to prove the...

MPC: Shadow MPC.
March 3, 2008... Concerns about inflation and the desire for more time to judge the effect of recent base rate cuts lead the Mortgage Strategy GE Money Home Lending Shadow Monetary Policy Committee to call for a freeze in the base rate this month Melanie...

LETTER: Packagers are being edged out of the value chain.(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2008... From Chris Gardner The packaging industry saw another casualty recently in the form of LMS Packaging. Staff lose their jobs, brokers lose their money and so it goes on. We also saw vultures circling for any scraps they could find in...

LETTER: Packagers that take pain now will win long-term survival game.(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2008... From Eddie Smith I agree with many of the points Rob Jupp raises in his recent letter regarding packagers (Mortgage Strategy February 25). I am a victim of the recent twists and turns in the mortgage sector but I believe packagers...

LETTER: It pays for valuers to do home inspections promptly.(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2008... From Richard Sexton Andrew Botte's recent letter (Mortgage Strategy February 18) outlines some frustrating circumstances with which I have some sympathy. No valuer I'm aware of would expect anybody to sit around in a property for...

LETTER: Don't let the crunch take us back to the bad old days.(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2008... From Stephen Knight My old friend Colin Snowdon, chief executive officer of Wave, has been running an interesting series of advertorials in the trade press recently, provoking debate on a range of mortgage-related issues. Until...

LETTER: Consumers don't understand why deals aren't attractive.(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2008... From Danny Lovey We are going through one of the worst periods the mortgage market has seen in recent years as a result of the liquidity crisis. With the Bank of England base rate standing at 5.25%, many consumers I speak to find it...

LETTER: FSA's support for finance academy is misjudged.(Letter to the editor)
March 3, 2008... Name and address supplied I was interested to read that the Financial Services Authority is backing a financial services academy for disadvantaged youngsters (Mortgage Strategy February 25). The facility is being operated by the London...

HIGH HOPES: That Vision thing.
March 3, 2008... Mortgage Times has big plans for the year ahead, says director Chris May. It is turning Vision into an IFA network and has developed a software platform to allow brokers to broaden their advice. Matt West reports Big is a word often...

COMMENT: Brokers play fast-track and loose.
March 3, 2008... Kevin Paterson takes a weekly look at the latest developments in the market and brings you what's hot and what's not in the world of mortgages Concerns about the misuse of fast-track mortgages continue to be raised. Such deals are used...

COMMENT: PII costs rocket as ambulance chasers sniff mis-selling.
March 3, 2008... Insurers have raised brokers' premiums for professional indemnity insurance by as much as 500% in recent months. The hikes come on the back of the FSA's recent review of brokers working in the sub-prime sector. Of the 200 firms the...

COMMENT: Watch out when implementing TCF.
March 3, 2008... Small brokers in particular must ensure the regulator does not uncover significant TCF failings as consumers are likely to see the initiative in a positive light, says Justine Tomlinson When the Financial Services Authority first released...

COMMENT: Don't jump to hasty conclusions.
March 3, 2008... It was interesting to read the results of recent research by BM Solutions and the interpretation this was given. Surveys can be an effective way of capturing the views of a large audience but they can sometimes result in misleading conclusions....

COMMENT: Seek out fresh income streams.
March 3, 2008... Brokers' views differ in terms of the outlook for this year but many think focussing on remortgages will protect them against the current turmoil. It will be interesting to see how the remortgage market plays out in 2008. HSBC has...

COMMENT: We should not have bailed out NR.
March 3, 2008... The government's handling of NR has not impressed anyone and perhaps it would have been better for the lender to have been left to the free market, says Sue Read Recently I met up with our BDM and a friend from Northern Rock, a woman...

COMMENT: Welcome to the world of tomorrow.
March 3, 2008... Prophecies made in the 1950s about today's housing were mostly wide of the mark although they got some things right, including microwaves and remote controls, says Simon White While clearing out some old books recently I found a magazine...

COMMENT: Brokers must show they will survive.
March 3, 2008... Consumers want to be reassured their brokers will still be around in the future should problems arise so small firms must look at how to prove their financial stability, says Rob Clifford There's no denying that small brokerages continue...

COMMENT: Read small print on long-term deals.
March 3, 2008... There are some attractive long-term fixed rate products available but brokers and consumers must not assume that such deals are as portable as they first appear, says Katie Tucker Long-term fixed rates are starting to look sexy again. For...

DEAR DELIA: Clients find buy-to-let investment.
March 3, 2008... My clients have found a property that they want to purchase as a buy-to- let investment. The problem is that it requires extensive refurbishment and is not suitable for immediate occupancy. Also, the vendor wants to complete as soon as...

COMMENT: Handling big risks in a harsh climate.
March 3, 2008... The FSA's Financial risk outlook investigates the biggest risks facing the mortgage industry and discusses how firms can cope with the prevailing market conditions, says Bill Warren Continuing my look at the Financial Services Authority's...

Roger's Round Britain Rambles: Leeds.
March 3, 2008... Leeds - did you know? 1. Bede's eighth century tract Ecclesiastical history of the English people mentions Loidis, which became Leeds. 2. Natives of Leeds are known as Loiners. 3. Leeds played a big role in the Industrial...

CurriculumVitae: Colin Blears.
March 3, 2008... Name: Colin Blears Age: 27 Company: Quest Associates Job title: BDM and Home Information Pack specialist Where do you live? Arborfield, Berkshire Describe your current job: I'm responsible for the HIP side of the...

COMMENT: Budget chance to kick-start market.
March 10, 2008... A bruised and battered mortgage market awaits the Budget speech on Wednesday with bated breath. It will be made by the first chancellor to preside over a run on a UK bank since savers lined the streets outside Overend, Gurney & Co in 1866. ...

Stamp Duty up 82% since 2002.
March 10, 2008... Stamp Duty has rocketed by a shocking 82% in just six years, new research from Halifax reveals. The data shows that since 2002 the average Stamp Duty bill for first- time buyers has gone up by #800, rising over the six years from #960 to...

NR plans to cut its volumes by #40bn.
March 10, 2008... Northern Rock is understood to be planning to reduce its gross mortgage volumes by #40bn in the next three years. The reduction of its #106bn back book is believed to be just one of the proposals in the bank's application to the European...

Purely scheme offers guaranteed rental yields.
March 10, 2008... Purely Mortgages and Wyndham York have joined forces to launch a buy-to- let scheme that guarantees a 5% three-year rental yield. Purely has launched the initiative, Purely Property Investment, with Wyndham to minimise risk for landlords...

We are the champions.
March 10, 2008... Mortgage Strategy was crowned Mortgage Publication of the Year at John Charcol's annual awards ceremony in London last week. This is the third award the magazine has won this year and John Charcol founder John Garfield was on hand to...

IN BRIEF: Chafer quits the industry.(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... Stroud & Swindon commercial director Paul Chafer, 38, has quit the society to take a chief executive position outside the mortgage industry. Midlands-based Chafer, the youngest ever director of a society, was having to make a three-hour...

IN BRIEF: Scarborough shuts specialist arm.(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... Scarborough has pulled the plug on its specialist lending arm, Leeds- based Scarborough Specialist Mortgages. The mutual says the decision is due to market changes. SSM pipeline cases will be accepted and brokers have been notified of...

IN BRIEF: Lender under fire for lack of notice.(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... Woolwich is under fire from brokers for failing to notify them about changes to its loans. Andrew Montlake, partner at Cobalt Capital, says the lender sent information on its decision to cut its maximum loan amount from #2m to #1m more than...

IN BRIEF: Cops want broker registration.(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... A police report into mortgage fraud has called on the Financial Services Authority to individually register the UK's estimated 40,000 mortgage brokers. The Association of Chief Police Officers made the call as part of its look at the growing...