Mortgage Strategy articles from November 2008

Mortgage Strategy archives from November 2008

COMMENT: Red tape has not helped.
November 3, 2008... It's eight years since the government decided it wanted to regulate the mortgage market and four years since that fateful day on October 31 2004. A lot has changed since then but at what cost? Has the Financial Services Authority...

BUY-TO-LET: Professional landlords' optimism is on the up.
November 3, 2008... Optimism among experienced landlords is growing in the face of market turmoil, research from BDRC reveals. Of 510 landlords polled by the market research firm,14% say that prospects are 'very good' over the next three months compared with...

RECRUITMENT: Gifted Group aims to recruit 50 brokers.
November 3, 2008... The Gifted Group, an independent brokerage and mortgage training firm, is aiming to recruit over 50 brokers by the end of 2008. It is conducting courses in CeMAP and sales excellence based on 20 years in the mortgage business and is...

MS crowned top mortgage mag by BDRC research.
November 3, 2008... Mortgage Strategy has been crowned the most read mortgage trade publication by brokers in the UK by BDRC. The research firm interviewed 300 IFAs and brokers and found that the print and online editions of Mortgage Strategy came top when it...

APPOINTMENTS: Affirmative hires Roger Morris for development role.
November 3, 2008... Roger Morris, former managing director of em-financial, has been appointed to develop the Affirmative Finance brand. The bridging lender aims to become a leader in the sector when the market returns after the prevailing financial turmoil....

HOUSING: Empty properties see 9% decline in four years.
November 3, 2008... Last year there were 9% fewer empty properties in England than in 2003, Halifax's annual empty homes survey reveals. The lender found 279,281 empty homes in April 2007 compared with 308,438 in the same period in 2003. It says there...

NETWORKS: Network sector could shrivel up as cashflow problems mount.
November 3, 2008... A network heavyweight is warning that the sector could contract like the packager market as cashflow continues to shrink. David Copland, managing director of Pink Home Loans, says that problems with late payments could signal the...

SECURED LOANS: Sector split over FSA regulation.
November 3, 2008... The Association of Finance Brokers' White Paper on the future of secured loans is understood to have split brokers and associations. Its findings are believed to show that brokers want to see the sector fall under the Financial Service...

MORTGAGE CRISIS: Pundits predict base rate cut ahead of MPC meeting.
November 3, 2008... Industry experts predict a 0.5% base rate cut and say it may happen before this week's official decision. Melanie Bien, director of Savills Private Finance, says: "We think there will be a surprise announcement before the scheduled...

NETWORKS: TV chefs are linked to Network Data HQ sale.
November 3, 2008... A celebrity chef thought to be either Gordon Ramsay or Jamie Oliver could be serving up a treat to Network Data members following the acquisition of the firm's Surrey head office, Botleys Mansion. Sources say a celebrity chef viewed the...

NETWORKS: Vision explains payment delays to members.
November 3, 2008... An extensive commissions system upgrade at Vision Network has led to delays in the firm's payments to members. Chris May, director of parent company Mortgage Times, says: "We foresee further delays for the next few weeks until all legacy...

NETWORKS: DA change will be first of many, says Sesame boss.
November 3, 2008... Mortgage club boss John Cupis has hinted that Sesame's recent adjustment of its directly authorised proposition will be the first of many changes at the company. Sesame is building up its offering by giving its DA brokers access to...

PACKAGERS: SMS saved by Phoenix.
November 3, 2008... Solent Mortgage Services was dramatically rescued last week after long- term venture capital company The Phoenix Group snapped up the packager, retaining sales and marketing director Ian Balfour as managing director plus six other members of...

TECHNOLOGY: Paaleads rejects forum accusation.
November 3, 2008... Paaleads.com has hit back at accusations that it closed its broker forum because of negative comments about the firm. Last week brokers posted complaints about changes to its search criteria that removed their ability to filter leads by...

FINANCIAL EDUCATION: Kids get help with money matters.
November 3, 2008... Nationwide has rolled out its financial education website for students aged between four and 11 to help ingrain basic financial understanding and responsibility using interactive games. The lender has also launched a three-year #3m...

MORTGAGE CRISIS: Lenders cannot restore market confidence.
November 3, 2008... Roland McCormack, managing director of Bristol & West Mortgages, says lenders alone cannot restore confidence in the housing market and that the crisis has reached the point where further government intervention is needed. He says: "I...

CROSBY REPORT: CML lobbies for publication of Crosby report.
November 3, 2008... The Council of Mortgage Lenders is pressing the Treasury to publish the outcome of the Crosby report. The CML says Sir James Crosby's findings are even more important in light of some of the conclusions made by the Bank of England's...

FIRST-TIME BUYERS: Declining prices encourage FTBs.
November 3, 2008... First-time buyers are returning to the market thanks to falling house prices, says the National Association of Estate Agents. Data from Hometrack shows that year-on-year house price falls of 7.3% have returned property values to 2006...

IN BRIEF: Mutual net lending rises to #314m in September.(Brief article)
November 3, 2008... Net mortgage lending by building societies rose to #314m in September, up from -#37m in August, but this was still 47% below the September 2007 figure. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Brokers' self-confidence on the up.
November 3, 2008... Brokers' faith in their ability to prosper in tough market conditions is rocketing despite them losing confidence in the mortgage industry as a whole. A survey of 500 brokers by research firm BDRC shows that their belief in their...

FIRST-TIME BUYERS: FTBs struggle to save deposits.
November 3, 2008... More than half of all aspiring first-time buyers are unable to save and are being pushed even further from the property ladder. BDRC's survey of over 1,000 adults without mortgages found that while eight out of 10 would like to buy a...

MORTGAGE CRISIS: Mandy to review HBOS takeover.
November 3, 2008... The Office of Fair Trading has confirmed it has sent its report on Lloyds TSB's takeover of HBOS for review by minister for business Lord Peter Mandelson. Last week Parliament's Business and Enterprise Committee asked if Lord Mandelson...

ANALYSIS: Questions of compliance that need answers.
November 3, 2008... We are starting to see a steady rise in the number of brokers on the receiving end of Financial Services Authority enforcement action and last month was no exception, with two firms - Orchid and Abbey Mortgages - being punished by the...

ANALYSIS: Self-employed clients need more protection.
November 3, 2008... Self-cert customers are some of the most vulnerable in the market and this is an area where the principles of Treating Customers Fairly must come to the fore. By their nature, self-cert mortgages are taken out by consumers who are...

COMMENT: Banks' two-finger salute to government.
November 3, 2008... The huge amount of capital that has been pumped into the money markets to prop up failing lenders seems to be doing little to loosen up liquidity, with the blame resting squarely on the shoulders of banks. It seems that despite...

COMMENT: Rich exploit tax loopholes.
November 3, 2008... It seems only the mega-rich or the mega-poor escape punitive and unfair taxes. Hossein Ghandehari, an Iranian-born businessman, recently disclosed how he legitimately avoided paying Stamp Duty on multimillion pound property purchases....

COMMENT: Lender that likes to say no.
November 3, 2008... A friend of mine recently asked me about remortgaging her home. She is unfortunate enough to be with Northern Rock and is coming to the end of a 4.99% three-year fixed rate mortgage. The only deal the bank was prepared to offer was its...

COMMENT: Lenders stuck in time warp of age-old problems.
November 3, 2008... My colleague's travails with Woolwich reminded me of my long-term issues with the lender's service Helen the happy broker in my office was not full of her usual joie de vivre last week. Her problems were principally with Woolwich's...

COMMENT: The nostalgic romance of London's mews.
November 3, 2008... Mews conjure up images of a bygone era and some of our most famous and infamous figures have lived in them I'm an incurable romantic. That's why I love mews houses because they evoke a bygone era of horse-drawn hansom cabs and fog-bound...

COMMENT: LIBOR must fall before borrowers see the benefits.
November 3, 2008... Customers won't see cheaper deals until three-month LIBOR drops, regardless of base rate reductions What's the capital of Iceland? About #2.50. I'm sure you have heard this joke by now but however absurd it would have sounded just a few...

COMMENT: Saving firms and protecting clients costs money.
November 3, 2008... The government is trying to rescue banks and stop repossessions but the price tag may be too high The recent move by Yvette Cooper, chief secretary to the Treasury, to reaffirm repossession as the last resort was a welcome one. ...

LETTER: Equity release services the parts that other deals cannot reach.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2008... In your October 20 issue a supporter of the Which? report on equity release wrote that such plans were "more akin to legalised financial mugging than decent financial provision". It's a shame that brokers who do not practice in this field...

LETTER: 24 KFIs for one case is surely overkill by FSA.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2008... Having some time on our hands right now we find ourselves involved in Treating Customers Fairly meetings discussing how to maintain compliant files in keeping with Financial Services Authority guidelines. While we are aware of the...

LETTER: Northern Rock must help by passing on rate cut.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2008... A solution to Northern Rock's repossession situation could be as simple as it passing on the full base rate cut to customers. Or is it the case that because Northern Rock owes billions to the government's coffers it is immune to the...

LETTER: TMW deserves this week's taking the biscuit award.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2008... I would like to propose an award for the lender that still manages to amaze even cynical brokers because of the audacity of a gesture or announcement. To keep things polite I would like to call it the "taking the biscuit award". Recently...

LETTER: Lenders should give clear criteria and treat brokers fairly.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2008... I am sick and tired of reading about TCF. I am not disagreeing with it and I know these are difficult times for lenders but what about treating brokers fairly? I submitted a self-cert deal for a self-employed applicant to GE Money Home...

LETTER: OFT investigation into rent-back is a good thing.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2008... As the director of an ethical home-buying company, I am delighted that the Office of Fair Trading is finally investigating our industry. We have been calling for regulation for some time as we come across more and more home owners who are...

LETTER: Haunted by ghost vacancy calls from headhunters.(Letter to the editor)
November 3, 2008... There are a number of ghost vacancies around at the moment. For what seemed like the 20th time last week, my mobile burst into life and I answered to hear yet another recruitment consultant asking if I was looking for work. They started...

COVER: Eyes wide shut.
November 3, 2008... Thanks to the credit crunch firms are going bust at an alarming rate but there's no point burying your head in the sand as administration doesn't have to mean the end One word is striking fear into the hearts and minds of mortgage firms...

The sooner businesses confront their problems the better.
November 3, 2008... CATHERINE MATTHEWS BUSINESS RECOVERY partner AND INSOLVENCY PRACTITIONER TOMLINSONS Trading conditions are the toughest many businesses have experienced and brokers have felt much of the pain. In times like this it's important they keep...

Insolvency practitioners can ride to the rescue of broke brokers.
November 3, 2008... JEREMY ODDIE PARTNER AND LICENSED INSOLVENCY PRACTITIONER MITCHELL CHARLESWORTH Unfortunately, there have been many casualties of the credit crunch and the housing market is bearing the brunt of business failures. The property market has...

Restructuring can secure future.
November 3, 2008... STEVE SMITH LICENSED INSOLVENCY PRACTITIONER PARTNER MERCER & HOLE Recent statistics by the Insolvency Service show that the number of companies going into administration in Q2 2008 increased by 42% compared with the same period in 2007....

SHADOW MPC: This month's decision: -0.5%.
November 3, 2008... October saw the government's epochal intervention in the UK banking system and a 0.5% base rate cut. With the country entering recession, this month Mortgage Strategy's GE Money Home Lending Shadow Monetary Policy Committee advocates a...

Curriculumvitae: Dave Symondson Beacon Mortgage Intermediaries.
November 3, 2008... Dave Symondson, director, Beacon Mortgage Intermediaries Speak up... Describe your current job I am responsible for planning, strategy and marketing at Beacon Mortgage Packaging and mdnationwide. Describe your first and last...

The week in numbers: 03.11.08.
November 3, 2008... 60% of 18 to 34 year olds have either less than #1,000 in savings or nothing, according to a Reform report. Tagged as Ipods - insecure, pressurised, overtaxed and debt-ridden - this demographic group faces unprecedented levels of debt and a...

COMMENT: Desperate measures.
November 10, 2008... The Bank of England's 1.5% base rate cut to 3%, the lowest figure for over 50 years, was good news for the economy. Borrowers lucky to be on existing tracker deals will now have more cash in their wallets, although some lenders will use...

SOURCING SYSTEMS: Mortgage Brain offers product data guarantees.
November 10, 2008... Mortgage Brain has become the first sourcing system provider to offer guarantees on its mortgage product data. The firm is launching its Mort-gage Brain Premier Plus system today, which will provide guarantees for product details that...

MORTGAGE CRISIS: AMI paints a bleak remortgage picture.
November 10, 2008... Remortgage business could diminish further in 2009 as borrowers are forced to stay on their lenders' SVRs until LTVs come down, the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries warns. AMI's latest Quarterly economic bulletin says brokers may find...

LENDERS: Lenders bite the bullet and pass on full rate cut.
November 10, 2008... Several lenders have already surrendered to growing pressure and passed on the full base rate cut to borrowers on SVRs. Brokers, trade bodies and consumers have been united in their response to the 1.5% base rate cut by calling on lenders...

INSOLVENCY: Insolvencies across the board could rise 30%.
November 10, 2008... Banks have been warned that personal and corporate insolvencies could increase by a shocking 30% if they fail to pass on the benefits of the government bailout to borrowers. Figures from The Insolvency Service released last week show that...

APPOINTMENTS: Countrywide takes on veterans.
November 10, 2008... Alison Beech and Paul Hunt have been employed by estate agency group Countrywide. Beech, former business development director at now defunct specialist lender Rooftop Mortgages, was appointed corporate development director last week....

MS readers fear for B2L amateurs.
November 10, 2008... A massive 68% of Mortgage Strategy Online readers say that restricted buy-to-let lending would spell the end for amateur landlords. Just 32% thought that it wouldn't have any impact. With many buy-to-let lenders now refusing to deal with...

NETWORKS: PTFS now second biggest network.
November 10, 2008... Personal Touch Financial Services has emerged as the second biggest network according to league tables published by the Financial Services Authority. The FSA tables reveal that over the past month PTFS gained 49 appointed representative...

Massive base rate cut may sound death knell for old-style trackers.
November 10, 2008... Industry experts are warning that tracker deals in their current form could become a thing of the past in the wake of the dramatic 1.5% base rate cut by the Bank of England. Trade bodies and business organisations have welcomed the move...

LENDERS: Redundancies at GEMHL on cards.
November 10, 2008... Concerns over the future of GE Money Home Lending intensified last week after it announced redundancy could be on the cards for a number of staff. But the firm would not reveal how many employees it had placed in consultation. A...

PACKAGERS: BM Solutions unveils packager exclusives.
November 10, 2008... BM Solutions has been praised for launching an exclusive range of packager deals with market-leading rates. The products include a 6.29% buy-to-let fixed rate deal up to 75% LTV, which is only available up to 65% LTV via its normal broker...

BROKERS: Website gives consumers the chance to rank brokers' service.
November 10, 2008... Brokers could find themselves ranked according to how good their service is on a website called Rubii.co.uk. The website has been launched to help financial advisers attract new business and promote themselves directly to the public. ...

SECURED LOANS: White Paper response could see AFB lobbying FSA.
November 10, 2008... The Association of Finance Brokers looks set to lobby the government for the secured loans market to be regulated by the Financial Services Authority. An overwhelming 97% of respondents to its White Paper on the future of the sector...

EQUITY RELEASE: Hodge rebrands to attract brokers.
November 10, 2008... Hodge Equity Release rebranded last week as Hodge Lifetime. Jon King, managing director of Hodge Lifetime, says the rebranding isn't a cosmetic exercise. The firm, which has been around since 1965, is now looking to become a...

IN BRIEF: Darling unveils name of firm to protect taxpayers.(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... Chancellor Alistair Darling has revealed UK Financial Investments will be the name of the firm set up to manage taxpayers' stakes in the banking system. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

Fears that lenders won't play ball as MPC slashes base rate by 1.5%.
November 10, 2008... The industry was stunned last week as the Bank of England slashed interest rates to 3%, their lowest level since 1954. The 1.5% cut is the largest made by the Monetary Policy Committee since it was set up in 1997 but the move was...

CLAIMS MANAGEMENT: AMI calls for claims firm caution.
November 10, 2008... The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries is warning brokers not to be fooled by claims management firms that say they have the backing of the trade body. It recently issued guidance to members alerting them that such firms are looking...

BANKS: Lloyds reveals superbank name.
November 10, 2008... The superbank created by Lloyds TSB's takeover of HBOS will trade under the name Lloyds Banking Group, Lloyds TSB has revealed. The lender unveiled the terms of the takeover to shareholders ahead of a general meeting on November 19. It...

LENDERS: Analysts back RBS despite losses.
November 10, 2008... Analysts at Credit Suisse have earmarked the Royal Bank of Scotland as their favourite bank despite its warning of annual losses. Credit Suisse has put together forecasts for the banking sector and analysed the prospects for RBS, Barclays...

COMPLAINTS: AMI wants free complaints increased to six.
November 10, 2008... The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries has been lobbying the Financial Ombudsman Service to allow brokers up to six free complaints. Under current FOS guidelines firms do not have to pay fees for the first three complaints made against...

PACKAGERS: AToM says it is open to offers.
November 10, 2008... Vic Jannels, chairman of All Types of Mortgages, says the packager would welcome interest from potential investors. Jannels says that while AToM is not actively looking for a buyer it would be foolish for any packager not to welcome...

IN BRIEF: Management teams merge at AfI and A&L.(Brief article)
November 10, 2008... Senior management teams at Abbey for Intermediaries and Alliance & Leicester have merged into a single broker-facing division, which will be headed by former A&L group chief executive David Bennett. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd....

MORTGAGE CRISIS: FSA will reward staff.
November 10, 2008... The Financial Services Authority plans to reward its staff with bonuses at the end of the year despite a clampdown on the banking sector's bonus culture. Lord Adair Turner, chairman of the FSA, says staff at the regulator will be paid...

ANALYSIS: Marketwatch - 10.11.08.
November 10, 2008... Swaps have fallen fast and furiously but products are still expensive. Despite last week's massive base rate cut a lack of competition is killing the market Swaps continued to plummet last week. One-year swaps have fallen more than...

ANALYSIS: Risk is key to the high price of mortgages.
November 10, 2008... A lot has been written about LIBOR over the past year and in many cases it has been identified as the reason why mortgage rates aren't dropping in line with reductions to the Bank of England base rate. With LIBOR around 1.3% above the...

ANALYSIS: Public should treat banks like Ross and Brand.
November 10, 2008... It seems that the end of October was all about denouements, disaffection and comeuppances. The harsh reality of acquisition now faces HBOS, with Lloyds TSB chief executive Eric Daniels making it clear that there's no room at the top to...

ANALYSIS: Lenders keep shifting the goalposts.
November 10, 2008... Each week more small mortgage brokers are giving up their businesses and moving on to pastures new or taking other jobs to supplement their incomes. With the absence of first-time buyers with adequate deposits, the loss of a huge number...

ANALYSIS: Interest-only deals can rebuild property ladder.
November 10, 2008... Towards the end of October the venerable topic of interest-only mortgages raised its head again as Cheltenham & Gloucester altered its stance. C&G now thinks that interest-only is a bad thing and that such deals over 75% LTV are beyond the...

ANALYSIS: Minister's words may spell the end for HIPs.
November 10, 2008... Recent comments by housing minister Margaret Beckett about Home Information Packs have done little for their chances of survival. Addressing the House of Commons Local Government Committee, the housing minister said: "Given all the abuse...

LETTER: HCRs won't work until they become mandatory.(Letter to the editor)
November 10, 2008... Until October 18 this year 1,824 Home Condition Reports had been logged against one million Energy Performance Certificates for the same period. This figure will not come as a shock to those who trusted the government when it sold the...

LETTER: Exchange-ready HIPs next step in packs' evolution.(Letter to the editor)
November 10, 2008... The housing slump has hindered the development of Home Information Packs. Any potential benefits they offer have been eliminated by the length of time it takes to sell property and the scarcity of mortgage finance. The next phase of their...

LETTER: Framework could end irresponsible lending practices.(Letter to the editor)
November 10, 2008... I don't understand the fuss about irresponsible borrowers. Surely all the government has to do is issue a framework of acceptable lending, say 3 plus 1 x income. If any company lending money exceeds these limits there should be no...

LETTER: Bank declined overdraft but offered large loan.(Letter to the editor)
November 10, 2008... Further to your story 'Small firms in line for #4bn in European loans' (Mortgage Strategy Online October 30), I happen to own one of those small firms battling to secure finance during the credit crunch. I am a self-employed mortgage and...

LETTER: Debt management a possible solution for vulnerable clients.(Letter to the editor)
November 10, 2008... Lenders have been having a hard time over the past few months but has the impact of their actions been properly debated? Apart from the occasional rant by financial journalist Martin Lewis, which I have to say are rapidly losing their...

LETTER: Short selling not reason enough for HBOS takeover.(Letter to the editor)
November 10, 2008... Bank of England governor Mervyn King's justification for Lloyds TSB's takeover of HBOS was that the latter was in a vulnerable position due to the fall in its share price (Mortgage Strategy Online November 4). But he did not say what...

LETTER: Taxpayers face double whammy over HBOS deal.(Letter to the editor)
November 10, 2008... I was intrigued to read about former HBOS chief executive Andy Hornby's consultancy deal with Lloyds TSB (Mortgage Strategy Online November 4) as jobs are the most important issue. Lloyds TSB is using public money to stabilise its balance...

COVER STORY: Merging market.
November 10, 2008... Scarborough's merger with Skipton is the latest sign of consolidation in the building society sector as smaller mutuals join forces with the big boys to survive Picture it - a goliath of a building society encompassing all the others in...

Mergers do not signal a weakening building society arena.
November 10, 2008... Rachel Le Brocq press and public affairs manager Building Societies Association The announcement last week that Skipton and Scarborough plan to join forces was the fifth merger announcement in the mutual sector this year. In 2007 we saw...

Scarborough's deal with Skipton is a rescue in all but name.
November 10, 2008... John Murray editor Lending Strategy While the demise of HBOS has made the headlines because it represents failure on a spectacular scale, the passing of five building societies this year seems to have been hardly noticed. That's good...