Cameron’s decision to stick with Osborne is a major gamble August 2, 2012 SO that’s it, then. George Osborne will remain chancellor after the September reshuffle, and will keep his job until the election. David Cameron was emphatic yesterday. It means his fortunes are now inextricably linked to his chancellor’s; critics of Osborne’s policies will now also become critics of Cameron’s; and anybody who wants to replace the [...]
SME borrowing down again as demand drops April 23, 2012 BUSINESS lending fell again in February, official data showed yesterday, while the level of mortgage loans is set to plummet after the end of the stamp duty holiday last month. Lending to firms was three per cent lower in February than in the same month of 2011, Bank of England figures revealed, as total corporate [...]
Paragon profit rises on return of buy-to-let May 23, 2012 INCREASED popularity of buy-to-let mortgages powered lender Paragon to a 13.4 per cent rise in profit to £44.8m for the six months to March. Chief executive Nigel Terrington told City A.M. he is “delighted” that the profit growth was driven by improved revenues rather than cost-cutting. “For the first time since the credit crunch [the buy-to-let] balance sheet [...]
Barclays’ reputation is severely damaged but it will not be alone June 28, 2012 THERE can be little that is more precious to a bank than a reputation for integrity. The revelation that Barclays has paid a £290m fine for “misconduct” with regard to the setting of benchmark interest rates affecting trillions of pounds of financial contracts is a big blow for the bank’s reputation. Cue politicians calling for [...]
House buyers suffer as credit conditions batter mortgages April 12, 2012 TIGHTER credit conditions are starting to impact on lending to home-buyers, according to chartered surveyors’ figures published today. Loans for home purchase dropped to 43,450 in March – an 11 per cent drop on February and the lowest since December 2010, e.serv’s mortgage monitor revealed. First-time buyers particularly suffered, with loans for homes under £125,000 [...]
Demand for banks to give early warning of interest rate rises April 15, 2012 BANKS will this week come under fresh political pressure to give customers greater notice of hikes in interest rates. Labour will tomorrow table an amendment to the Financial Services Bill after customers of Halifax were given a minimum of only 14 days’ notice of an increase in the standard variable rate, despite the record low [...]
Libor myopia risks missing the big picture of regulatory failure July 10, 2012 PRICES keep markets sane. The information they provide connects the decisions made by traders, investors and managers to reality. Markets become delusional, and can fail spectacularly, when those price signals are interfered with and distorted. What we have sadly learned with the recent scandal at Barclays, and other major banks, is that the distorted price [...]
Persimmon in strong start to 2012 April 19, 2012 British housebuilder Persimmon said it had made a good start to 2012 with both visitor levels and orders up on last year, boosted in part by a new government mortgage scheme. The group, which in February cheered shareholders with a promise to return 1.9 billion pounds of surplus cash to them over the next decade, [...]
Co-operative Bank hikes its mortgage rate April 2, 2012 THE Co-operative Bank has become the latest UK bank to raise its standard variable mortgage rate (SVR) by half a percentage point in the face of higher costs. The rate will go up from 4.24 per cent to 4.74 per cent on 1 May – raising mortgages an average £15 per month for around 54,000 [...]
Decades of hard work and entrepreneurship July 15, 2012 NOT MANY outside the insurance industry know the name Stephen Catlin. But he is one of the most successful UK businessmen. Over the last 30 years, he has turned a two person reinsurance company into a £3.5bn international firm – Catlin Group. The eponymous CEO was crowned UK winner at the Ernst & Young World [...]