Bank reveals weak lending on mortgages May 4, 2011 SLUGGISH mortgage lending and stuttering house prices continue to haunt the UK’s housing market, a series of data releases showed yesterday. Mortgage lending grew by just £400m in March, the Bank of England revealed – below increases of £1bn and £1.7bn in the two previous months, and an average jump of £800m over the last [...]
One country gets it on bank reforms June 28, 2011 BELIEVE IT or not but Denmark has emerged as Europe’s pioneering financial reformer. We need to learn from it. Fjordbank Mors, a small lender, has just been allowed to go bust; taxpayers are not having to shell out a penny and the world hasn’t come to an end. Senior bondholders at Fjordbank Mors are taking [...]
One country gets it on bank reforms June 27, 2011 BELIEVE IT or not but Denmark has emerged as Europe’s pioneering financial reformer. We need to learn from it. Fjordbank Mors, a small lender, has just been allowed to go bust; taxpayers are not having to shell out a penny and the world hasn’t come to an end. Senior bondholders at Fjordbank Mors are taking [...]
Markets shun banks on fear of ringfence June 15, 2011 BRITAIN’S four biggest banks saw £3.5bn wiped off their value yesterday as investors fretted that chancellor George Osborne’s support for a ring-fence of their retail arms could push up costs and erode returns. Barclays and RBS were the biggest fallers, losing 2.7 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively due to their reliance on their investment [...]
CITY VIEWS: HOW WORRIED ARE YOU ABOUT INFLATION? April 12, 2011 GAVIN SUMMERS | XL INSURANCE “I’m quite worried because the cost of living is going up. My pay increase was below inflation so it was essentially a pay decrease.” ANDY PEACOCK | AXA INSURANCE “I’m not worried. I have a mortgage and credit card but it is not that bad if you consider the cost [...]
IMF slams US for incomplete budget April 6, 2011 THE United States should include in its budget the cost of mortgage loan guarantees and other housing supports, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday in a rare criticism of its biggest shareholder. The IMF also faulted the Obama administration for failing to address the tax deduction for mortgage interest, which it called “both expensive [...]
IMF slams US for incomplete budget April 6, 2011 THE United States should include in its budget the cost of mortgage loan guarantees and other housing supports, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said yesterday in a rare criticism of its biggest shareholder. The IMF also faulted the Obama administration for failing to address the tax deduction for mortgage interest, which it called “both expensive [...]
Barclays takes £1bn hit on insurance claims May 9, 2011 Barclays is to take a £1bn provision to cover compensation for people who were mis-sold certain insurance policies, the bank said. Barclays and the country’s other banks will also drop a planned appeal against an earlier court ruling which had made them liable to the compensation claims over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). [...]
Barclays takes £1bn hit on insurance claims May 9, 2011 Barclays is to take a £1bn provision to cover compensation for people who were mis-sold certain insurance policies, the bank said. Barclays and the country’s other banks will also drop a planned appeal against an earlier court ruling which had made them liable to the compensation claims over the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI). [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 15, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES CQS SHUTS FUND BUILT ON SUBPRIME TO NEWCOMERS CQS, the London-based credit hedge fund that is one of the biggest of its kind globally, is preparing to shut to new investors its asset-backed securities fund – known for its successful bets in the US subprime mortgage market. The move marks a further step [...]