Call for brokers to take part in working groups

The Association of Finance Brokers (AFB) is forming a series of working groups to focus on three key initiatives during 2008, and it is calling on members of all sectors of the industry to contribute.
It wants the groups to look at raising standards across the industry, tackling PPI problems and supporting the introduction of new [...]

Consumers bullish on buy to let

A significant 64% of people say they are no longer feeling the pinch of interest rates, according to Property for Life’s monthly investor confidence tracker – a 16% increase from January.
The proportion of investors who believe that now is a good time to invest in the property market is also at its highest level, having [...]

C&G pulls from higher LTV lending

Lloyds TSB has confirmed it is dropping higher LTV lending products under its Cheltenham & Gloucester brand.
The lender confirmed that the decision was taken in light of changing market conditions and a communication has been sent out to intermediaries to advise them of the changes.
Eleanor Ross, media relations manager for Cheltenham and Gloucester, said the [...]

Property prices on the up

House prices in England and Wales increased by 0.9 per cent in January, according to the latest monthly figures from Land Registry, taking the average house price to £186,045.
However, annual house price inflation slowed to 6.4%, from 6.7 per cent in December.
The largest monthly growth was seen in the North West with an increase of [...]

Conti merges with Anchor

Overseas mortgage provider Conti Financial Services and Anchor Mortgages have entered into a partnership. This is part of Conti’s expansion plans for 2008 enabling it to move to larger premises and increase its staff count.
The company will launch a new interactive website for clients and brokers, plus the provision of mortgages for foreign nationals purchasing [...]

Holistic approach needed on housing issues, says CML

Policymakers should develop a more holistic approach to housing market issues, according to the CML, which has completed a study of homeownership in the UK.
It found that a fifth of first-time buyers (people who are not currently homeowners) are in fact “returners” who have at some point in the past been homeowners. And around 15% [...]

Britannia holds steady despite drop in profits

Britannia Building Society saw a drop in profits in 2007, from £130m in 2006 to £115m, but saw an increase in group assets which hit a record £36.8bn.
It announced write-offs of £1.6m from Structured Investment Vehicles but had no exposure to US sub-prime mortgages or CDOs.
The Society stated that it has remained in good shape [...]

New entrant in equity release market

Godiva Mortgages, the intermediary lending arm of Coventry Building Society, has launched into the equity release market with two lifetime mortgages.
The products will initially be available through a panel of specialist intermediary partners (Age Partnership, Equity Advice, Equity Release Solutions, Helen Brown Financial Services, Home & Capital, Key Retirement Solutions, and NHFA).
The two product types [...]

Boost for US market with easing of Fannie and Freddie limits

US regulators are to ease restrictions on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the biggest buyers of the country’s mortgages, in a move that could help boost the beleaguered housing market.
The changes would remove the limits on the amount of loans and securities the companies can own, imposed following accounting problems a few years ago.
However both [...]

Call for larger capital adequacy requirements

Sir John Gieve, the deputy governor of the Bank of England said capital adequacy requirements may need to be raised in order to smooth the economic cycle in the future.
In a speech yesterday he argued that Base Rate movement could not be relied on by the financial services sector – instead it should create larger [...]