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Mortgage approvals up for February


By Michael Griffiths

The number of mortgage approvals for house purchases continued to rise in February and reached 73,500, new statistics published by the Bank of England (BoE) revealed.

The new data, which the BoE noted was for the month of February and therefore largely unaffected by the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, also revealed approvals for remortgage had risen on the month to 53,400


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Calls for Govt to consider borrowers before lenders

The Government is being urged to ensure lenders do not use the recent Bank of England (BoE) interest rate cut to boost profits at the expense of borrowers on standard variable rate (SVR) mortgages

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Nationwide withdraws high LTV mortgage lending

Nationwide has announced it is temporarily withdrawing high LTV mortgage lending to focus on supporting its existing members and processing ongoing applications during the coronavirus crisis

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FSCS provides update on LCF claims

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has reassured customers of London Capital and Finance (LCF) it is doing “everything it can” to reach a point where it can assess claims as efficiently and effectively as possible

Foundation Home Loans suspends new applications

Foundation Home Loans has announced it is temporarily suspending all new applications from 31 March 2020

UK Finance warns of ‘smishing’ text scams

UK Finance has issued a warning for consumers to be on the lookout for “smishing” text message scams from criminals exploiting the coronavirus outbreak
Paradigm adds lender AVM levels to Covid-19 support page

Paradigm Mortgage Services has added a new section of information to its coronavirus support page to capture lenders’ automatic valuation model (AVM) information and LTV restrictions

Conveyancing Association endorses industry-wide guidance

The Conveyancing Association (CA) has endorsed industry-wide guidance to conveyancing firms advising clients on house moves during the coronavirus crisis

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Estate agents and lettings agencies exempt from business rates

Estate agents and lettings agencies that have closed as a result of measures to restrict the spread of the coronavirus will be now be exempted from business rates in 2020-21, the Treasury confirmed

Key points of Budget were ‘changes we didn’t see’

While Rishi Sunak's Budget focused on the response to the coronavirus outbreak and the implications on both a health and finance basis, financial expert, Old Mill, has suggested the key points of the Budget were “the changes that we didn’t see”

CGT receipts set to quadruple by 2024

The Government will collect four times more cash from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) in 2023/24 than it did in 2013/14, according to predictions made after Wednesday’s Budget

CIOT welcomes Govt’s MTD for VAT evaluation

The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has welcomed the announcement in yesterday’s Budget that the Government will publish an evaluation of the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT

FSCS provides update on LCF claims

The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) has reassured customers of London Capital and Finance (LCF) it is doing “everything it can” to reach a point where it can assess claims as efficiently and effectively as possible

UK Finance warns of ‘smishing’ text scams

UK Finance has issued a warning for consumers to be on the lookout for “smishing” text message scams from criminals exploiting the coronavirus outbreak

FCA’s ‘flexibility’ intentions for firms welcomed

The financial services industry has welcomed the FCA’s intentions to provide flexibility to its solo-regulated firms during the coronavirus pandemic

PIMFA appoints director of government relations and policy

The Personal Investment Management and Financial Advice Association (PIMFA) has appointed Tim Fassam to its newly created role of director of government relations and policy

Govt urged to extend 80% salary guarantee

Spicerhaart Corporate Sales has called for the Government’s 80% salary guarantee to be extended to rental income for small private landlords

One in five UK adults have no immediate savings, survey finds

More than a fifth of UK adults have no immediately accessible savings, highlighting the nation’s “precarious” financial position going into the coronavirus crisis, according to research from OpenMoney

Nationwide unveils Covid-19 support package

Nationwide has set out a support package for its members that have been financially impacted by the coronavirus crisis

Sunak announces new grant for self-employed workers

Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, has announced that self-employed workers will be able to apply for a taxable grant worth 80% of their average earnings over the last three years

Govt confirms Covid-19 scheme includes auto-enrolment pensions

The Government has confirmed that grants to pay the wages of workers who are “furloughed” during the coronavirus pandemic will also cover employer auto-enrolment pension contributions

FCA delays changes to DB pension transfer rules

The FCA has revealed that changes to rules around Defined Benefit (DB) pension transfers have been delayed by up to six months

Ex-minister calls on Govt to relax pension rules

Former pensions minister, Steve Webb, has urged the Treasury to relax rules which could act as a barrier to people seeking to rebuild their pensions when the coronavirus crisis is over

AJ Bell warns of pension scams during Covid-19 crisis

AJ Bell has urged pension savers to “be on their guard” against a potential surge in scam activity during the period of economic uncertainty caused by the coronavirus pandemic

LendInvest completes securitisation of BTL mortgages

LendInvest announced it has completed its second securitisation of buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages in an oversubscribed RMBS transaction, Mortimer BTL 2020-1

deVere Group launches free remote financial advice service

deVere Group has launched a new contactless advice service with immediate effect, offering free financial advice to anyone in the world remotely

48% of landlords consider divesting from rental sector

Forty-eight per cent of landlords are considering divesting from the rental sector due to an increase in regulation and rules, new research by Aldermore Bank revealed

Assetz Capital secures funding to boost housebuilding

Assetz Capital has secured £15m of British Business Investments (BBI) funding to help boost housebuilding in the UK

UK businesses abandoning banking services

Thirty-eight per cent of UK businesses have deliberately abandoned an application for banking services in the last year due to ‘slow due diligence processes,’ according to new research from Encompass Corporation

PSL launches new digital self-service portal

Phoebus Software Limited (PSL) has launched a new digital self-service portal that allows lenders’ customers to self-serve on their accounts

FS Tech Task Force launches free CRM system

Members of the Financial Services Tech Task Force initiative have come together to fund a free CRM system for brokers to use during the coronavirus pandemic

Starling Bank introduces delay to gambling block feature

Starling Bank has introduced a delay to its in-app gambling-block, meaning its customers wanting to turn the block off will have to wait 48 hours before they can reactivate spending on betting and gaming

Mortgage Awards moved to October

The Mortgage Awards will now take place on Thursday 22 October at the Waldorf Hilton, London

Landbay launches new application process

Landbay has announced the launch of a new application process with the introduction of an instant Decision in Principle (DiP), as well as a refresh to its product range

Newbury BS unveils partial Help to Buy offering

Newbury Building Society has reduced the pricing of its 85% LTV Help to Buy remortgage product, with the change applying to new and existing borrowers looking to pay off some or all their government loan

Foundation refreshes BTL range

Foundation Home Loans has announced it is fully refreshing its buy-to-let (BTL) product range

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