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UK Finance and BSA urge govt to change SMI scheme


By Michael Griffiths

UK Finance and the Building Societies Association (BSA) are calling for changes to be made to the Support for Mortgage Interest (SMI) scheme, to help struggling homeowners as the furlough scheme draws to a close.

The SMI is a government loan scheme which helps homeowners who are in receipt of benefits, although as it stands they must wait 39 weeks to claim


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Tax gap estimated to be worth £35bn in 2019/20

The overall UK tax gap in the 2019/20 tax year had a value of £35bn, new HMRC figures have revealed

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Stamp duty holiday pushes first time buyer homes up by 11.7%

The stamp duty holiday has increased the price of a first-time buyer home by an average 11.7% in England, according to new research published by GetAgent

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Increase in proportion of credit card accounts missing payments

The percentage of credit card accounts missing payments increased by 3.2% in July, according to FICO’s latest UK Credit Market Report

Pandemic causes wave of over-50s seeking financial advice

The pandemic has created a surge in over-50s seeking professional financial advice, according to new research from Scottish Widows

Mortgage market research more vital as affordability falls

Whole of market mortgage research has become more vital as rising property prices present fewer affordable loan options, research from Mortgage Broker Tools has suggested
UK credit and debit card spending on the rise

A total 1.8 billion debit and credit card transactions were made in the UK during June, a rise of 42.4% compared to June 2020

Nationwide cuts rates for first-time buyers by 0.17%

Nationwide has announced it is reducing its two and three-year fixed rates between 75% and 95% LTV by up to 0.17 percentage points

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Tax gap estimated to be worth £35bn in 2019/20

The overall UK tax gap in the 2019/20 tax year had a value of £35bn, new HMRC figures have revealed

Thousands of estates paying unnecessary IHT on life insurance policies

More than 6,000 estates have paid inheritance tax (IHT) on life insurance policies which could have been excluded if their policy was written into a trust, according to HMRC data

Dividend tax hike to see investors and self-employed pay £600m

Investors and self-employed workers are expected to collectively pay £600m more in tax as a result of the government’s 1.25% divided tax hike

Stamp duty receipts total £5.7bn between April and July

Overall receipts for Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) between April and July hit £5.7bn, according to new data published by HMRC

Regulators outline new value for money framework for DC pension schemes

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) have outlined a new framework for measuring value for money in defined contribution (DC) pension schemes

FCA publishes new plans to tackle consumer investment harm

The FCA has unveiled a new strategy to tackle consumer investment harm and confirmed it will publish metrics to assess whether the new plans are being met

FCA could move faster to remove unused firm permissions

The FCA has drafted guidance on a new power that would allow the regulator to remove regulatory permissions that are no longer being used by financial services firms more quickly

Lack of govt leasehold reform leaves thousands of homeowners at risk

The lack of progress on the government reforms of the UK’s leasehold system is leaving thousands of homeowners in danger of losing out, according to leasehold enfranchisement specialist, Cavendish Legal Group

Increase in proportion of credit card accounts missing payments

The percentage of credit card accounts missing payments increased by 3.2% in July, according to FICO’s latest UK Credit Market Report

Nearly one in five landlords experience rental arrears in pandemic

Almost one in five landlords (17%) have experienced rental arrears as a result of the pandemic, a study by Sequre Property Investment has found

UK credit and debit card spending on the rise

A total 1.8 billion debit and credit card transactions were made in the UK during June, a rise of 42.4% compared to June 2020

Pandemic causes wave of over-50s seeking financial advice

The pandemic has created a surge in over-50s seeking professional financial advice, according to new research from Scottish Widows

More than one in three people would back early access to state pension

More than one in three people aged between 50 and the state pension age of 66 would consider taking their pension early at a lower rate if the option was offered, new research from AJ Bell has found

Govt to scrap pensions triple lock in 2022/23

The government has confirmed it is scrapping the earnings element of the pensions triple lock

Treasury Committee calls on Chancellor to suspend earnings element of triple lock

The Treasury Committee has called on Rishi Sunak to temporarily suspend the earnings element of the pensions triple lock

Govt’s Pension Wise service could face capacity issues – Aegon

Pension Wise may face capacity challenges to cope with a surge of new “stronger nudges”, Aegon has stated

Phoenix buys £300m equity release portfolio from Just Retirement

Phoenix Group has purchased a portfolio of equity release mortgages from Just Retirement Limited in a deal worth £300m

Castle Trust Bank confirms £13.2m development loan with Laner Ltd

Specialist property lender, Castle Trust Bank, has agreed a £13.2m development loan with Laner Ltd for a commercial and residential development in Dagenham

Encompass Financial Management acquired by Independent Wealth Planners

Independent Wealth Planners (IWP) has announced the acquisition of Encompass Financial Management

bfinance reports shift in use of alternative investments

More than two thirds (69%) of wealth managers have added new asset classes for their clients within the last three years, while 52% have stated they will do in the next two years, according to a new study from bfinance

UK firms could be caught out by winter lockdown, SmartSearch warns

SmartSearch has warned that UK businesses could be at risk of being “caught out” should the government decide to implement a winter lockdown

Enra Specialist Finance launches new technology platform

Enra Specialist Finance has launched a new underwriting and case management system for its bridging finance product

Mortgage Broker Tools integrates with Proportunity

Mortgage Broker Tools (MBT) has integrated its MBT Affordability research platform with fintech mortgage lender, Proportunity

Open Banking technology could reduce processing times on borrowing applications by 85%

SME lenders could see the time they spend processing the average loan reduce by more than 85% with the adoption of Open Banking technology, according to research from Yolt Technology Services (YTS)

Nationwide cuts rates for first-time buyers by 0.17%

Nationwide has announced it is reducing its two and three-year fixed rates between 75% and 95% LTV by up to 0.17 percentage points

FIBA adds Whitehall Capital to short-term bridging lender panel

The Financial Intermediary and Broker Association (FIBA) has announced the appointment of Whitehall Capital to its short-term bridging lender panel

UTB raises max first charge mortgage size to £750k

United Trust Bank (UTB) has increased its maximum residential first charge mortgage size to £750,000 with immediate effect

Yorkshire Building Society reduces rates across range

Yorkshire Building Society has announced it is reducing rates across selected products in all of its LTV ranges

BLOG: Fintech, the future of specialist underwriting and product choice for your client

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BLOG: Top 7 Reasons to Use a Mortgage Broker

Gerard Boon, Managing Partner at Boon Brokers, discusses his top reasons for why potential homebuyers should look to use a mortgage broker

BLOG: Making Net Zero an attainable goal for SMEs

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BLOG: Five lessons we've learned from sustainable bond investing

TwentyFour Asset Management launched its first sustainable fund in January 2020 and I would like to share some of the lessons we have learned from our first year of sustainable bond investing

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