US investment fund Davidson Kempner has been selected by Greek lender Alpha Bank as its preferred bidder to buy a $12 billion portfolio of non-performing loans. The sale would be Greece’s largest ever sale of bad debt according to Reuters. The portfolio, known as Galaxy project is worth over €10.8 billion and also includes the…
Last week, we published this article, all about lenders’ reluctance to offer 90% mortgages any time soon. One of our readers asked us: “will this result in a decrease in house price growth or even a decline in house prices?” and we thought we’d put it to our expert valuations team to answer. Here’s what…
Second charge mortgages are set to face further scrutiny from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) after the regulatory body revealed they would be monitoring the quality of recommendations and the fees charged in the sector. The FCA are looking to assess whether or not customers are receiving a product that meets their needs meaning they…
Mortgages with a 90% loan-to-value (LTV) are likely to remain scarce whilst employment figures and the economy remain fragile, expert lenders have warned. With a second lockdown announced for England, an unemployment spike is expected, making lenders wary of committing to anything high-risk. At a recent video conference organised by St James Place, various experts…
The second national lockdown in England, currently running until 2nd December, is likely to keep lenders’ attention focused on assisting their struggling customers. With the announcement from the government that economic support will continue and mortgage holidays will be extended, lenders across the country are likely to be using their resources and staff to keep…
The Co-Operative Bank has revealed that new mortgage lending has reached £530 million during the third quarter of 2020. The bank also announced that net residential lending had hit £242 million whilst net SME lending was at £225 million and Bounce Back loans and the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS) were reported to have…
Credit reference agency Experian could be facing a major fine after they were found to be breaching GDPR guidelines. The UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) have warned the firm that they have nine months to comply with an enforcement notice or face what could be a huge fine. The regulator found that Experian were illegally…
Personal finance service provider Permanent TSB has agreed the sale of a portfolio of performing buy-to-let mortgages. The portfolio, worth about €1.2 billion, has been sold to Citibank London, the UK branch of US-based Citibank. The deal also involves the sale of a pool of about 3,700 buy-to-let loan accounts. All of the loans are…