A leading analyst has warned that negative interest rates could cost Britain’s ‘big five’ banks £1 billion a year in lost profits. A cut in interest rates to -0.15% would knock up to 11% off the leading banks annual profits, even if they implement offsetting measures like those used within a eurozone. The warning comes…
The Bank of England (BoE) announced last week that it plans to revamp existing stress tests as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. The changes will impact stress tests across the UK banking sector and are being introduced in order to reflect the repercussions on personal and business finances from the pandemic and resulting lockdowns. …
Amendments to the Financial Services Bill written to assist mortgage prisoners were blocked last week by the economic secretary to the treasury. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) had proposed new clauses 24, 25 and 26 in order to extend it’s regulatory perimeter allowing it to regulate the management and ownership of a regulated mortgage contract,…
Freelance borrowers face being effectively ‘locked out’ of the mortgage market by lending restrictions which would force them to raise a £100,000 deposit. Major lenders have started cracking down on freelancers as part of their own risk-aversion strategies. Santander have blocked mortgage applications from freelancers unless they have a deposit of at least 40%. The…
For much of 2020 the focus for lending regulators has been the coronavirus pandemic and assisting borrowers through the crisis. As we move into the new year that focus is set to continue however there is likely to be the chance for new developments that have been put on hold thanks to the restrictions. The…
2020 was a tumultuous year for the UK property market with lockdown initially bringing house sales to a grinding halt before new legislation such as the stamp duty holiday caused it to soar again. As we head into 2021 with the country yet again in a strict lockdown and restrictions across various sectors, it’s no…
Business borrowing increased drastically throughout 2020 as businesses fought to survive the coronavirus pandemic. More than £68 billion was partly or fully guaranteed by the treasury according to the Bank of England, with business borrowing increasing four-fold throughout the year. The UK government announced various support and loan schemes back at the start of the…