Steep rise in unsecured personal loan rates
by Gill Montia
Story link: Steep rise in unsecured personal loan rates
Latest figures from Moneyfacts.co.uk, the independent financial website, show that interest rates for unsecured personal loans are rising steeply, with nine of the providers in the Moneyfacts survey increasing rates by up to 4% for some borrowers.
Interest rates on unsecured personal loans have been rising steadily over the past nine months but only 4 months […]
Base rate held at 5.75%
by Gill Montia
Story link: Base rate held at 5.75%
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee has voted to keep the base rate at 5.75% for October.
The base rate was also kept on hold in September and this month’s decision was widely expected by economists.
Analysts are expecting the Bank to wait until the effects of the recent global credit squeeze are more evident, […]
Confidentiality keeps bidders away from BoE auction
by Gill Montia
Story link: Confidentiality keeps bidders away from BoE auction
For the second week running UK banks have preferred not to borrow any of the £10 billion that is being offered for auction by the Bank of England (BoE), in an attempt to ease the credit crisis.
It is reported that banks, anxious over issues of confidence, have borrowed instead from the European Central Bank (EBC) […]
Rise in pensioner bankruptcies
by Gill Montia
Story link: Rise in pensioner bankruptcies
According to Wilkins Kennedy, the accountant, the number of people aged over 65 who are declaring themselves bankrupt has more than doubled in the past five years.
The firm estimates that so far this year, 7% of all bankruptcies have been amongst retired people.
In addition, the number of people in this group declaring themselves insolvent, […]
Commercial and homebuyer loan costs rise
by Gill Montia
Story link: Commercial and homebuyer loan costs rise
The latest figures from the Bank of England show a marked increase in the cost of borrowing for both UK businesses and households.
Average interest rates for the most common form of commercial loan taken out by UK companies are two full percentage points ahead of rates for this time last year.
According to Citigroup, the international […]
Banks test the law on overseas credit card purchases
by Gill Montia
Story link: Banks test the law on overseas credit card purchases
A case to establish whether credit card companies must refund customers when goods purchased abroad are damaged or are not delivered will be heard by the House of Lords.
A group of banks, led by Lloyds TSB, is challenging the view that under the Consumer Credit Act the same cover applies to goods purchased from an […]
Credit card holders look to consolidate
by Gill Montia
Story link: Credit card holders look to consolidate
Abbey, part of the Santander group, has published new research on the credit card habits of UK adults, which shows a growing awareness of the benefits and pitfalls of credit card use.
The majority of British consumers have an average of two credit cards but 22% hold three or more.
The average credit card customer holds cards […]
BBC exposes UK sub-prime malpractice
by Gill Montia
Story link: BBC exposes UK sub-prime malpractice
The BBC has been investigating the UK’s sub-prime mortgage market and has found evidence of serious mis-selling.
Journalists working for BBC Radio 4’s File On 4 programme spoke to those on the inside of the industry who admitted that people have been advised to lie about their incomes and take out loans far in excess […]
Lenders take up responsibilities
by Gill Montia
Story link: Lenders take up responsibilities
The Chancellor of the Exchequer’s recent call for banks to exercise responsible lending has been followed by a number of lenders reducing their borrowing limits.
Fears over bad debt, combined with the difficulty in borrowing money on the global markets, are making their mark amongst consumers.
This week Barclaycard reported that it is turning down around half […]
Barclaycard tightens credit limits
by Gill Montia
Story link: Barclaycard tightens credit limits
Barclaycard, the UK’s foremost issuer of credit cards, has been reviewing the credit limits held by many of its customers, whilst at the same time rejecting an increasing number of applications for new cards.
The review has been underway since the beginning of 2007 and reflects general concern about the availability of high street credit.
However, […]
A&L softens overdraft charges
by Gill Montia
Story link: A&L softens overdraft charges
Alliance & Leicester (A&L) is introducing a daily fee for customers with overdraft agreements, whilst also pledging to continue to offer free banking to account holders who remain in credit.
The bank has reviewed the charging structure for its current accounts and from October, will become the first UK bank to end interest charges on […]
Bank of England to auction £10 billion
by Gill Montia
Story link: Bank of England to auction £10 billion
The Bank of England (BoE) has reassessed its position in relation to the problems on the money markets and is prepared to alleviate the credit shortage by injecting £10 billion into the markets.
The move is aimed at reducing the London Interbank Offered Rate (Libor), which is the interest rate applied to inter-bank lending.
Libor has been […]
Chancellor rescues Northern Rock savers
by Gill Montia
Story link: Chancellor rescues Northern Rock savers
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has reassured savers with Northern Rock by promising to guarantee all current deposits.
The move, in which the Chancellor pledged the support of the Government and the Bank England, is aimed at stemming the flow of withdrawals from the bank.
Mr Darling is reported as saying that he wants to […]
Northern Rock awaits further withdrawals
by Gill Montia
Story link: Northern Rock awaits further withdrawals
Northern Rock has paid out almost £2 billion to its savers since the end of last week and is expecting withdrawals to continue in the coming days.
The UK’s fifth largest mortgage lender was forced to approach the Bank of England, as a “lender of last resort” on Friday, because of the current difficulties on […]
Northern Rock rescued by BoE
by Gill Montia
Story link: Northern Rock rescued by BoE
Northern Rock, the UK’s fifth largest mortgage lender, has received emergency funding from the Bank of England.
Unlike most other banks, Northern Rock raises the majority of the money it uses for mortgage lending in the wholesale credit markets.
In the main, other UK mortgage lenders use money in their deposit accounts for their mortgage businesses.
The recent […]
Chancellor speaks out on lending
by Gill Montia
Story link: Chancellor speaks out on lending
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, has spoken publicly about the need to bring an end to an era of free and easy lending by the banks.
Mr Darling believes that such lending has been responsible for a credit boom that went beyond sensible limits and he is calling for a return to ‘good […]
Record high for CAB debt enquiries
by Gill Montia
Story link: Record high for CAB debt enquiries
The Citizens Advice Bureaux (CAB) has published figures showing that debt enquiries in England and Wales have reached a record high.
In the last year, the CAB recorded a 20% increase in such enquiries bringing the total number to 1.7 million, double the level of ten years ago.
For the CAB this means that consumers’ concerns over […]
Money markets crisis looms
by Gill Montia
Story link: Money markets crisis looms
Some City analysts are warning that this week, the money markets could experience the worst crisis for 20 years.
According to Lehman Brother, the investment bank, $113 billion of commercial paper (effectively money market IOUs) are due for refinancing in the coming days.
This refinancing will mainly come through London and exceeds the $100 billion that […]
Denial and lethargy pervade indebtedness
by Gill Montia
Story link: Denial and lethargy pervade indebtedness
Chiltern, the debt management specialist, estimates that approximately four million Britons are in serious debt and that the majority are in denial of their predicament.
According to a survey by Chiltern, one in 16 people in the UK spends more than 25% of their monthly earning in paying off unsecured debt.
However, of this group only one […]
Base rate held at 5.75%
by Gill Montia
Story link: Base rate held at 5.75%
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is keeping the base rate at 5.75%, in September.
The bank’s announcement was accompanied by a statement in which the MPC said that it had considered the effects that recent pressures on the credit markets could have on the rate of inflation.
The committee believes it is too […]
