Just Mortgages appoints new Area Director

3rd October 2023 Appointments |

National brokerage Just Mortgages has announced that it has appointed Wayne Saker as Area Director. Saker has two decades of financial services experience in recruiting and mentoring brokers.  He joins from Countrywide, where he first started as a mortgage consultant in 2003. Since then, he has risen through the ranks becoming regional sales manager, financial…

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Over two fifths of advisers see increase in demand for interest only mortgages

2nd October 2023 Consumer Lending | #mortgages

With interest-only mortgages recently discussed as an appealing option for UK borrowers, over two fifths (44%) of mortgage advisers have seen an increase in enquiries about interest-only mortgages over the past year, according to new research from global research and insights agency Opinium. Additionally, similar research conducted from Opinium among consumers found that one in seven (15%)…

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Homeowners expect monthly payments to jump by £617 per month

20th September 2023 Consumer Lending | #mortgage rise

As interest rates continue to increase, mortgage borrowers expect their monthly payments to increase by an average of £617 according to new research by The Mortgage Lender (TML). TML’s recent research found that 80% of homeowners reported being concerned about the effect of rising rates, with 37% being extremely concerned and 43% being somewhat concerned.…

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76% of brokers unwilling to use a lender that withdraws products at short notice

13th September 2023 Consumer Lending | #broker lenders

Research by Castle Trust Bank has found that over 76% of brokers have said the level of notice a lender gave them regarding the withdrawal of a product would impact their willingness to consider using the lender again in the future. The research found that over 60% of brokers said they would be less willing…

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Mortgage approvals drop by 10%

The number of mortgage approvals made to home buyers fell by nearly 10% between June and July, according to Bank of England figures. The figures showed that net mortgage approvals decreased from 54,600 in June to 49,400 in July, while approvals for remortgaging slightly increased from 39,100 to 39,300 during the same period. Net borrowing…

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Consumer credit hits five-year high

Latest Bank of England (BoE) data has shown that consumer credit rose to a five-year high in June. This follows a £500 million decrease in lending in May. Net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals rose to £1.7 billion in June, the highest since April 2018. Of the £1.7 billion borrowed £1 billion was borrowed…

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Credit card rates race past 23% for first time since 1995

17th July 2023 Consumer Lending | #credit cards

After a period of relative calm for the consumer credit sector, average rates on lending products registered notable increases through June as fears over sticky inflation linger, according to analysis of the latest Bank of England data from Freedom Finance. Through the first few months of the year, average rates on credit cards and personal…

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Credit card and personal loan rates decline in first quarter

Analysis of the latest Bank of England data on average quoted household interest rates from Freedom Finance has raised hopes that consumer credit rates may now be in reverse after a year of sustained increases in the cost of borrowing. The data shows that average rates on personal loans of £5k and £10k as well…

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Consumer finance fell by 2% in February

Latest figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell by 2% in February 2023 compared with the same month in 2022. In the first two months of 2023, new business was 1% lower than in the same period in 2022. The retail store and online credit sector…

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Barclays completes acquisition of Kensington Mortgages

2nd March 2023 Consumer Lending |

Kensington Mortgages the specialist mortgage lender, has announced that it has completed its sale to Barclays Bank. Barclays has acquired the business from funds affiliated with Blackstone Tactical Opportunities and Sixth Street, which jointly owned the business since 2015. The acquisition allows Barclays to become one of the few major banks with a specialist mortgage…

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Credit borrowing doubled in January

Latest Bank of England (BoE) data has shown that consumers borrowed in January with an additional £1.6 billion in consumer credit compared with £0.8 billion borrowed in December. This was split between £1.1 billion of borrowing on credit cards and £0.5 billion of borrowing through other forms of consumer credit. Credit figures show consumer credit…

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Consumer finance new business grew by 13% through 2022

20th February 2023 Consumer Lending | #consumer credit

Consumer finance new business grew by 13% through 2022 compared to the previous year according to the latest Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) data. The credit card and personal loan sectors together reported new business up by 17% in 2022 compared to 2021, despite credit card rates reaching their highest level since 1998 and continued…

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Consumer finance new business fell by 4% in December

20th February 2023 Consumer Lending |

New figures released by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) show that consumer finance new business fell by 4% in December 2022 compared with the same month in 2021. In 2022 as a whole, new business was 13% higher than in 2021. The credit card and personal loan sectors together reported a fall in new…

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