Mortgage News
Cutting remarks
In a week that saw more redundancies, more products being pulled and more tales of fraud, is there any hope on the horizon?
So, Northern Rock is nationalised, Alliance & Leicester and others have pulled their first-time buyer 100%-plus products, Platform and Lehman Brothers announced major redundancies, and the FSA continues its enforcement action on fraudulent brokers – unfortunately, just another typical week in the world of mortgages.
It is unfortunate the news cannot be more upbeat, and while some may argue that now is the time we should focus on the positives, it is a little hard when the majority of stories last week weren’t exactly painting a rosy picture of the market.
The story to garner the most interest from intermediaries was the banning of two mortgage brokers for their involvement in submitting false mortgage applications to lenders. The FSA action further highlights the severity of this issue, one which Mortgage Solutions will not shy away from reporting or pressuring the industry to clean up. It is in every good broker’s interest that this is revealed and the response we have had to the story is proof the majority of advisers are concerned about this element and want increased action by the police.
Other news that is never nice to report is of job losses, and it was a sad reflection on the market when two big names announced significant redundancies last week. Platform said it was letting go of almost a quarter of its staff, and Lehman Brothers is to cut up to 200 jobs across its UK operations. Unfortunately, this type of announcement comes as little surprise, and most market talk is about who is next, not who is surging ahead.
Bright notes are few and far between, but one positive story was that the Council of Mortgage Lenders’ (CML) latest figures revealed gross mortgage lending rose to an estimated £26.5bn in January, up 11% from £23.9bn in December. However, the CML did go on to predict lending volumes would be lower in the coming months due to a fall in mortgage approvals towards the end of last year.
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So, despite attempts to put more of a positive spin on things, even the industry trade bodies are being pessimistic about what to expect in the future. At this stage, it is still tough times ahead. n