You can take another look at the week’s news and we’ll round up the stand-out, most thought-provoking or unmissable comments posted after stories or sent straight through to the editor.
Comment any time on the Mortgage Solutions website and you could feature in next week’s Mortgage Mutterings.
FSA paid £7.6m for secret RBS report
Mortgage Solutions | 10 Jan 2011 | 09:12
IFAonline
FSA Naivete
I am amazed that the FSA – who is in charge of regulating the whole of the UK’s financial sector is so naive as to agree to pay PWC £ 7.5 million for a report not worthy of publication. Before tasking PWC with the report – should they not have set out proper guidelines for the work required, ie. outcomes required, cost agreements – and a RESULTS based payment. This is what happens when bureaucrats (who are not paying the money from their own pockets!!!) are in charge of procuring services. Mr Clegg – please take note and stop this culture and mentality of wastefulness, which has developed across our entire public service.
Niraj
10 Jan 2011 | 09:39
More gross incompetence…….
Niraj is being generous in saying that the FSA were naive.
Surely it is just another example of gross incompetence and as Niraj says classic waste by a bureaucratic body of other peoples’ s money.
Mr Clegg and Mr Cameron and all MP s should be fighting for an accountable democratic institution to replace the FSA which would be subject to English /UK Law and Parliament.
Lyn Cooke
10 Jan 2011 | 16:10
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Packaging market “on road to recovery”
Mortgage Solutions | 10 Jan 2011 | 13:37
Kay McLellan
Time to get a proper job
I have seen the business plans (if that’s what you call them) of several packagers along with their financials. Those companies and indeed this article have “flogging a dead horse written all over them.” Lenders are not and will not be interested in paying for what is essentially another layer of distribution cost when they have branches, call centres and the web through which they can drive distribution. Let’s face it they are not short of business or distribution, they are short of cash and they do want to lend it, they certainly don’t want to pay packagers to help them lend it. So please stop with this meaningless attempt to engineer a PR story out of nothing, polish up your CV and get a new job (harsh I know, but fair)
David
10 Jan 2011 | 18:44
[Ed – David, I take it you mean the FSA, not our trusty reporter Kay McLellan?)
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FSA slams RBS Group with £2.8m fine for complaints handling
Mortgage Solutions | 11 Jan 2011 | 10:56
Vicky Hartley
FSA slams RBS group with £2.8m fine
Who put this headline together – “FSA slams” should be “FSA treats public with contempt by fining RBS a paltry £2.8m”. That said the shareholders, customers and tax payers will pay the fine while the criminals in the board room award themselves with record bonuses.
Bill Wells
11 Jan 2011 | 20:10
Is self build the answer to the housing crisis?
Mortgage Solutions | 12 Jan 2011 | 15:43
Self Build is marginal
How is it possible in any wildest dreams for a marginal activity like self-build going to solve the housing crisis. Whoever is dreaming, wake up.
M J Winfield
12 Jan 2011 | 22:24
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Maximum borrower age must reflect retirement at 66
Mortgage Solutions | 13 Jan 2011 | 16:05
Simret Samra
Maximum borrower age
Quite frankly the attention paid by lenders to a mortgage being repaid by age 65 is generally baffling. Lending to someone in their early 40s and worrying about what is going to happen when they reach 65 and how much they will be earning at that point is more or less pointless. What’s more, asking brokers to comment on how their clients will afford the mortgage in retirement is also of little value. Most of these loans will be repaid long before the clients retire as they will sell the property long before and should they reach retirement age and not be able to afford the mortgage at that time I suggest that they will realise this in good time and plan to move to a cheaper area or trade down to a smaller property. Even at current RPI rates there would be a healthy equity accrued.
Chris Jones
14 Jan 2011 | 07:21
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Billions in banker bonuses paid ‘by mistake’
Mortgage Solutions | 13 Jan 2011 | 12:31
IFAonline
Banker Bonuses
If an employer has overpaid in error then, presumably, it can re-claim the overpayment. If so, GET ON WITH IT. If not, sack the person responsible for the error.
On a general point about banker bonuses, surely they are contractual payments on achievement of certain targets being achieved therefore no government in the World, perhaps excluding China, has any power to force them not to be paid. This is another Government smokescreen to make the public think something is being done when, in fact very little can be done. When the Labour administration bailed the banks out it should have enforced conditions on the monies being given – they didn’t because it was a knee jerk reaction and the full consequences had not been considered. Clearly demonstrates the total lack of judgment and skill by the Labour government.
John Morgan
14 Jan 2011 | 14:18
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Have a great weekend
From the Mortgage Solutions team
