money debt and credit advice
Pay-back times for the interest-only mortgage
With house prices falling, relying on equity to pay off a loan is high risk. Jill Papworth reports
Repossessions may return to 1990s levels
Government help for hard-pressed mortgage payers will fail to prevent the number of repossessions next year from returning to levels last seen in the early 1990s, according to figures released by the Council for Mortgage Lenders yesterday.
The body representing UK home loan providers warned 2009 would be “a very tough year” for the housing market, [...]
Households struggle with rising debts
Households are finding it increasingly hard to repay their debts as rising food and energy prices squeeze disposable incomes, research for the Bank of England showed today.
The number of households that said they were struggling to pay their rent or a mortgage increased to 13% from 9% last year, while 10% of those questioned said [...]
Banking group pays the price as bad loans soar
The dire finances of HBOS, the banking group being bailed out by the taxpayer, were laid bare yesterday when the lender said more business, mortgage and credit card customers had fallen behind on their loan repayments in the last two months.
The shock profit warning came as its shareholders gathered in Birmingham to ratify the £11bn [...]
Banking group pays the price as bad loans soar
The dire finances of HBOS, the banking group being bailed out by the taxpayer, were laid bare yesterday when the lender said more business, mortgage and credit card customers had fallen behind on their loan repayments in the last two months.
The shock profit warning came as its shareholders gathered in Birmingham to ratify the £11bn [...]
Credit card companies set to play fair after government warning
Companies agree a new code of conduct after government issues a tough warning
Credit card firms agree fairer terms
Credit card companies will no longer be able to raise interest rates overnight, and will only be able to implement an increase twice a year, under a new government agreement.
The announcement follows moves by the government to encourage card companies to help customers who have fallen behind on repayments.
Previously, borrowers have faced a sudden [...]
Borrowers beware as tracker rates soar skyward - or disappear altogether
Mortgage lenders have almost doubled some of the margins on their tracker rates in the past week, while others have pulled out of the market altogether.
Last Monday HSBC, which had some of the most competitive tracker rates available, repriced its deals. Anyone with less than 25 per cent equity in their home and a £150,000 [...]
At last, Bank chief admits: it really is a recession
Bank of England governor Mervyn King last night admitted that Britain was entering its first recession since the early 1990s. He is the most senior figure to use the word recession since the slowdown began.
Against a backdrop of more bad news on the economy, King told a business audience in Leeds what most of them [...]
Recession to hit young adults hardest
People aged between 18 and 34 will be hardest hit by the UK’s slide into recession, a report claimed today.
The Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) and independent thinktank Reform claim outdated attitudes among financial services companies and over-regulation have left this age group without the tools to cope with an economic slowdown.
It said banks and financial [...]
