Personal Touch Financial Services has announced 22 job losses and restructured its board of directors to achieve a 25% cost saving in an attempt to "realign the business" and cut £1.5m in costs.

Financial service start-ups are facing record wait times for Financial Services Authority (FSA) approval, with the average wait now reaching 22.9 weeks, 9% higher than the previous peak of 21 weeks in Q2 2010.

Santander, the UK's second largest mortgage lender, has been criticised for hiking its standard variable rate (SVR) by 0.5% - to 4.74% - a move expected to affect several hundred thousand customers.

The number of older people living with cancer in the UK is set to treble by 2040, with increased demand on health services, Macmillan has reported.

The proportion of borrowers remortgaging increased to four in ten last month, which could signal the start of a rush as fixed rates continue to fall for home owners with a large deposit, said an adviser.

Tesco Bank has made a move into the mortgage market by launching a range of non-advised deals.

Multi-tie mortgage and financial advice network Openwork has made several redundancies, including mortgage relationship manager Karen Hedges, as part of a cost-saving initiative.

The Scottish Government launched a tax consultation yesterday, proposing the removal of the slab Stamp Duty Land Tax format and a boost to homebuyer affordability in Scotland.

Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has signalled the government is ready to loosen its austerity drive with a "massive" increase in state-backed investment into housing and state infrastructure.

The mortgage industry is still awaiting the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) final rules this summer, but Virgin Money expects its direction to boost lending through intermediaries.