Industry

Fewer than half of mortgage advisers think business will improve in the last quarter of 2009.

Mortgage approvals for house purchase have risen to a 17-month high, according to the British Bankers' Association (BBA).

Borrowers are continuing to suffer as lenders remain reluctant to reduce the cost of fixed rate mortgages, according to Moneyfacts.co.uk.

The director of a Cornwall-based IFA has been slapped with a £17,500 fine for failing to tell the FSA about an employee's suspect methods and ethics.

Building societies are likely to suffer falling profits as interest rates remain low and credit losses mount, says accounting group KPMG.

Plum Software has partnered with identity management specialists GB Group to launch an electronic identity checking service to help IFAs avoid breaching FSA regulations.

Coventry Building Society has shrugged off the credit problems plaguing other mortgage lenders, posting a rise in profits for the first six months of the year.

A total of 80% of mortgage applications were approved in July, representing a 10% increase on the start of the year.

Gross mortgage lending rose 26% to £16bn in July compared to the previous month, according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

The Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI) has urged caution over "unnecessary regulation" which it believes is unlikely to have the desired effect on the UK market.