Mortgages

The UK has seen a 'sizeable' improvement in the affordability of mortgage payments despite a squeeze on credit, according to a report by ratings agency Fitch.

House prices ended 2012 on a high with growth in the final quarter of the year, according to the latest Halifax house price index.

Advisory businesses are acknowledging the benefits of execution-only capability, but struggling to build viable propositions, according to one major adviser support group.

Burgeoning demand for top-end houses created more than 47,000 new property millionaires in the UK in 2012, taking the total number to 300,142, according to property website Zoopla.co.uk.

The price of the average UK home fell 1% in 2012, figures published by Nationwide show.

WHY WE DO IT

Directors of Black and White Group, Chris Ollenrenshaw and Thomas Reeh have both been fined a total of £60,000 by the regulator, while Adrian Childs and Ollerenshaw have been banned.

Northern Rock Asset Management is to compensate customers who took out loans with the bank a share of £270m, following errors made in paperwork.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined ex-sub-prime lender Cheshire Mortgage Corporation Limited (CMCL) and two of its directors for mortgage sales failings leading to compensation for more than 2,000 customers.

The mortgage broker market has bottomed out and will see the intermediary market continue to grow in 2013, according to the Association of Mortgage Intermediaries (AMI).