Mortgages

Barclays is targeting borrowers with a minimum 30% deposit stuck on a Standard Variable Rate (SVR) with its fee-free, cash-back remortgage.

After a year of improving confidence, the intermediary sector has now grown more pessimistic and thinks lenders are less keen to lend than at the beginning of the year.

The remortgage market showed signs of recovery after the Conveyancing Alliance reported a 48% increase in mortgage instructions, over the last quarter.

The FSA has banned three individuals for mortgage fraud and fined two of them a total of £414,683.

Just a quarter of all new home loans in August were remortgages which is the lowest proportion in 10 years, according to the CML.

Home sellers continued to outnumber buyers in the last three months causing property prices to slip back, according to surveyors.

The European Commission is considering new regulations which would give prospective borrowers a compulsory 10-day ‘cooling off' period for ‘reflection' when applying for a mortgage.

House prices fell 3.6% in September according to the Halifax, the biggest month-on-month decline since it began keeping records in 1983.

Compass Mortgage and Insurance services are launching a new insurance brand called ‘Unusual Risks' that is specifically for people looking for products in unusual circumstances.

Former Standard Life savings chief executive Geoff Towers will join Legal & General (L&G) as head of IFA sales for savings.