Mortgage approvals for house purchases rose to their highest level in 18 months, latest figures from the Bank of England (BoE) show.

Santander has noted the positive contribution of both Bradford & Bingley (B&B) and Alliance & Leicester (A&L) to its Q3 profits.

Re-mortgages have fallen to record low levels, according to figures from broker Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB).

Abbey for Intermediaries (AfI) has launched an exclusive broker deal for existing Abbey bank account customers.

The FSA has banned an east London mortgage broker for knowingly submitting "false and misleading" income details in mortgage applications.

Gross mortgage lending jumped significantly in Q3 compared with the previous quarter as signs of an improving housing market continue, Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) data shows.

The housing market will continue to strengthen over the next few years rendering a dreaded 'double dip' in prices unlikely, investment specialists Assetz says.

HSBC overtook the Government-backed banks to become the most competitive mortgage lender during Q3 2009, according to analysis from Evaluate Technologies.

Remortgaging has declined by 57% since August 2008 due to restrictive lending criteria and the extremely low interest rate environment, according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

Shareholders in nationalised bank Bradford & Bingley (B&B) will have to wait until the end of June 2010 to be told the amount of compensation they will receive.