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- Struggling Mortgage Owners Can Defer Mortgage Payments For Two Years
- MPs Accuse Lenders of Being Too Cautious
- Mortgage Lenders Slow to Respond Positively
- Libor Unmoved by Government Rescue Package
- Welcome Rate Cuts for Mortgage-Owners
- Bank Cuts Interest Rate a Day Early in Co-ordinated Move
- UK Government Rescue Plan for Banks
- Markets Face Meltdown After Rescue Plan Rejection
- Lloyds TSB in HBOS Takeover
- Turmoil on the Markets Affects Us All
The Government is launching a new scheme to help homeowners where their income has been hit by redundancies or loss of overtime payments.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has defended its members against MPs’ accusations of being over cautious with mortgage lending. Some MPs have said lenders are hoarding cash while the market sorts itself out.
Some mortgage lenders have reacted to the Bank of England rate cut or the Government rescue package by raising tracker rates or by increasing their demands for deposits. It is hardly the response the Government would have hoped for.
It is going to take time for the Government’s financial rescue package to have an effect on the markets. That much was evident after the FTSE continued to fall and Libor rate did not follow the base rate down.
The Bank of England unexpectedly cut its base rate by 0.5% yesterday, bringing financial relief to thousands of homeowners as monthly mortgage repayments will now fall.
Following the Government’s £50bn rescue plan for banks on Wednesday morning, the Bank of England cut the base rate by 0.5%, announcing the move a day early. The US Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and other European central banks made similar moves. The Stock Market responded favourably.
The UK Government is to inject £50bn worth of capital into the banking system in an attempt to get the banking system moving again. In return the Government will receive preference shares. So far, eight banks are listed as taking part in the plan.
The US bail-out plan for banks was rejected on Monday. As a result financial markets around the world went into free-fall. More banks went under, and others are expected to follow. President Bush will make another attempt at a rescue plan later in the week.
Following the weekend’s dramatic events in the US, the UK’s HBOS saw its share price dive. Lloyds TSB has stepped in to buy out HBOS. Meanwhile inter-bank lending rate Libor has jumped and fixed mortgages are bound to rise.
The repercussions following the fall of Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch banks in the US at the weekend are going to affect us all, experts warned. Pensions, savings and mortgages will all be affected. Stock markets around the world lost around 4% on Meltdown Monday.
