Base rate held at its record low of 0.5%
The Bank of England base rate has stayed at its record low of 0.5% for the 12th consecutive month.
This will be welcome new for the millions of borrowers on base rate tracker mortgages and a relief to those sitting on their lenders standard variable rate.
The Monetary Policy Committee decided not to extend its quantitative easing programme beyond £200 billion, but has not ruled out any further cash injections in to the economy.
With an election coming up many feel that this could have a considerable effect on interest rates. For those in a position to remortgage, the security of a fixed rate could provide protection from future base rate increases.
Royal Bank of Scotland reports £3.6 billion loss
The Royal Bank of Scotland has announced group losses of £3.6 billion in 2009. The group, which includes NatWest, Coutts banks and insurance firms Churchill and Direct Line, lost a massive £24 billion in 2008. Yesterday’s results were considerably better than some in the market were predicting.
Stephen Hester, group chief executive of RBS, was quoted as saying: “We are one year in to our five year turnaround plan and we have taken significant steps along the path to recovery.” The 84% state owned bank said that its bad debts rose to almost £13.9 billion last year.
Lloyds Banking Group announced their results today and have posted a £6.3 billion loss for 2009, slightly down on the £6.7 billion lost in 2008. Gross new mortgage lending at the group totalled £35 billion during 2009, which was a 24% market share. The average loan to value of their mortgages was a rather conservative 54.8%.
February 26, 2010
Second charges becoming more popular
During the property boom many homeowners spent heavily on their credit cards and simply remortgaged their property to pay off the debt. But now many debt consolidation mortgages are being refused by lenders and second charges are becoming the only viable options for those wanting to reduce their monthly outgoings.
There are a range of second charge lenders and they offer different products for their clients. Some still offer loans on a self-certification basis and even to those with up to three missed mortgage payments in the last year.
The cheapest second charge rates start at around 10% and can get considerably higher. Trinity are currently helping homeowners to reduce their monthly out goings and consolidate their debts. To find out how we can help you call one of our experts today.
February 26, 2010