Financial stress figures put customer vulnerability checks in focus

Financial services firms should take a more proactive approach to identifying customers who may be struggling with money worries, MorganAsh has said. Research from the Building Societies Association, published ahead of UK Savings Week, found that financial stress had...

Latest news

Stamp duty blamed as home moves fall to once every 21 years

Stamp duty is deterring millions of people from moving home and restricting opportunities for first-time buyers, according to research from Yorkshire Building Society. Nearly one...

Plug-in solar panels pose new insurance risks for property sector

Insurers, brokers, landlords and property owners have been urged to assess the risks presented by plug-in solar panel systems entering the UK market. Risk assessment...

Pepper Money reduces residential and buy-to-let rates

Pepper Money has cut rates across its residential and buy-to-let mortgage ranges and launched a limited-edition remortgage range. Residential rates now start at 5.38% up...

Barclays to launch 24-hour fast-track remortgage service

Barclays is to introduce a fast-track remortgage service that could provide eligible borrowers with an offer within 24 hours and complete their loan in...

Conveybuddy reports 88% rise in instructions after two years

Conveyancing distributor conveybuddy has reported an 88% year-on-year increase in instructions as it marks two years in business. The company, which launched in September 2024, said the number of registered mortgage brokers using its platform had risen by 75%...

Hanley Economic launches shared ownership mortgages for foreign nationals

Hanley Economic Building Society has introduced two shared ownership mortgages for foreign nationals living and working in the UK, with no minimum residency period. The range comprises a five-year variable discount mortgage with an initial rate of 5.85% and...

Rosemount adds Christopher Allen Private Clients to network

Christopher Allen Private Clients has joined Rosemount Financial Solutions (IFA) as an appointed representative. The Alcester-based mortgage and protection brokerage, known as CAPC, specialises in advising high-net-worth clients and handling complex cases. Established in 2013, the Warwickshire firm works with...

Atom bank raises loan-to-income limits on Prime and Near Prime mortgages

Atom bank has increased its loan-to-income limits on Prime and Near Prime mortgages at up to 90% loan-to-value. The lender said the change would improve affordability for borrowers with household incomes of between £45,000 and £60,000, potentially increasing their...

PROFILE

Toni Smith on the human factor and the fourth emergency service

After nearly four decades in financial services, Sesame Network distribution director Toni Smith still believes technology should make advisers stronger, not replace them. When Toni...

INDUSTRY COMMENT

It’s time to look at retention

As the summer winds down and the back-to-school routine kicks back in, I urge the industry to turn its attention to something just as...

Landlords are buying – and advisers should take note

There has been no shortage of commentary over recent years suggesting landlords are heading for the exit, buy-to-let apparently no longer works and the...

Why energy efficiency is hiding mortgage portfolio risk

For years, ESG strategies across the UK mortgage sector have operated under a relatively straightforward principle: better Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) ratings equal lower...

Q&As

BUY-TO-LET

Quantum Mortgages passes £1bn lending milestone

Quantum Mortgages has exceeded £1bn in mortgage lending little more than four years after...

UTB reduces 2-year BTL rates by up to 50bps

United Trust Bank has reduced rates across its standard and specialist buy-to-let ranges, with...

Paragon cuts buy-to-let fixed rates to 3.40%

Paragon Bank has cut rates by 15 basis points across its Core and Tailored...

Afin Bank recruits three underwriters as lending range expands

Afin Bank has appointed three underwriters to support its growth across residential, buy-to-let and...

Loan.co.uk launches specialist lending webinar series for advisers

Loan.co.uk is to run a series of four webinars designed to help mortgage advisers...

HMO landlords plan five-figure spending as costs and regulation rise

More HMO landlords expect to spend upwards of £10,000 on property improvements over the...

Company ownership dominates larger buy-to-let portfolios

More than 45% of UK buy-to-let ownership is held through companies, with the proportion...

FIRST-TIME BUYERS

The Coventry raises first-time buyer lending limit to 6.5 times income

Coventry Building Society has increased the amount eligible first-time buyers can borrow to as much as 6.5 times their income. The higher loan-to-income limit is available through Coventry for intermediaries on residential purchases at up to 95% loan-to-value. Sole applicants must earn at least £30,000, while...

HSBC to cut fixed mortgage rates across residential range

HSBC UK will reduce a broad selection of fixed mortgage rates for new and...

Mortgage misconceptions leave first-time buyers doubtful about their prospects

More than half of prospective first-time buyers believe securing a mortgage would be difficult,...

Darlington backs first-time buyer mortgage with pension income

Darlington Building Society has provided a residential mortgage to a first-time buyer approaching retirement...

Buyers return but need £18,200 extra to offset mortgage rate rises

Homebuyer activity is showing signs of an autumn rebound despite higher mortgage rates cutting...

OPINION

Affordability shocks and expiring deals: why the 2026 mortgage peak demands a holistic protection review

I speak to mortgage advisers and brokers every day, and one topic keeps coming up - the sheer number of mortgage deals coming to...

Why the FCA’s Protection Report is a wake-up call and a massive opportunity for advisers

According to Mortgage Advice Bureau, approximately 90% of all mortgages are secured through an...

Bank Rate holds, but the pressure is building

The Bank of England's decision to maintain Bank Base Rate (BBR) last month at...

How are we supporting the next generation of first-time buyers?

With GCSE and A-level results out over the last fortnight, it feels like the right moment to ask a question the industry doesn't spend enough time on: what are we actually doing to support the first time buyers of tomorrow, the ones sitting with...

Let’s not get bogged down in the macro, let’s focus on the ones and twos

In challenging times such as this, it often feels like the first instinct for many in the mortgage market is to talk it down....

DISTRIBUTION

TMG backs Rotherham United Women in shirt sponsorship deal

TMG Financial Services has agreed a partnership with Rotherham United Women FC to become...

James Miller & Associates renews Stonebridge partnership

The Cornwall-based mortgage and protection firm James Miller & Associates has extended its partnership...

Openwork adds April Mortgages to lending panel

Openwork has added April Mortgages to its lending panel, giving advisers access to a...

Together completes 1,000th Networks & Clubs channel case

Together has completed its 1,000th case through its Networks & Clubs channel, providing a...

TMA adds Monmouthshire BS to lender panel

TMA Club has added Monmouthshire Building Society to its lender panel as the mutual makes a measured return to the broker market. The agreement gives TMA’s directly authorised partners access to the Newport-based society’s residential, buy-to-let and commercial mortgage ranges. Monmouthshire paused lending last year while...