Mortgage Market Roundup- Sep 22
Mortgage shock comes for UK homebuyers. Borrowers who opted for popular two-year fixed rate deals during the pandemic, when relief on stamp duty...
Mortgage Market Roundup
September 2022
Mortgage shock comes for UK homebuyers. Borrowers who opted for popular two-year fixed rate deals during the pandemic, when relief on stamp duty encouraged many to purchase property, thus facing a 25% rise in mortgage costs as those rates mature.
Over a million people in households already spending more than a fifth of their income on mortgage repayments are immediately exposed to further rate rises, with lower-income households and older borrowers particularly exposed to variable rates — Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).
Remortgage searches hit record high as product choice dips. The busiest day ever for remortgage searches fell in August 2022 for eight of the 31 days in the month. Also, searches for remortgages outstripped searches for purchase mortgages. However, the number of products available dropped by more than 10%, the lowest level of availability since July 2021. — Twenty7tec.
40% of adults save less than £100 a month and 14% are unable to save anything. 81% of respondents reported changing their spending habits
because of the cost-of-living crisis, with 44% worried about keeping up with rent or mortgage repayments. — The Exeter.
Brokers see surge in landlords looking to sell off their properties ahead of the new EPC rules, due to be introduced in 2025. In a rising rate climate that’s squeezing margins, at a time when the property prices remain high.
New build properties selling for significantly below the asking price, with a typical discount of around 14%. This equates to around £64,000 off the average new build asking price of £458,452.
Mortgage sector could play a bigger role to help home-energy efficiency, following a recent study by property experts Cornerstone Tax. The study found that 45% of homeowners are put off due to the costs involved and 22% found it impossible because of planning restrictions.
— Ben Thompson, MAB.
Homebuyer enquiries, sales, and new instructions all fell in August compared to July. New buyer enquiries dropped at the steepest rate since the early stages of the pandemic, and sales were down for the fifth consecutive month, reflecting the economic downturn and rising rates. —Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Homebuying predicted to fall at the highest rate seen in a decade over the next 12 months. Lack of housing stock available is supporting prices, which continue to rise, even if the pace of growth has cooled over the recent months. They are expected to level off. — Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
Average time to buy a home up 23% since 2019, at 153 days compared to 124 days before the pandemic. The length of time filling out forms, such as property title deeds, energy performance certificates (EPCs), local authority searches, transaction and conveyancing forms is a particular aggravation for homeowners. — Smoove.
Mortgage market is better prepared to weather the coming storm, say experts. Stricter lending controls, better triaging of financially stressed
customers, greater digitisation, fall in interest only and self-certification mortgages were cited as factors.
Remortgages lead to 11% fall in disposable income. This leaves the average consumer with around one-quarter of their net income, after refinancing due to the cost-of-living crises and rising interest rates. Remortgage activity grew year-on-year, but product transfer business fell away in Q2, suggesting borrowers are shopping around more. — UK Finance.
New challenger 'StreamBank' enters the market, offering bridging and development finance to property professionals using the MV Core Banking platform.
Landlord numbers continue to grow, climbing by 2.4% since 2016-17 to an estimated figure of almost 2.6 million, despite government policies and restrictions impacting the private rented sector. — Total Landlord Insurance.
Value of mortgages in arrears, falls to lowest level on record in Q2 totalling £13.2bn, which is a 0.7% drop on Q1 and a 7.2% annual decline. It is also the lowest value since the central bank began its records in 2007. — (Bank of England) BoE.
Over 40% struggling to keep up with mortgage payments. Workers in the HR industry affected the most. — Uswitch.com.
Restricted mortgage borrower budgets hit the urge to move home, particularly among upsizers, second-home buyers and investors. Although those looking to downsize, relocate or live in regional parts of the UK remain positive. — Savills.
Online mortgage searches rise rapidly from 17% using this approach for their first loan, doubling to 34% when thinking about their next mortgage. However, concerns were raised with sharing data such as salary, spending and ID — Contact State.
Highest stock levels in 15 months, as buyer and seller sentiment show resilience. Some 73% of the active property buyers and 79% of sellers in August were confident that they would undertake a property transaction within the next three months — OnTheMarket Property Sentiment Index.
The number of sales agreed dips or stays static for the third consecutive month. This is a sign that the market may be cooling. — TwentyCi
A third of prospective first-time buyers postpone purchase plans by 20-months on an average, due to the cost of living crisis and average deposits rising to £43,500. — Aldermore.
Defaults set to rise as higher living costs pressure household finances. The household debt is high by historical standards at just under £2 trillion in Q1, equivalent to around 124.5% of total household income. However, this is below the 2008 peak of 146% at the time of the financial crisis — Bank of England (BOE).
Interest rates hikes are making repayments unaffordable for 33% of mortgage customers, rising to 48% of younger mortgage customers (18 to 34 year olds). 42% said that they are considering switching to a different mortgage provider, offering a longer fixed-term mortgage. —Butterfield Mortgages.
Quarter of borrowers unable to afford their mortgage if interest rates hit 5%. The survey found that more than a third of respondents interested in buying a new home, were very or somewhat likely to opt for a 50-year mortgage if it improves their affordability. — Anthony Ward Thomas.
Mortgage-backed buyers fuel 71% of property purchases with 630,688 of the 919,936 homes sold in the last year (representing £177.4bn of a total £251bn), facilitated by mortgage borrowing. — Revolution Brokers.
Average FTB mortgage payments up 37% since January, rising from an average of £812 to £1,112. This rise is due to 0.5% increase in bank base rate to 2.25% in September. — Rightmove.
Government to unveil plans to 'unlock homeownership' for new generation this autumn, by increasing housing supply, enabling planning reforms and increasing the disposal of surplus government land to build new homes. — Treasury’s 2022 growth plan.
Mixed industry reaction to Chancellor’s stamp duty cuts, whereby there is no stamp duty to pay on the first £250,000 of any property’s value (up from £125,000), and for First Time Buyers (FTBs) the zero-rate threshold will increase to £425,000 (up from £300,000) with relief available for £625,000 (up from £500,000). Stamp duty will also be eradicated for purchases of land and buildings for commercial or new residential development. Whilst some believe this may help stimulate the economy, re-balance purchase and remortgages, thus making it easier and make it easier for FTBs. Others believe that this could further fuel property prices, affecting affordability as well as creating bottlenecks in the industry.
First-time mortgage repayments hit 40% of salary, the highest level since 2012 as house prices keep rising. Repayments on homes are set to go up, from an average of £1,057 for first-time owners to £1,114,
as lenders pass on the latest 0.5% base rate increase. — Rightmove.
Estimated 5.2million adults take additional job based on a survey by Royal London. The latest ONS data shows around 1.2 million UK workers have second jobs but suggests that the number has been rising over the past two years.
Starmer pledges homeownership will hit 70% under Labour Government, with a new mortgage guarantee scheme to help first time buyers to get on the property ladder.
Former Bank of England chief calls for emergency 1.5% interest rate rise stating that the “secret is to go early and go big, and that the investors have started to lose confidence in the Government”.
"We're going to see more vulnerable customers in the next 12 to 18 months" with the need for mortgage protection for first-time buyers becoming more important, because of the increased chance of short-term income shocks. — Rich Horner, MetLife.
Buying power drops 28%, raising property market risks if rates reach 5% by the end of the year. This will likely result in some borrowers putting off their purchase or seeking a more modest property, assuming they can find a lender prepared to finance at the levels required.
Rents hit record £1,250 in September, as demand remains high amid tight supply. This is 1.8% higher than August, and up 13.2% on last year —Goodlord.
Average mortgage cost is up by as much as 34% since December with the average monthly cost of a two-year fixed mortgage up by £284 per month to £1,098. The average three-year product £274 is more expensive when it comes to the average repayment, costing £1,075. — Octane Capital.
Asking prices cut by £150,000 for cash buyers in London with sellers looking for a smoother sale. Nationally, the average discount was £70,000 for a cash buyer. — GetAgent.
House prices set to rise by another £14,000 before the end of the year, a rise of 5% bringing the average property value up to £300,717, despite the economic difficulties. — Benham & Reeves.
House prices will flatline by the end of next year after ending 2022 up 5% year-on-year, predicts Hamptons Estate Agents. If rates rise further than anticipated, it believes that the prices will most probably fall. — Hamptons Estate Agents.
Over 55s see house prices swell by £1bn a day since pandemic from £3.5tr (trillion) of housing equity in March 2020 (65% of the UK’s total housing wealth) to £4.4 trillion in June 2022. — Just Group.
Interest in energy-efficient homes spikes with a 34% rise in searches, that consider a property’s energy performance certificate (EPC) rating in July. — Legal & General Mortgage Club.
Average house prices returned to growth in August rising by a modest 0.4% month-on-month, recovering from the 0.1% recorded in July. An average UK property now costs a new high of £294,260. — Halifax House Price Index (HPI).
Average house price would reach £712,654 if it followed the energy cap increase planned for October after rising to £395,785 in April this year, GetAgent calculates. The actual average today is £ 286,397. — GetAgent.
House prices up by 12% on back of strong regional growth over the past 12 months. Eight out of 10 regions recorded growth increases of more than 10%, with The South West recording the strongest growth at 15.2%. — e.surv.
Welsh fort available for less than an average London home at £500,000 (the average residential property in London costs £538,000). Arthur Lowe, who played Captain Mainwaring in ‘Dad’s Army’ was once resident at the Defensible Barracks in Pembroke Dock.
Picture courtesy of Rightmove.co.uk:
Rental growth jumps 12% even as tenants look for smaller homes, with the current difference in rent for a two-bed flat and three bed houses being £105 per month (£1,260 a year) outside London. — Zoopla.
Govt figures show 21% rise in number of new homes being built between 1 April and 30 June this year with building work starting on 51,730 sites. Commentators argue that this remains well short of the number required and the government’s own target of 300,000 per annum.
Asking prices slightly dipped in August by 0.4% although stock levels in England and Wales ticked up. It will take perhaps a year before they reach what might be considered normal — Home.co.uk
House prices to fall 4.5% next year with a peak annual contraction of 6.2% expected in Q3 2023. Sharp rise in mortgage rates, significant cost of living pressures, an impending recession, and anticipated resultant increases in unemployment means that it will do little to make housing more affordable for young buyers though — CEBR.
Housing transaction numbers rise nearly 10% in August to 114,440 transactions on a non-seasonally adjusted basis — HMRC.
Government encourages lenders to include a borrowers' ‘rent track record’ in mortgage decisions. Pointing to the likes of Credit Ladder, Bud and RentalStep, who use technology to verify tenants’ rental payments. Lenders have traditionally been hesitant about including rent in affordability assessments, due to its lack of inclusion in credit scores. It represents only a short-term commitment and did not include maintenance of a property.
House prices fall for first time this year, down 1.3% in August to £365,173 (-£4,795). Although the fall was likely more due to holidays than mortgage and interest rate rises. — Rightmove.
Property prices could fall by "20%+ over the next two to three years", unless the Government gets a grip on the economic issues facing the UK, some brokers have warned.
Properties available per Propertymark member branch up 47% at 28 in August, but still below the pre-pandemic average of 40 properties available. The number of agents reporting average price agreed at or above the asking price, had held steady since July when there was a minor fall compared to June. — Propertymark.
Planning applications continue to slump, down 17% in Q2 at 106,800 compared to the same period in 2021. Reasons to which some are pointing to the lack of planning officers and problems with the planning system itself.
UK housing stock hits record £7trn with homeowners and landlords gaining the equivalent of £46,000 equity per household since the summer of 2020. — Equity Release Council.
House prices see 8% rise but market slowing and likely turning from a sellers’ market to the one that favours buyers, “as higher mortgage rates are set to cut buying power by up to 28%” — Zoopla.
House price growth back down to single digits in September at 9.5%, down from 10% in August, such that the average price for a house in the UK is now £272,259. Overall, 10 of the UK’s 13 regions saw a slowing in house price growth, with London continuing to be the weakest area for price increases — Nationwide HPI.
Brokers argue that AIPs are now ‘worthless’ with frequent changes to criteria, widening variations in affordability calculations between lenders and between income brackets, as well as approved loan
amounts quickly becoming out-of-date.
Foundation Home Loans expands green BTL mortgage range for both limited companies and individuals with two-year discounted products added to its ABC+ green mortgage range. This is for both remortgage and purchase.
Principality Building Society ups mortgage loan to income for newly qualified professionals to 5.5x across its entire range of standard residential mortgages. Those who have qualified as an accountant, actuary, architect, barrister, dentist, doctor, optometrist, pharmacist, solicitor or surveyor in the last five years will be eligible.
House price activity back to pre-Covid levels in Q2 but slowdown expected in coming months as the cost-of-living pressures are likely to dampen effective demand for house purchases in the coming months. However, remortgaging should remain buoyant with around £100bn of mortgages set to mature by the end of 2022. — UK Finance.
Most UK borrowers are locking in their mortgage rates, as rises loom with 95.5% of new buyers and 84.9% of homeowners taking out fixed-rate mortgages. — Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Holiday let popularity sees mortgage choice widen as the number of available products has grown from 186 in September 2021 to 320 (+72%). Also, the number of lenders offering these products has grown from 25 to 31 over the same period. — Moneyfacts.
Number of £5m-plus mortgages increased by nearly two-thirds in 2021, rising from 169 in 2020 to 279 as investors took advantage of the low-rate environment. Rates of around 1% were available for prime and super prime properties. — We Buy Any Home.
UK banks loosen key mortgage rules with some banks' lending against higher income multiples. Lloyds will consider future bonuses for high earners and HSBC has raised the share of a borrower’s variable pay that it will lend against from 50% to 60%.
Second charge market set to surpass £1.75bn in lending in 2022, a post-financial crisis record. Lending totalled £166.5m in August, a 3.2% rise in July and 74% annually. — Loans Warehouse.
FCA publishes Mortgage Lending Statistics for Q2 2022. The key highlights are:
- The outstanding value of all residential mortgage loans was £1,648 billion at the end of Q2, 3.8% higher than a year earlier.
- The value of gross mortgage advances in was £77.9bn, which was £1.0bn greater than the previous quarter, but 12.6% lower than Q2 2021.
- The value of new mortgage commitments (lending agreed to be advanced in the coming months) was 1.7% greater than the previous quarter, but 2.6% less than a year earlier at £83.9 billion.
Suffolk Building Society begins 'phased return' to lending, starting with self-build and expat borrowers. It had halted mortgage applications in August due to pressures at its pipeline and service levels.
Skipton extends products switch deadline from three to six months before maturity, considering the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
94% brokers expect specialist mortgage market to grow over the next two years with the top-five niche segments in research by UTB predicted to be:
Lenders pull fixed rate deals amid economic uncertainty. Halifax, The Nottingham, Clydesdale Bank and Leeds Building Society were among those withdrawing products, as markets reacted to the tax-cutting measures announced by the Chancellor.
Multiple lenders stop offering mortgage products as Kwasi meltdown continues. Virgin Money and Skipton Building Society temporarily withdrew mortgage products for new customers due to uncertainty. A flurry of re pricing is also taking place with Shaw Financial Services reporting the first 6%+ clean credit mortgage rate for over seven years.
Mortgage lenders pull products and phones jam as borrowers flock to fix amidst concerns that 6% interest rates may be unaffordable. — Quilter.
Mortgage product choice falls by nearly 300 in space of a day, following Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng’s mini Budget announcing a range of tax cuts. Lenders have been temporarily pulling their new business products to reprice them due to the falling pound, soaring swap rates and base rate rises — Moneyfacts.
Record 935 products pulled in market turmoil, as volatile markets continue to react to the government’s mini budget. The previous highest fall of 462 products was on April 1, 2020, at the start of the pandemic lockdowns.
Nearly 3,000 mortgage products withdrawn and over 20 providers have withdrawn their entire fixed rate mortgage ranges in a dramatic week for the mortgage market. — Defaqto.
Brokers ‘swamped’ by clients willing to pay to leave fixed rates following the market turmoil, in some cases even where there are a couple of years left on their existing deal.
Searches for ‘remortgage’ and 'mortgage help' explode, rising by over 200% each, based on Google Analytics. — Loan Corp.
Redwood Bank enters the mortgage market with two- and three-year loans for business customers for secured residential investment or secured commercial property loans.
Third of borrowers want long-term remortgages as living costs rise, and 19% of homeowners are also considering remortgaging before the end of their current fixed-term regardless of early repayment charges to lock into a new fixed rate deal. — Comparethemarket.
Experts predict Bank of England's base rate to peak around 5.90% in June 2023, causing the maximum-income multiple offered by banks to fall from m 4.7 in August 2022 to 3.7 within months, as well as increasing payments for existing mortgage holders.
Very few offerings under 5% expected by start of October. “The huge rise in gilt yields means lenders have to reprice mortgages very significantly” said Ray Boulger from broker John Charcol.
Product withdrawal - fallout from mini Budget continues as Bank of England hints that it would be raising interest rates even higher, possibly to 4.5% by December and to 6% by next year. Estimates saying that mortgage payments could rise by up to £800 per month, or £9,600 annually.
Mortgage searches soar 20% as products drop 17%, driven by remortgage enquires, stamp duty changes and market turmoil. — Twenty7Tec.
Mortgage prisoners could face rates over 9% in the current economic climate, according to campaigner Rachel Neale, who has sent a letter
to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and government to enforce fairer rates.
Net mortgage borrowing increases to £6.1bn in August from £5.1bn in July, still above the pre-pandemic average of £4.3bn in the year to February 2020. Gross lending showed little change last month at £25.4bn, down from £26bn in July. Mortgage approvals for house purchases increased sharply to 74,300 from 63,700 whilst, remortgage approvals continued to increase in August to 49,400 up from 48,400 in July.
Borrower willing to take £40,000 hit in scramble to avoid looming rate hike. The investment analyst has been willing to pay the fee to exit their current 1.11% deal, which is due to come to an end in February 2024, and to secure a new seven-year fixed rate at 3.18%. — Michael Aldridge, Lucra Mortgages.
Fixes jump after the mini budget. According to Moneyfacts, in the last week of September the average:
- Two-year fix lifted by 43 basis points to 5.17%.
- Three-year fix jumped by 72 basis points to 5.85%
- Five-year fix rose by 26 basis points to 5.10%
- Ten-year fix lifted by 71 basis points to 5.39%.
ING to shut down Yolt’s open banking operations. It aims to complete the phase out by the end of April 2023, after previously closing its consumer-facing smart money app to focus on its technology business.
Fleet Mortgages expands offices in two regional centres. Taking over a third floor at its Flagship House head office in Fleet as well as taking space at parent company Starling Bank’s Cardiff office.
LendInvest opens new office in Scotland to meet increasing demand for property finance in the north of the UK, and to access talent from a financial and technology hub. It is the fintech lender’s first UK office outside of London.
Newcastle Building Society named Best Regional Building Society for the sixth consecutive year at the What Mortgage Awards 2022.
Aldermore’s gross mortgage lending rises to £1.1bn in the full year to 30 June 2022, a 36% rise on the £815m in 2021. Its pipeline was 122% higher than it was at the same time, last year. Overall, the group posted 30% growth in profit before tax from £157.8m to £204.7m.
Habito raises £5m to undertake 'strategic refocus’ of its core services, such as the mortgage brokerage and its Plus service, which combines the mortgage, surveying, and conveyancing process to support clients through to completion.
Alan Young joins L&C Mortgages as chief executive, having held various roles including those at ULS Technology, John Charcol and most recently as the MD of conveyancing and survey panel management business, Optimus.
David Hynam incoming chief executive for LV=, subject to regulatory approval. He has 30 years experience in retail financial services, including as chief executive officer of Bupa’s UK and Global markets, UK CEO of Friends Life, and chief operating officer of AXA.
Fintech mortgage lender Perenna lands $30m Series A funding from US venture capital firm, IAG Silverstripe suggesting that it could launch its 30-year mortgages imminently.
Adviser acquisitions drive MAB market share growth by 13% to 6.8%, following the acquisition of the Fluent Money Group. Overall gross mortgage completions at MAB, including product transfers, grew by 11% to £12.2bn, while gross new mortgage completions excluding product transfers rose by 7% to £10.3bn.
Age Partnership reports £2.6m in profit for the year ending 31 December 2021. The Leeds-based advisory firm reports that they have gained significant market share since the start of this year in an equity release market expected to reach £6bn by 2026.
Tandem Bank lays out CEO succession plans after Susie Aliker informed the Board of her intention to step down in the coming months. Alex Mollart, currently deputy CEO, the founder and former CEO of Oplo, the consumer lender acquired by Tandem in early 2022, will become CEO subject to regulatory approval.
Twenty7tec adds raft of new roles after Bluecoat purchase including, Nathan Reilly becoming the director of customer relationships, Josh Skelding promoted to director of sales, and Mike Clifford as the chief operating officer.
HSBC increases Residential SVR from 4.54% to 5.04%. Its buy-to-let SVR will stay the same. The lender has also increased selected fixed rates and removed the two-year fixed standard products from its UK buy-to-let purchase and remortgage range, until further notice.
HSBC allows customers to lock-in new rates, 30-days earlier when coming off current fixed or tracker rate deals without incurring early repayment charges. This change means that the customers will be able to reserve a new rate, 120-days before their current deal comes to an end.
We know that many homeowners will be looking to review their mortgage deal earlier than usual. By extending the window where customers can select a new rate with us, this could help customers during, what could be a stressful and challenging time for them.
— Michelle Andrews, HSBC Head of Buying a Home.
Platform relaunches mainstream and buy-to-let mortgages for both new business and product switching. The Co-op subsidiary temporarily withdrew products in August due to high demand.
Virgin Money raises variable rates by 50bps across group. As a result, its residential standard variable rate will increase to 5.99%, its loyalty rate to 5.74% and its buy-to-let variable rate to 6.19%. Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank rates will also rise.
HSBC pushes up cost of fixed rate deals across residential, buy-to-let and international residential mortgages. Changes affect two, three and five-year fixes and apply to new and existing customers, whether they are purchasing or remortgaging. It also applies to all LTV bands from 60% to 95% LTV.
Virgin Money names Sarah Wilkinson as the new COO. She will join at the start of 2023, having held senior roles at Thomson Reuters, NHS Digital and at the Home Office.
Hybrid model will be “absolutely key” in the future:
Having a trusted adviser in what can be quite a complex mortgage market with thousands and thousands of product choices will remain key for the majority of customers. I think we will augment that with technology enablers.
— Chris Pearson, Head of intermediary mortgages, HSBC UK.
HSBC and Virgin Money to participate in Bank of England new stress-test scenario to check resiliency against a number of hypothetical scenarios, including GDP falling by 5% over 12 months, inflation peaking at 17% before falling to 11% over the next three-years, unemployment standing at 8.5%, house prices dropping by a third and interest rates peaking at 6% in 2023.
HSBC to temporarily withdraw new business residential and but-to-let products from the market, to allow them to be repriced and released the day following the market turmoil. A HSBC UK spokesperson said:
In order to ensure that we stay within our operational capacity, from time-to-time, we need to limit the amount of business we can take each day.
Credit someone here…
Virgin Money launches new customer mortgages on 30 September, following the temporary withdrawal of products earlier in the week. This includes core residential, portfolio buy-to-let, selected Shared Ownership, Greener Mortgages and Help to Buy.
HSBC increases rates between 0.89% and 1.6% for existing customers switching, and between 1.46% and 1.86% across its new business range. A HSBC UK spokesperson said:
While current market conditions may be creating some uncertainty, we remain focused on supporting our customers today and in the longer-term. We will take the steps needed to support, how we cater for demand and continue to provide a high-level of service to meet the needs of our customers.
Credit someone here…
Tink launches new affordability analysis tool using open banking technology. ‘Expense Check’ provides lenders with an up-to-date and verified view of fixed and discretionary spending. It also factors in the cost-of-living impact and enables regular reviews. The service can be used with Tink’s income verification tool known as ‘Income Check’.
Land Registry launches plan to speed up digital services with the aim to have around 98% of its services automated by 2025, as compared to around 90% today by cutting processing times to 15-days on an average across registry updates and new applications.
Rent to Own proposition rolled out after trial. ‘Keyzy’ purchases the property as a cash buyer then rents it back to the customer, while allowing them to save a deposit. Keyzy charges tenants a monthly-fee which covers a market-valued based rent, and a surcharge of up to an additional 25% which gets converted into the eventual deposit for the property.
Darlington Building Society taps LexisNexis to help fight fraud. The RiskNarrative platform will also enable the society to carry out document verification, PEP and sanctions monitoring, identity and address verification and risk ratings for applications, as well as build and maintain internal watch lists.
LMS launches DART automated remortgage software. Decisioning and Automated Remortgage Technology (DART) aims to “simplify the lender instructed remortgage journey”, allowing automation of simple cases from the point of information being received to post completion workflows.
LMS partners ProConveyancing on 10-day completion guarantees. Pro Conveyancing has been operating with estate agents, brokers, lenders, auction houses and other property professionals offering conveyancing services for the last two years.
One Mortgage System launches search partnership with Dashly allowing brokers to find highly personalised products that match a customer’s circumstances, taking all fees and early repayment charges into account.
Hinckley & Rugby undertakes first digitised remortgage transaction in the UK with PEXA. The paperless system streamlines the lodgement and settlement process, cutting costs, improving efficiency, and reducing potential risks.
Australian fintech firm PEXA acquires Optima Legal from Capita for an undisclosed amount. Optimus legal deals with 22% of the UK remortgage market. PEXA, which recently completed the first digital remortgage in the UK, is also launching a payment scheme with the Bank of England for remortgages. It plans to further develop its capabilities with the release of its sale and purchase solution in 2024.
Pepper Advantage partners with fraud prevention platform Thirdfort, whose risk management platform combines know your clients (KYC), anti-money laundering verification alongside open banking and transaction specific data.
Tech is key to industry future say 60% of brokers with 86% believing that “technology makes the mortgage journey safer than a traditional, paper-based application process.” — Smartr365 research.
ID-Pal verification solution combats crime in the mortgage industry by claiming to be the only product in the market accredited to verify documents; “beat every single type of attack” for likeness testing including deep fakes and managing data security.
Knowledge Bank launches real-time market update with on-screen live banners showing brokers' product changes and daily criteria updates, amid the turmoil in the mortgage market.
Four key elements of Consumer Duty:
Products and services — The FCA wants all products and services to be “designed to meet the needs, characteristics and objectives of a target group of customers and distributed appropriately”.
Price and value — Firms should “ensure there is a reasonable relationship between the price paid for a product or service, and the overall benefit a consumer receives from it.”
Consumer understanding — The consumer should “be given the information they need, at the right time, and presented in a way they can understand.”
Consumer support — Firms should “provide a level of support that meets consumers’ needs throughout their relationship with the firm and consider using a range of channels to reach customers, ranging from in-person consultations to webchats and video calls.”
MorganAsh upgrades MARS system in time for Consumer Duty.
The ‘resilience rating’ has been updated in its new adviser tool, with tailored questions around potential coercion as well as additional consumer protected characteristics to help mortgage firms with their diversity reporting.
Scams offering to 'write off debts' targeting UK consumers. The FCA has published a customer warning notice about firms offering unauthorised claims management services to people in the UK. These firms offer to 'write off' debts, mainly mortgages, and get compensation for consumers from their lenders. This might include reclaiming past payments of capital and interest. It says:
The firms often charge a fee to do this and might add more fees even when the scheme fails. This can lead to significant losses for those involved.
The firms might try to convince individuals by pointing to ideas such as 'Strawman', 'Freeman of the Land' and 'Sovereign Citizen'. These ideas promote the belief that the government and laws of a country have no powers over people.
Fraudsters use these ideas to appeal to people facing financial difficulties, who may be looking for a way out of their debt. Individuals should be cautious of any such firms offering to write off debt. These scams often increase in times of economic hardship and can involve vulnerable victims who are already struggling with money.
Credit someone here…
Nearly fifth of regulated firms don’t check new customers against sanctions or Politically Exposed Person (PEP) lists. despite the number of sanctions doubling since February, with 7,200 individuals and 1,250 entities added to the sanctions lists. — SmartSearch research.
