ECB holds rates at 0.1%
by Richard Kilner
Story link: ECB holds rates at 0.1%
The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has elected to retain the eurozone’s interest rate at 0.1%.
The decision means that the single currency zone continues to have the lowest interest rate in its brief history, following the slashing of rates during the financial crisis to provide a monetary stimulus and stave off the [...]
Payday loan number quadruple
by Gill Montia
Story link: Payday loan number quadruple
The number of Britons taking out payday loans has quadrupled over the last four years, with 1.2 million people now borrowing a combined £1.2 billion, Consumer Focus has reported.
With a typical payday loan costing £20 for every £100 borrowed, the danger for consumers comes when a borrower can’t repay their loan within a month, or [...]
UK corporate borrowers look East
by Gill Montia
Story link: UK corporate borrowers look East
UK and European corporate borrowers are beginning to consider the Asia-Pacific (A-P) markets to seek finance, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
The accountancy firm suggests that Asian banks are increasing the scope of their lending and expanding market share as European lenders face a continued liquidity squeeze.
PwC debt advisory partner, [...]
Japan keeps rates at 0.1%
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Japan keeps rates at 0.1%
The Policy Board of the Bank of the Japan has decided to retain the country’s interest rate at 0.1%.
The decision, which was made unanimously, comes as overseas growth helps support the moderate Japanese recovery.
Although CPI continues to fall the rate of decline has slowed, and both exports and production continue to improve.
The Bank of Japan [...]
Insolvency figures show improvement
by Gill Montia
Story link: Insolvency figures show improvement
New figures from the Insolvency Service show the number of individual insolvencies in England and Wales falling 3% in the second quarter of 2010, compared with the previous three month period, to 34,743.
The total does, however, remain 5% higher than a year earlier, comprising 14,982 bankruptcies (down 20.6% year-on-year); 13,466 Individual Voluntary Arrangements (up 10.2% [...]
Bank of England’s decision lauded
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Bank of England’s decision lauded
The Bank of England has been praised for its decision yesterday to leave unchanged the nation’s interest rate at the historic low of 0.5%.
Jeremy Cook, of World First, welcomed the decision heartily, asserting that any increase would have been a noose around the neck of the economic recovery.
Cook added that presently the effects of the [...]
Bank of England keeps rates at 0.5%
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Bank of England keeps rates at 0.5%
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England has decided to hold the British interest rate at the historic low of 0.5%.
The MPC also elected not to enlarge the quantitative easing asset purchase scheme beyond its present scope of £200bn.
The decision to leave rates unchanged was widely expected, although recently debate has begun [...]
Introductory credit card offers better than ever
by Gill Montia
Story link: Introductory credit card offers better than ever
Interest-free introductory offers on credit cards were better than ever in July, according to moneysupermarket.com.
The comparison site reckons that across the top cards, renewed competition is responsible for extending the average interest-free period on a balance transfer to 15.4 months, almost three months longer than in July 2007.
The average period for 0% purchase cards has [...]
Australia leaves rates unchanged at 4.5%
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Australia leaves rates unchanged at 4.5%
The Reserve Bank of Australia has elected to leave the country’s interest rate unaltered at 4.5%.
Recently growth has been rapid in Latin America and Asia, and more moderate in the West, with the Reserve Bank forecasting trend growth over the next year or so.
The Reserve Bank decided not to change the interest rate as inflation [...]
New Zealand increases rates to 3%
by Richard Kilner
Story link: New Zealand increases rates to 3%
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand has elected to increase the nation’s Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 25 basis points, to 3%.
Governor Alan Bollard has said that trading partner growth has improved more than expected, but that future prospects were now weaker than earlier forecasts suggested.
It is the second recent increase in the New Zealand [...]
Sharp rise in “tied” financial products
by Gill Montia
Story link: Sharp rise in “tied” financial products
New research from Which? claims that the number “tied” financial products is on the rise, with the proportion of tied mortgages and regular savings products having doubled since the beginning of the year, to 18%.
According to the consumer group, some tied products offer poor value for money and the trend could discourage consumers from shopping [...]
New capital rules for credit unions
by Gill Montia
Story link: New capital rules for credit unions
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has published a “near final” version of new rules to be applied to the credit union sector.
With around six credit unions declared in default each year, the regulator wants to improve the financial soundness of the mutuals, thereby maintaining consumer choice in the financial services sector.
The main changes are as [...]
ITEM Club: base rate on hold at 0.5% till 2014
by Gill Montia
Story link: ITEM Club: base rate on hold at 0.5% till 2014
In its summer forecast, Ernst & Young ITEM Club suggests that interest rates could be “pinned to the floor” until 2014.
The report acknowledges that high energy prices and January’s rise in VAT will keep the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation above the Treasury’s target of 2% over the next 18 months.
However, it suggests [...]
Seven EU banks fail stress test
by Gill Montia
Story link: Seven EU banks fail stress test
Seven out of 91 European banks have failed the stress test carried out by the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS).
With no big names among them, the failures are Hypo Real Estate of Germany, ATE of Greece, plus five Spanish regional banks.
The EU-wide exercise aimed to assess the resilience of the EU banking system to [...]
Little benefit from Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Little benefit from Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme
The members of the Asset Based Finance Association (ABFA), including the country’s leading clearing banks and independent financiers, have found the Government’s Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme to be of little use to their clients, it has been announced.
ABFA’s Chief Executive Kate Sharp has said that the organisation’s survey indicates that the fund itself is flawed, [...]
Britons borrow £12m to fund surgical procedures
by Gill Montia
Story link: Britons borrow £12m to fund surgical procedures
In 2009 consumers took out nearly £12 million of personal loans to help pay for surgical procedures, according to research from Sainsbury’s Finance.
The lender has also discovered that £4.77 million of the total (800 loans) was used to pay for cosmetic surgery, while £6.80 million (980 loans) went towards other procedures, such as hip replacements.
Sainsbury’s [...]
Vince Cable accuses banks of “ripping off” customers
by Gill Montia
Story link: Vince Cable accuses banks of “ripping off” customers
Business Secretary, Vince Cable, has accused High Street banks of “ripping off” their customers, the BBC has reported.
Mr Cable was reacting to research for a Panorama programme which claims that banks are charging up to 167% interest on unauthorised overdrafts.
Responding to the findings, Mr Cable said: “When we talk about restructuring the banks what’s going [...]
Japan sticks with 0.1% rate
by Richard Kilner
Story link: Japan sticks with 0.1% rate
The Bank of Japan has decided to retain the country’s interest rate at the present level of 0.1%.
The Policy Board’s vote, which was made without dissent, comes as Japan continues its moderate recovery.
Growth in emerging economies has helped bolster the country’s exports and production, and although employment remains challenging the edge has been somewhat taken [...]
Wonga loan advert banned
by Gill Montia
Story link: Wonga loan advert banned
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld complaints about a TV advertisement for sub-prime lender, Wonga.com.
The offending advert showed a man who spoke as two different characters, with a beard on one half of his face and clean-shaven on the other, who kept changing the direction he was facing to indicate which of the characters [...]
Banks reject one in three firms seeking loans
by Gill Montia
Story link: Banks reject one in three firms seeking loans
One in three firms that applied for finance between the start of the year and June were declined by their banks.
New data from the Institute of Directors (IoD) also suggest that banks’ lending criteria have become more restrictive with regard to the amount of security requested.
In a survey of 899 IoD members, 39% of respondents [...]
