This month we see the usual mix of some good moves in the market with a lot of lenders cutting their rates by the odd few tenths of one per cent but also the bad from lenders with the likes of Santander and Lloyds Banking Group making interest-only mortgages a preserve of the lucky few.
So this month the lenders have all bases covered and what they give with one hand they take away with another.
Strange times are going on at Personal Touch with the resignation of their short lived supremo Doug Crawford. He came from nowhere to run PTFS following the unnerving departure of Martin Wilson, and has now resigned and disappeared into obscurity again after joining a conveyancing firm.
Personal Touch is looking for a new supremo and one suspects this time around their loyal band of ARs need someone they know and can trust to stop them getting nervous about jumping ship to another network. Good luck to Crawford though.
Talking of departures I can hear the masses of brokers crying (not) at the news Margaret Cole is to leave the FSA.
I can’t recall anyone in any form of public life from the police to judges claiming that their success in their job for last seven years is how many people have been prosecuted and convicted. Ever heard that prevention is better than cure Margaret???
Individual registration, of which I am a fan, has been postponed indefinitely. That’s a preventative measure.
Google has axed its plans for a mortgage comparison site. At last a company seeing sense and sticking to its knitting.
Paymentshield is suffering with a broker threatening to sue them. How many times can the Southport insurance provider shoot itself in the foot with moves that simply antagonise the brokers and profiteer at their expense?
Finally I am worried this month in that we have heard nothing recently from the Stockton/Turner boys at Countrywide or Simon Embley at LSL. No news means they are up to something so expect another acquisition from one of them or both of them in the near future.
Maybe we should start running a book on not only what they are going to acquire but who will make the biggest acquisition? All suggestions welcome.
