Loan Blogger | Cutting Edge Financial News – Political, New Products & Offers, Consumer Stories and Comment

by Alex | 09-06-2011

Good news if you’re looking to make a balance transfer; Lloyds TSB has cut it’s fee to 1.5% (traditionally fees hover at around the 3-4% mark). The bad news for a some people however is that it’s only on their Lloyds TSB Platinum MasterCard, why is this bad news you may ask? Well, ever since the credit crunch and recent recession, credit has been harder to get hold of by the average Joe than what it once was, this means that you may or may not fall into the category where getting one of these cards is out of the . . . . . .

Banks Will ‘Ring Fence̵...

by Alex | 06-15-2011

George Osborne, the UK Chancellor is backing proposals to force banks to keep retail and investment banking separate by ring fencing them. In a speech on Wednesday he will say banks must be set up to ensure the consumer branches and savings arms will not face collateral damage should the trading arm of the business fall into trouble. This legal distinction between the different areas of business was a recommendation from the Independent Commission For Banking. In his annual Mansion House Speech, The Chancellor will also state that banks should retain more capital to ensure they are protected from future . . . . . .

Loan Lenders Increase The Competi...

by Alex | 06-15-2011

This year is starting to look a lot better for personal finance than the few years previous. Lenders are starting to lend more money and competition is ramping up, this has triggered the early signs on a rate war amongst personal loan products. Only recently Sainsbury’s started offering a loan at a staggering 6.8%, the type of rate which we haven’t seen for quite a few years. This has also been mirrored amongst competitors who are offering similar rates for people with very good and clean credit records. So what can you expect to get if you haven’t got an . . . . . .

6.8% Loan Rates on the Market

by Alex | 06-14-2011

Sainbury’s personal finance are currently offering loans at a very competitive APR of 6.8%. This is for loan amounts of between £7,500 and £14,999. To us this seems like an amazing rate given the current market conditions. You should be aware that certain terms and conditions apply to the loan, so you should check out their web site for details before you proceed with an application. It’s also worth noting that these loans will only be available to people with exceptionally clean credit ratings. If you have a poor credit background and are thinking about applying for this loan, please . . . . . .

Banks Threatened By Vince

by Alex | 06-08-2011

Vince Cable, the UK Business Secretary has said that the government is willing to take “further action with taxation on banks” if they don’t ramp up their lending for small to medium sized businesses. Mr Cable told MPs in the Business Committee that the lending level for small to medium sized enterprises was becoming a “serious problem”. Under the deal called the ‘Project Merlin Agreement’, the largest banks are committed to lend £76billion during 2011 to small and medium businesses. The bosses of the four banks will have to give evidence later to the Business Committee and answer questions on . . . . . .

UK Inflation Rate Rises to 4.5%

by Alex | 05-18-2011

The UK CPI annual rate of inflation has risen to 4.5% in the last month. This is up fron 4% for the month previous. The rise has mostly been blamed on rising transport costs, alcohol, tobacco and rises in sea/air fares due to the recent Easter holidays. In contrast, the RPI measure of inflation fell to 5.2% (5.3% in March). The CPI rise has pushed the figure to it’s highest level since October 2008. This is a much bigger rise than analysts had forecast and follows a surprise fall in the index only last month. The ONS has said that . . . . . .

Personal Insolvencies Fall In UK

by Alex | 05-06-2011

Amidst the local and council election results which are dominating the news at the moment, with conservatives looking likely to maintain their seats and the lib dems losing lots of theirs. News regarding personal finance continues none the less. Fewer people were declared insolvent in England and Wales during the first 3 months of this year, although experts are still predicting a rise later in the year. In all there were 30,162 personal insolvencies in quarter number one, which has dropped 1.7% from the previous quarter. These figures show the number was 15.5% down when compared to the same period . . . . . .

House Prices Falling

by Alex | 05-05-2011

The land registry has said the house prices are still falling following a recent survey carried out. The average property price fell by 1.1% in March to £160,996 which has left prices 2.3% lower than this time 1 year ago. The data differs from Nationwide who has said that prices have been fairly static over the past 6 months.

More Finance Companies Paying Out...

by Alex | 04-28-2011

An increasing number of businesses are being forced to pay compensation after they have been found to treat their customers poorly or unfairly. There were 20,019 payouts for distress and inconvenience in 2010-2011 which were a direct result from orders by the Financial Ombudsman. This was up 1,508 on the year previous. Most of the payouts were for less than £300, although some amounts did exceed £1,000. An example of compensation was when one motorist was awarded after waiting for a week for a hire car to be arranged whilst her’s was being repaired. So a note to all you . . . . . .

Early Pension Access Ruled Out

by Alex | 04-20-2011

The government has just announced that it is ruling out their earlier plans to let people withdraw money from their pensions when they are in their 30s. This is after consulting on the idea of early access to encourage more people to save for their pension. Currently only people older than 55 can access their savings with a company pension scheme. An industry group welcomed the alternative plan to make workplace saving easier.