Nationalised bank Northern Rock has launched a new plan to encourage more mortgage lending.
Having changed its plan to discourage customers from borrowing from it, Northern Rock is now planning to increase new mortgage lending to movers, new buyers and remortgage customers by 5 billion GBP this year.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders has welcomed the move, [...]

HSBC has written to 30,000 of its customers who have tracker or variable rate mortgages advising them to overpay their loans.
By taking advantage of the historically low rates, the bank said, customers will benefit extensively.
If they overpay their loans, tracker or variable rate customers can gain back some of the equity lost in the house [...]

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) have claimed that the Homeowners Mortgage Support Scheme will not aid the flagging housing market.
As the credit crunch wears on, many homeowners are finding it difficult to keep up mortgage repayments, but also unable to find a cheaper remortgage deal.
The ABI welcomed the government’s recognition that more borrowers are [...]

Research from price comparison website USwitch.com has revealed that two million UK homeowners are considering mortgage payment holidays.
Despite the government’s promise to defer interest payments on mortgages for up to two years, some borrowers, who have struggled to remortgage, are being forced to take action now.
The research suggests that mortgage payment holidays on this scale [...]

The Bank of England’s decision not to adjust the base rate has been an initial blow to those looking for the best remortgage deal, but many lenders are confident that there will be a cut soon, reports MortgageSorter.co.uk.
This will mean mortgage rates could fall too, which will be welcome news for anyone wishing to remortgage. [...]

According to the British Bankers Association (BBA), mortgage lending is on the increase once more, reports MoneyMarketing.co.uk.
Borrowing rose to £4.3 billion in July 2008, which means the monthly lending figure - which had plummeted in the first half of this year - has levelled off.
It’s not all happy news though: the BBA says [...]