Why only a few Banks are offering good Mortgage deals

inspector_monkfish

IS THE housing market really coming back to life? Prices may finally have embarked on a tentative upswing but mortgage lending remains a mixed picture.

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Mortgage lenders are fast dividing into two camps: those that are burdened with baggage and those that are not.

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To make up for their past errors, many banks are now charging much higher margins on new lending. The margin on fixed-rate mortgages soared last December to over two percentage points above the banks’ theoretical cost of funds, and has barely dipped since then (see chart).

http://www.economist.com/world/britain/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14140246

LizEstelle

Correct.

And it's about time that HMG came in with some big heavy boots and started stamping around.

They don't put up with uncompetitive situations in other areas and have regulators to sort matters out. Why are they tolerating a situation like this in an area where they now have so much clout, being a principal 'shareholder'?

There are dark dealings going on in the corridors of Whitehall and various London clubs, I'm willing to bet, and all against the interests of mortgage payers and industry.

Our so-called representatives are all off on their summer break and taking no interest, having feathered their own nests very nicely.

What more needs to be said? The picture speaks for itself.