Pressure from the Government on the Banks is finally starting to pay off. The main mortgage lenders have started to respond to the demand that they should cut their mortgage lending rates. The Nationwide, HBOS, Royal Bank of Scotland, Natwest and the Northern Rock will cut their main variable lending rates by the full 1.5% on 1 December. (more…)

The Yorkshire Building Society is to take over its smaller rival, the Barnsley Building Society. The Barnsley said it was protecting itself against the possible loss of up to £10m deposited with Icelandic banks. It went on to add that it could stand such losses and in no way were customers accounts at risk. However the Barnsley felt that in these times of economic difficulty, it could mitigate risk by becoming part of a larger organisation.

As the recession kicks in and there are more casualties in the financial services sector there are likely to be more takeovers and mergers as companies look to strengthen their financial positions.

Icesave launched in the UK in October 2006 as an online savings provider. Icesave is part of Landsbanki, one of the largest quoted financial services companies in Iceland, with worldwide assets totalling Euro 31.9bn, and assets exceeding £6bn here in the UK. So you can be sure that the financials underpinning Icesave are pretty strong.

Since 2006 Icesave has attracted over 200,000 customers and continues to grow thanks to its attractive interest rates and simple and transparent application process. Facts that ensure Icesave consistently appears at the top of best buy tables in the National Press and on financial comparison websites. (more…)

The Co-operative Bank has long sold itself as an ethical financial institution and it’s latest advertising campaign continues with this theme. The ‘good with money’ strapline encompasses so much more than solid financial returns. (more…)

HBOS’s share price bounced back to end the week at 321.75p, up 13.69% on the day. Earlier this week there had been concerns about the success of HBOS’s £4bn rights issue as the shares traded below the 275p rights issue price. On Wednesday, the shares closed at a low of 258p. Dresdner Kleinwort and Morgan Stanley, the underwriters of the issue, will be able to breathe a temporary sigh or relief as they were facing a £250m paper loss had the share price not recovered. Although they may not be out of the woods just yet.