David Jones, the former finance director at Northern Rock, is the third person to receive a hefty fine from the FSA following its investigations into data manipulation.

The UK’s housing market remains quiet but continuing the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers could help according to some experts.

Figures released by the BBA last Friday showed that 34,813 home buyer mortgages were approved in June. That was a drop of just under 4.5% (1,605) on the number approved in May. Approvals for remortgages and equity release remained reasonably the same as in May.

As if people aren’t struggling enough to balance their finances, some 18,000 customers who took out variable rate and tracker mortgages with the Yorkshire and Clydesdale Bank have now been informed that the bank miscalculated their repayments and they have a shortfall on their account.

There are increasing concerns over who will finance freelancer and IT contractor mortgages in the wake of the FSA’s decision to clamp down on mortgage lending criteria.

The latest RCIS survey shows that confidence is faltering in the housing market and although new instructions are still rising, buyers are losing steam. This latest news does not bode well for first time buyers hoping to obtain an IT contractor mortgage.

For first time buyers looking for an IT contractor mortgage raising the money for the deposit is the biggest hurdle they have to face. And the situation could get worse according to the Newcastle Building Society.

The FSA yesterday proposed some new measures that they hope will reduce excessive mortgage lending.
The Authority wants to make mortgage lenders responsible for assessing whether a consumer is able to repay their contractor mortgage.

Some contractor mortgage holders do not know whether they are on a fixed rate or variable rate mortgage, according to the Consumer Financial Education Body.

Banks and building societies are hoping to woo savers with new low interest rate accounts ahead if a possible crisis in the home loan market. More than half a million customers have deals that end this month and the financial institutions are keen to lock them into new ones.

The Bank of England had some bad news at the end of last week for freelancers hoping to secure an IT Contractor Mortgage.

Brokers have reported a surge in the number of enquiries for buy to let properties following the budget decision to increase CGT to 28% instead of the 40 to 50% that had been predicted by some experts.