The Latest Breaking News from UK Finance

Chancellor hints at tax-free plan for budget as part of efforts to revive country’s stock market

Charity set up by Martin Lewis says up to 1.3m people forced to cut back on food, energy and even medicine

Around 5 million households have seen their mortgage interest rate change since the Bank of England base rate started to rise in late 2021. Over the course of the 2023 alone, the base rate increased from 3.5% to 5.25%, surpassing economists’ expectations and pushing mortgage rates to the highest levels…

But potential cuts to interest rates, as well as lower house prices in some locations, could provide house hunters with new opportunities.

Prices usually decrease at this time of year but fall is greater than 20-year average owing to high mortgage rates, says Rightmove

The outlook for next year was one of continuing challenges in the mortgage market, the trade association said.

In 2021, 57% of first-time buyers had household incomes of less than £50,000, but by 2023 this proportion had fallen to 46%, UK Finance said.

Only a quarter of parents said they always researched sellers before they buy on Black Friday

More than a quarter of parents said they have been tricked into a purchase scam, according to a survey.

Men are more likely to have concealed sales purchases and are also more likely to say they suspect their partner of doing so, a survey indicates.

Number of buy to let mortgages in arrears doubles in a year as amateur landlords struggle with interest rate rises