Plans Put Forward To Lift UK Mortgage Lending
February 17, 2009
Mortgage lenders have drawn up a plan to help kick-start the mortgage market amid falling house prices and a squeeze on the availability of home loans.
The Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have put forward a plan to free up UK banks and building societies to offer new home loans.
It wants the Bank of England to guarantee a market in mortgage-backed securities and covered bonds.
It hoped This would encourage investment in the market for these products, pushing funds back into mortgage lending.
Lack of Confidence
The CML said that the biggest issue in the mortgage market was the lack of available funding to support new mortgage lending.
This has led to a squeeze in number of mortgage deals on the market and the cost of these loans rising.
The lenders’ body wants the Bank to essentially offer a form of secured lending. Which is hoped would help persuade investors to buy mortgage-backed securities – something that has dried up during the credit crunch.
The scheme could be set up rapidly and would act as a catalyst to restore market confidence, the CML said.
Unlike the Bank of England’s Special Liquidity Scheme – which allowed banks to swap £50bn of mortgages for government bonds – it would cover new mortgages and investors would still take the credit risk.
“A year into the credit crunch, there is no merit at all in waiting until the autumn before taking steps that will help the housing market to remain more resilient,” said CML director general Michael Coogan.
The plan would probably receive a cool welcome from those who believe it would involve the state having to underwrite the housing market.
Others might suggest that the drought in mortgage finance would continue without any action.
200 Percent Increase in Phishing Incidents During the First Quarter of 2008
February 17, 2009
APACS, the UK payments association, has published figures showing a 200 percent increase in the number of phishing attacks in the UK. During the period January to March 2008 there were 10,000 reported incidents a new record.
Phishing is the name given to false emails that claim to be from banks and other financial institutions but are actually sent to you by fraudsters. These emails typically tell you to click on a link that takes you to a fake website identical to what you would expect to see. You are usually then asked to verify or update your personal security information but, by doing so, you are actually giving your information to the fraudster who has created the fake website. The fraudster then uses the details to access your real online bank account and take your money.
Number of reported phishing incidents* targeted against UK banks and building societies Q1 2006 – Q1 2008
|
Q1 |
Q2 |
Q3 |
Q4 |
Total |
|
|
2006 |
2,369 |
2,738 |
3,967 |
5,102 |
14,156 |
|
2007 |
3,394 |
3,830 |
8,931 |
9,642 |
25,797 |
|
2008 |
10,235 |
- |
- |
- |
- |
A typical phishing incident, involves thousands or even million’s of emails are sent out blindly by fraudsters, in the hope of trying to con unsuspecting people into clicking on a link that will send them to a fake website. The criminals’ objective is to fool people into thinking it is a genuine site so they will enter their online banking security information.
Sandra Quinn, director of communications at APACS, says:
“Although online banking fraud losses fell last year the fraudsters clearly aren’t giving up. Phishing scams are continuing to rise and they are becoming ever more sophisticated, which is why we want to remind people to remain wise to them. The advice is quite simple: just remember that your bank will never send you emails asking you to disclose PIN numbers, login details or complete passwords – if you receive an email of this nature you should delete it. If you think your details have been compromised you should contact your bank immediately.”
APACS research shows that although the number of people either deleting or taking no action when receiving a phishing email has increased from 75% in 2006 to 82% last year, there are still nearly one in five people who don’t follow these common sense precautions. Also, although 93% of people have anti-virus software on their PC, almost one in three people (29%) don’t have any anti-spyware software on their computer.
To avoid phishing scams, we advise you:
- Always be suspicious of unsolicited emails that claim to be from your bank; delete any phishing emails that you receive your bank will never send an email asking for sensitive account information.
- Never give your login details, PINs or passwords in full by email – banks will never request these in this way as email is not secure way to transmit account data online.
- Always access your internet bank account by typing your bank’s web address directly into the address bar on your web browser;
- Ensure that there is a locked padlock or unbroken key in the bottom right of your browser window when accessing your bank’s website. The beginning of the bank’s internet address will also change from ‘http’ to ‘https’ when a secure connection is made.
- Make sure PCs you use for any online transactions are equipped with up-to-date security and virus protection.
- Take extra care when using an internet cafe or public computer for online banking if possible avoid using a public network when making financial transactions online.
- Phishing emails can be reported directly to most banks via their website or to APACS at reports@banksafeonline.org.uk.