Tag Archives: netherlands
Central bank to get new powers of direction over UK housing market
The UK government has confirmed that the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee will have new powers of direction over the country’s housing market. City Minister Andrea Leadsom confirmed that the FPC will be given new tools to ensure the ongoing stability of the housing market through setting limits on debt to income ratios and loan to value ratios for mortgages. The FPC recommended it be given these powers after the Chancellor announced his intention in his 2014 Mansion House speech to give the FPC the necessary powers to tackle future housing market risks. The government’s announcement follows separate Treasury consultations on granting the Bank of England additional powers to address any emerging risks to financial stability from the housing market. ‘The Bank of England will have further powers to safeguard the stability of Britain’s financial system from any future risks posed by our housing market or banks,’ said Chancellor George Osborne. ‘Curbing Britain’s age-old vulnerability to banking and housing booms is one of the goals I recently set for the next two decades of Britain’s economic policy, and this announcement of new powers for the Bank of England shows our determination to achieve this,’ he explained. The additional powers over the housing market are commonly held by the Bank’s counterparts in other countries. Loan to value limits are used extensively in countries including Canada, New Zealand and Norway. Several other countries, including the Netherlands, Switzerland and the US have already introduced leverage requirements for systemic firms. The legislation sets out the new powers of direction that the government will grant the FPC over loan to value limits and debt to income limits for owner occupied mortgages, as requested by the FPC in October 2014. The government intends to consult separately early in the new Parliament on the FPC’s recommendations for it to have new powers over the buy to let market, with a view to building an in depth evidence base on how the operation of the UK buy to let housing market may carry risks to financial stability. According to Andrew Tyrie MP, chairman of the Treasury Committee and former Chairman of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards, said that the setting of limits on debt to income ratios and loan to value ratios for mortgages could help to tackle the economic and financial stability risks posed by an overheating housing market. ‘However, there are limits to what can be expected of regulators: the identification of the cycle is an inherently extremely tough task. It could turn out to be insuperable. These new powers will affect millions of taxpayers and households across the country. The FPC is still largely unknown to the public and it is therefore crucial that it is transparent about how it reaches its decisions,’ he pointed out. Peter Williams, executive director of the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association (IMLA), that the Bank must think very carefully before bringing its new powers of direction to bear on the… Continue reading
British buyers returning to the French property market
British buyers returned to the French property market in 2014, buying homes for holidays and investment, according to a leading overseas estate agency. Last year Leggett Immobilier says it saw a 43% increase in French properties sold with buyers from 33 different nations. It believes that this diversity demonstrates the global appeal of the property market in France. British buyers top the sales table for 2014 followed by buyers from Belgium, the United States, Australia, and then the Netherlands. ‘British buyers came back to the French market with a bang and our sales pipeline shows that 2015 will see more of the same. We have seen a 43% increase in transaction numbers over the last 12 months, fuelled mainly by confidence levels in the UK and continued low interest rates,’ said Trevor Leggett, chairman of Leggett Immobilier. ‘We have been making sales throughout France and Middle England is buying again. In 2013 the average purchase price for a British buyer was €269,000, we think that in 2014 this will have risen to around €300,000 and that in 2015 it will rise further still,’ he added. The firm has seen a lot of activity in the Alps and Cote d'Azur and pointed out that buyers tend to want properties that are finished to a reasonably high standard and that are in good locations. ‘We're still selling plenty of renovation projects but there is a definite trend towards just furnish to your own taste style properties,’ added Leggett. He also pointed out that the UK general election in May hasn't yet had any effect on enquiry levels. ‘Traditionally buyers of second homes tend to be cautious in the run up to an election but we currently have over twice as many ongoing sales, between exchange and completion, as we did at the start of the year, the bulk of these to buyers from across the channel,’ said Leggett. Continue reading
Ruthless India whip West Indies in World Twenty20
Ruthless India whip West Indies in World Twenty20 (AFP) / 24 March 2014 India now need one more win from their remaining two matches against Australia and hosts Bangladesh to advance to the semi-finals. India’s spinners wreaked havoc on the West Indies batting to rout the defending champions by seven wickets in the World Twenty20 Super-10 group two match in Dhaka on Sunday. The West Indies, sent in to bat, managed only 129-7 as leg-spinner Amit Mishra claimed two for 18 in four overs, Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets and Ravichandran Ashwin picked up one. India strolled past the modest target with two deliveries to spare as Virat Kohli made 54 off 41 balls and Rohit Sharma remained unbeaten on a fluent 62. The pair put on 106 for the second wicket after left-hander Shikhar Dhawan was trapped leg-before by spinner Samuel Badree off the fifth ball of the innings. Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men, who beat arch-rivals Pakistan on Friday, now need one more win from their remaining two matches against Australia and hosts Bangladesh to advance to the semi-finals. The bowlers kept the normally free-stroking West Indies batsmen in check, allowing them just 74 runs by the 15th over for the loss of four wickets. The hard-hitting Chris Gayle, dropped before he had scored and then again on 19, made a 33-ball 34 with two sixes and a four before he was run out in the 13th over. Mishra had Marlon Samuels stumped by Dhoni and claimed Dwayne Bravo leg-before off successive balls in the 15th over to open up the lower order. Lendl Simmons, who was caught off a Jadeja no-ball in the 18th over, celebrated the let-off by smashing the next ball for a six. Simmons made 27 off 22 balls as Jadeja conceded three sixes in the final over. Earlier on Sunday, Pakistan bounced back from their loss to India to defeat Australia by 16 runs. Two teams from the group will advance to the semi-finals. The other group comprises Sri Lanka, South Africa, England, New Zealand and the Netherlands. For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Continue reading
