The UK could be heading towards a savings crisis, as data released by the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) has revealed that a record £2.3 billion in savings was withdrawn by Britons last month alone.
The figure is the highest since the BBA began collecting data 12 years ago, with falling interest rates and increasing financial hardships leading people to withdraw their savings.
Retail sales across the UK have continued to fall as the economic recession persists according to new statistics from the CBI business organisation. Many shoppers have resisted further credit card debt and have kept their hands in their pockets as the media continues to forecast doom and gloom.
Nationalised bank Northern Rock will receive a £10 billion boost in taxpayers’ money in a bid to offer financial help to the mortgage market.
The bank which collapsed in 2007 when a government bailout prompted many of its savers to withdraw their funds, will radically change its lending policy in order to provide up to an additional £5 billion in new home loans.
Mobile phone operator Vodafone has announced that it will axe 500 of its 10000 strong UK workforce in a bid to cut costs within its business.
Despite being the world’s largest phone company based on income, Vodafone plans to reduce its outgoings by up to £1 billion by making redundancies across the UK, including 170 job cuts from its head office in Newbury, Berkshire.
Equity release is becoming an increasingly common means for Britons to pay off outstanding mortgages and debts, according to new research from Key Retirement Solutions.
Northern Ireland and Scotland have the highest rate of equity release in order to pay off existing debts, with 62.9 percent of Scots surveyed admitting to unlocking money from their home in order to settle loans, credit cards and other outstanding financial commitments.
Struggling homeowners could receive government help from April as part of a plan announced by the Prime Minister in December.
Following the Queen’s Speech, Gordon Brown revealed that the government is drafting a Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme (HMSS), which will give homeowners who have recently lost their jobs the opportunity to reduce their mortgage repayments by deferring part of their outstanding loan for up to two years.
Employees of van-maker LDV were dealt a crushing blow this week, as the government ruled out the possibility of using tax payer’s money to rescue the troubled company and provide financial help.
LDV requested a £30million bailout from the government after a slump in sales, following its shutdown in production last December. However, the government took a tough line with the firm, stating that its parent company Gaz – which is owned by Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska must find the money for its survival.
JJB Sports has axed more than 400 jobs after its operator, the Original Shoe Company (OSC), went into administration.
Administrator KPMG has closed 37 stores after OSC recorded a loss of around £15million in the past year, while the remaining 27 outlets will trade as administrators until a buyer can be found to provide financial help for the company.
The Office of National Statistics has revealed that Britain’s national debt now totals over £2trillion – equal to £33,000 per person in the UK.
Over £1trillion of the overall debt has been caused by the country’s banks, as part-nationalisation of two of Britain’s biggest banks has pushed the level of arrears to its worst figure since 1954.
The property slump sweeping the UK has reached its worst levels, with mortgage lending falling to a record low in the first month of 2009.
Data released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders this week revealed that the total cost of home loans taken out by Brits is 52 percent down on that of January 2008, with mortgage lenders handing out just £12.4 billion.
