Bank-EU http://www.bank-eu.com Sun, 20 May 2012 10:09:38 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.bank-eu.com/buy-to-let-mortgages-up-by-a-third.html CML figures show buy-to-let loans in quarter one of 2012 were up by 32% annually, while repossessions have steadiedThe value of mortgages taken out to fund buy-to-let purchases rose by a third year-on-year to the first three months of 2012, as falling house prices and rising rents made the sector attractive to investors.Some 32,300 loans worth a combined total of £3.7bn were advanced to buy-to-let borrowers, according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The value was 5% down on the final three months of... Thu, 10 May 2012 13:59:00 +0100 http://www.bank-eu.com/spanish-banks-a-rude-awakening.html HAVE Spain’s policymakers at last woken up? The news that Rodrigo Rato was leaving Bankia came at the start of Madrid’s siesta on May 7th. The abrupt departure of one of Spain’s most prominent bankers came hours after Mariano Rajoy, the prime minister, admitted that he might need to use public funds to shore up the banking system. Two days later, the government nationalised Bankia’s parent.Bankia, a merger of seven savings banks and the largest property lender in Spain, is not Mr Rajoy’s only banking problem, but it is a good place to start. In a report last month the... Thu, 10 May 2012 13:32:00 +0100 http://www.bank-eu.com/the-woman-who-lives-in-a-shed-how-london-landlords-are-cashing-in.html Council finds people living in everything from massively overcrowded houses to a walk-in freezer – and the problem is getting worseMaria's front door has a house number – 48 – screwed in to the wood and its own letterbox, but it isn't possible for a postman to get here to deliver anything. The healthcare assistant's home is a shed in the back garden of a shabbily converted bedsit property, only accessible via the main building and through the filthy, rubbish-strewn yard.Her thrifty landlord has recycled the front door from... Wed, 09 May 2012 19:58:00 +0100 http://www.bank-eu.com/australian-mining-towns-top-target-for-property-investment.html The cost of buying properties in Australia's mining towns is making them a popular target among investors. This is the opinion of Brett Alegre-Wood, founder of Your Property Club and an investor himself, who explained affordability is going up in these settlements, which has resulted in huge demand for homes in these areas. He added there are still viable opportunities to be found in large cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, but stressed it is important to take a long-term view when purchasing real estate in such areas. According... Wed, 09 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.bank-eu.com/spain-expected-to-bail-out-bankia.html The Spanish government is expected to announce a package of financial aid for one of the nation's largest banks - Bankia. Between €7 billion (£5.6 billion) and €10 billion is likely to be ploughed into the firm to help bolster its balance sheet and cover future losses. Bankia and its parent company BFA are the most exposed lenders to the Spanish property market, holding €31.7 billion of troubled real estate assets, according to Reuters. Rodrigo Rato, chairman at Bankia, announced he would step down from his position ahead of the... Wed, 09 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.bank-eu.com/romania-tipped-as-property-investment-hotspot.html Investors are expected to turn their attention away from markets such as Ireland and Spain to focus instead on Romania and Bulgaria. Speaking at the IPD/Property Investor Europe (PIE) Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) Conference, partner at Schoenherr Lawyers Denise Hamer explained many of the banks in Romania have large property portfolios they now need to sell off. As a result, the value of real estate in Romania will fall and investors will be attracted to the opportunities in the country's market. It's going to be very dynamic and volatile, a... Wed, 09 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.bank-eu.com/cyprus-property-market-struggling-in-current-economy.html Board member of the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors (Rics) Cyprus Pavlos Loizou has said the economic situation in the country is impacting the real estate sector. Speaking to the Cyprus Mail, he stated: Property and rental prices continue to drop, mainly due to the unfavourable economic climate, the negative forecasts for the broader economy, the lack of sponsorship and the low performances [of real estate assets]. Mr Loizou explained Cypriot commercial property yields need to improve and rents have to stabilise if investors are to be... Mon, 07 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.bank-eu.com/buyers-market-for-italian-property.html The strength of sterling and reduced property prices in Italy have combined to create favourable conditions for Brits buying real estate in the country. This is the assertion of Linda Travella, head of local estate agency Casa Travella, who highlighted Tuscany as a particularly attractive region for investors to consider. A vast selection of properties and a strong pound means it is a buyers' market. The Tuscan real estate market has always been international and there is still interest from around the world, she stated. Ms Travella added her... Mon, 07 May 2012 04:00:00 +0100 http://www.bank-eu.com/japanese-exchange-rate-policy-weaken-dammit.html WITH their overnight-lending rates at zero for most of the past decade, the Japanese public long ago stopped caring about interest rates. Instead the yen is their focus. Shoppers may revel in its current strength against the dollar but in the news media, the financial markets and corporate Japan, it is a relentless source of woe. Carlos Ghosn, the boss of Nissan and Renault, publicly lambasts it as a “1,000-pound gorilla” that hurts his ability to sell Japanese cars abroad. Its strength is increasingly becoming a political issue, too.Both the Bank of Japan (BoJ) and the... Thu, 03 May 2012 19:00:00 +0100 http://www.bank-eu.com/china-s-banks-storing-up-trouble.html BANKS in China appear to be in rude health. The seven biggest mainland banks have just posted a 16% year-on-year increase in pre-tax profits between them for the first quarter. The level of non-performing loans (NPLs) remains low, at just about 1%. But trouble is being stored up for the future.There are two big worries: bad local-government debt and souring property loans. The infrastructure binge of the past few years saw a boom in local-government financing vehicles (LGFVs), off-balance-sheet entities used to get around prohibitions on borrowing. Regulators say these... Thu, 03 May 2012 19:00:00 +0100