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Interest rate cuts `were not anticipated by consumers` Nearly half of young mortgage holders `need help from family` Abbey cuts mortgage rates New arrears guidance issued by CML Mortgage fraud `on the up` CML expresses concerns over sale and lease back schemes Business groups call for further rate cuts Interest rate cut `will help some struggling borrowers` Mortgage approvals `hit by continued market uncertainty` Company reduces rate of home loans Mortgage rates `to rise` Consumers `will be hit by reduced credit` `Nearly £20k` needed to secure a mortgage Borrowers urged to take advantage of good mortgage deals Mortgage lending falls in August Variable-rate mortgages `increasingly appealing to homeowners` Parents `relying on loans to cover school fees` Further mortgage rate cuts announced Remortgaging `on the rise` Mortgage lenders call for swap plan renewal

Decline of endowment loans `gives consumers more choice`

06/09/2007

The wide range of interest-only mortgages on the market is allowing consumers to choose "alternative repayment" methods, according to an industry body.

With a decline in popularity of endowment mortgages, interest-only home loans allow consumers to "continually revise their plans" in line with current fluctuating financial markets, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has said.

Bernard Clarke, a spokesperson for the CML, said that endowment mortgages, where the borrower sets up an investment plan which will produce a capital sum when the endowment policy expires, had produced returns which were below expectations and that had knocked consumer confidence.

He added: "Many people were in a situation where they were in a shortfall of the amount that they needed. They had to take other measures to tackle that problem - perhaps by switching to a part repayment mortgage or by taking out an extension to their mortgage to cover their shortfall."

Figures produced by the CML found that lending reached a record high for July this year, when £34.3 billion was lent to homeowners.

Many debts unaffected by base rate cut 09/01/2009 - Yesterday, many borrowers welcomed the Bank of England’s base rate 1.5% base rate – an historic low 08/01/2009 - Today’s base rate cut by the Bank of England’s Monetary Gas price cuts expected 07/01/2009 - Energy company Scottish Power has announced the launch of a Personal debt about £1.5 trillion 07/01/2009 - The UK’s personal debt stands at around £1.5 trillion, according