West Bromwich building society hits back at rumours
In a worrying development in the UK financial sector the West Bromwich building society was today forced to deny reports the company is in financial trouble. While the society confirmed it was in talks with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) regarding ongoing stress tests there was a strong denial of any particular problems with the company's balance sheet.
There have been reports in this weekend's press that the Yorkshire and Coventry building societies had been approached by the FSA about a potential rescue package for the West Bromwich building society. As we covered on one of our earlier post, there are growing problems in the UK buy to let market and financial institutions such as West Bromwich building society have been singled out because of their own exposure to this area.
The West Bromwich is the seventh largest building society in the UK with over £200 million in sub-prime mortgage securities currently held on the balance. These are particular investments which are concerning FSA and it is not just the West Bromwich which has caught the attention of the regulator. The problem for the UK financial sector is the fact that rumours can seriously impact on consumer confidence and ultimately lead to further problems. We await official comment from the Financial Services Authority to finally put these rumours to bed.
Share this..
Related stories
Is Gordon Brown Banking On An Economic Recovery?
As the news continues to worsen for Gordon Brown there are many market analysts who are wondering exactly what will bring back the Labour voters, what can actually save Gordon Brown. There seems to be a growing consensus that while Labour are in many ways holed below the waterline there is a possible way back. The only really path to recovery is via a recovery in the UK economy in time for what...
Read MoreWhere there is muck there is brass!
Serial entrepreneurs Paul Wright and Valerie Kaye are on the verge of completing a deal which will see their plant and garden equipment company sold to their former offshoot Ideal Shopping Direct in a deal worth around £5 million. After initially setting up the Ideal Shopping Direct company sometime ago the couple left in 2007 with £9.9 million in their bank accounts and a stake of 29% in the bu...
Read MoreUK government reveals social tariff for a hard up families
Following today's announcement of the UK government's new "green policy" towards renewable energy, which is set to cost UK taxpayers a 20% levy on energy bills, the government has also rushed out a statement regarding less well-off families. In what is being called a "social tariff" the energy companies will be forced to charge those less well-off families significantly less than more affluent fam...
Read MoreCould more UK banks fall?
After the double whammy of the demise of the US led bailout and the failure of the Bradford and Bingley there are some very nervous banking execs in the UK and around the world. While the Bradford and Bingley was by no means one of the leading UK banks, nobody would have even joked about a collapse prior to the credit crunch. However, here we have it, HBOS saved by a rescue bid from Lloyds Bank...
Read MoreStockbroker jailed for false accounting
Stockbroker Jonathan Bunn, who worked for Lewis Charles Securities, has been jailed for 2 1/2 years after admitting unauthorised trading on the company's book. He was hired by the company to match buyers against sellers but it would appear that over the course of a relatively short space of time he took out "a short position" in HSBC which the firm was finally forced to buy back at a loss of just...
Read More