Nationwide Building Society Blames £726 Million Hit On Accounting Changes
The Nationwide Building Society has long been one of the main suppliers in the mortgage market but it seems that they have taken a massive hit after the credit crunch caused a major fall in the value of their assets. While the Building Society claim that the £726 million hit on the value of their assets is only a paper loss, there is concern about the quality of some of their investments.
The management of the Society are confident that much of the fall in asset value will be reduced upon maturity of the investments – many of which have some year to go. However, they did admit to taking a £102 million hit on six Structured Investment Vehicles (SIVs) which collapsed as a result of the money markets closing down.
As well as the fall in the value of assets it has also been revealed that total mortgage lending for the last 12 months fell from £11.2 billion to £6.7 billion, a substantial fall but not one which was unexpected. They are very much one of the barometers of the housing market and the sharp fall in the lending figure is somewhat alarming and does not bode well for the short term.
Share this..
Related stories
Is the British Airways Qantas merger on the rocks already?
A number of remarks attributed to the man in control of Australian airline Qantas has thrown into doubt the merger with UK giant British Airways which had only been flagged some days ago. Not only are their significant regulatory hurdles to clear for the £3.5 billion merger, which also includes Iberia, but the merger appears to be falling apart at the seams already. Internal bickering and concern...
Read MoreFSA refuses call for Icelandic investment inquiry
The FSA (Financial Services Authority) has refused to sanction an enquiry into Treasury management advisors who were heavily involved in the investment of up to £1 billion in Icelandic banks. There is a feeling that these "unregulated" advisers should be called to account for their part in the disastrous investment which has cost the UK government and the UK taxpayer hundreds of millions of poun...
Read MoreJJB sports to go-ahead with a £100 million rights issue
Sports retailer JJB Sports has today confirmed plans to go ahead with a £100 million rights issue despite the fact that various allegations have been made against the company's chairman. These allegations have been refuted by the company and evidence has been passed to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) which is currently investigating the situation. The company intends to issue new shares at...
Read MoreHouse of Commons committee to investigate takeover of Cadbury
A committee of MPs will this month make plans to investigate the controversial takeover of Cadbury by US giant Kraft foods. At the heart of the issue is the apparent indication that jobs would be safe in the short to medium term and then the immediate U-turn which saw the announcement of a planned closure of Cadbury's Bristol plant next year. This will result in the loss of 400 jobs although few f...
Read MoreBest money-saving tips
There are many ways to save money but if you ask 10 different experts about the best money-saving tips they will give you 10 different answers. However, there are a number of guidelines which you can use which will save you significant money in the short, medium and longer term. Short-term finance Short-term finance is the most expensive on the market and should be avoided at all costs unles...
Read More