Category Archives: Mortgage

Hiring Continues In The Middle East Wealth Management Bonanza

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Despite chilly global credit markets, the Middle Eastern wealth management arena is a recruitment hotspot. Firms are busily hiring senior executives to spearhead new wealth management teams. For example, Merrill Lynch recently appointed Mazin Al-Shakarchi as a financial advisor covering Qatar from the Bahrain office. HSBC Bank Middle East has appointed Walid Boustany to the role of executive director, strategic investments, Middle East & North Africa. He will be responsible for HSBC’s strategic planning across the region. Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank, has appointed Fadi Abuali as co-head of its Middle East private wealth management business, alongside current head Farid Pasha.

And there is more: the Central Bank of Bahrain has approved Douglas Hansen-Luke as Robeco’s new chief executive for the Middle East. Mr Hansen-Luke formerly worked in senior positions for ABN Amro Asset Management in Asia, Europe and Saudi Arabia. Bahrain-based Ithmaar Bank has appointed Shaikh Salman bin Ahmad Al Khalifa as managing director, group business development.

The rash of appointments seen in recent years will continue, barring an unlikely collapse in demand for wealth management, Professor Amin Rajan, chief executive of Create-Research, a UK consultancy on the investment management industry, told WealthBriefing.

Wealth managers are going into the Middle East in a big way, said Professor Rajan. This is a high-margin business to be in as banks get fees right along the value chain, he said. But although the region is lucrative, making money is not easy. Local investors typically punish poor investment performance quickly – often far faster than is the case with European or US clients, said Professor Rajan.

The real issue is to understand the client mindset. Client money [in the Middle East] isn’t sticky at all. When performance is bad they ask for a rebate, which is how it should be. If [wealth managers] can survive in the Middle East, they can survive anywhere, he added.

Barclays Wealth, for example, has every intention of doing more than just survive in the region. As an illustration of its ambitions, Barclays is moving into a new 14,000 square feet office in the Dubai International Financial Centre, which will be a hub for the firm’s operations in the region. Operating currently in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Barclays Wealth is also planning to make its Doha Qatar office operational this year.

Barclays Wealth leadership believes that the Middle East is a core area of growth. A substantial investment in human resources and capabilities and a rigorous expansion plan will lead to a substantial increase in the scope of operations, Soha Nashaat, managing director, head of Middle East, North Africa & Turkey for Barclays Wealth, told WealthBriefing.
Like Professor Rajan, Ms Nashaat says wealth management firms entering the Middle East from outside the region must understand the local culture if they are to make a success of their business. For example, more than 70 per cent of businesses are family-owned, which requires managers to forge long-term connections.

Wealth managers must understand and cater to the regional trends such as the dominance of family offices, Ms Nashaat said. Investors tend to be intolerant of risk and hold a high proportion of assets in cash and in offshore locations, she added.

Middle Eastern clients put great stress on strong relationships with investment advisors and dislike high turnover in staff, a factor that wealth managers must consider in their staff recruitment and retention plans, Stuart Crocker, chief executive, Emirates Platform and Southern Gulf States, HSBC Private Bank told WealthBriefing.

People don’t like seeing relationship managers moving on every two or three years to other banks, he said. His own bank, part of the HSBC banking group, serves clients both from local Middle Eastern locations as well as from its teams of specialists in Geneva.

The general background for wealth managers is certainly favourable. The investable assets of HNW individuals will rise by 50 per cent between 2006 and 2010, according to Barclays Wealth data.

The number of HNW individuals rose by 11.9 per cent in 2006 from a year before, according to the latest Merrill Lynch/Capgemini World Wealth Report issued last June. Wealth management intermediaries have only started to manage a significant share of assets in the region. Research from Zurich International Life, for example, reveals that expats living in the Middle East prefer to rely on their own judgment or friends and family when purchasing financial products. The survey showed that fewer than one in ten expats would enlist a financial advisor, either in their country of domicile or residence, to help them make the financial decisions. Financial advisors have a vast untapped market to go for.

While researchers like PricewaterhouseCoopers have warned that wealth management firms face a skills bottleneck, hiring staff for Middle Eastern slots is being helped by a benign tax regime and attractive pay packages.

Private bankers in tax-free Dubai earn 25 per cent more than their peers in Geneva and almost 40 per cent more than colleagues in London, according to a recent survey by Dubai-based headhunter Dunn Consultancy FZ-LLC.

Excluding bonuses, private bankers in Dubai with at least 10 years experience receive an average salary of $276,500 with allowances, compared with pre-tax earnings of $221,900 in Geneva and $199,100 in London, it found.

The economics of wealth management in the Middle East certainly look compelling. For the time being at least, the toughest challenge for players in the region is keeping up with the pace.

Devilish Tricks Which Will Make Your Ex Curious About You Again! (these Are Sneaky And Dirty!)

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Do you want your ex to literally drool next time they see you? Do you need to make your ex so curious about you that he/she will literally start chasing you around again? Do you wish there was a way to get your ex to notice you and care about you again?

Well there is a way! In fact there are 6 ways to make your ex curious about you…but I warn you here….they are dirty! Not only that, but they are actually quite sneaky, because when you use them, your ex won’t even know you were using them!

Read on to find out the 6 devilish tricks which will make your ex curious about you again….

Devilish Trick #1: Ignore your ex completely – Act as if you can see right through your ex. This will instantly make your ex feel rejected and well ignored!

What will happen then, is that your ex will go nuts trying to get your attention on them again, because they will feel left out and alone.

Devilish Trick #2: Be nice to people your ex knows – While you are ignoring your ex, be extremely nice and helpful to people your ex knows. Do this with his/her enemies as well. This will furthermore make your ex feel left out and feel envious as well!

Devilish Trick #3: Be confident – When you appear confident, your ex will start to think that maybe you are over them.

Their ego will be hurt and your ex will instantly want to know how you got over them, and won’t believe that you did, so he/she will end up chasing you around just to figure out if you are or are not over them.

Devilish Trick #4: Flirt with people in front of your ex – This is one of the quickest ways to make your ex notice you again, and it will make your ex extremely jealous. Do this, and your ex won’t be able to stop thinking about you!

Devilish Trick #5: Replace your ex with something new -When your ex calls you, because you were ignoring him/her, tell them you have to go because you are busy. Tell them you have to go to a dance, or something fun, so that your ex feels replaced.

This will make your ex even more curious about you, and will make them believe you are really dating again, which will furthermore jealous and crazy about you again.

Devilish Trick #6: Be difficult – Instead of handing out your attention, love and anything further to your ex, make him/her work for it. The more difficult you become now, the more your ex will chase you, and the more curious your ex will be.

Pay Close Attention Here-

Now listen carefully! Take 2 minutes to read the next page and you’ll discover a stunning trick which will have your ex begging you to take them back. There is a set of easy to follow psychological tricks which will make your ex crawl back to you within a few days guaranteed. I strongly urge you to read everything on the next page before it’s too late and time runs out- Click Here

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Feel free to use this article as long as the links are kept live.

Lenders To Avoid – Business Loan And Commercial Mortgage

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I have published many articles which are designed to assist commercial borrowers in avoiding commercial loan problems. One of the most serious commercial mortgage business loan situations is a commercial lender that causes problems for their commercial borrowers on a recurring basis. It is particularly this type of commercial lender which prudent commercial borrowers should be prepared to avoid unless viable alternative business financing options do not realistically exist.

As a direct result of my commercial loan experiences advising business owners for over 25 years and regular conversations with other business financing professionals, I do in fact believe that there are a number of commercial lenders that should be avoided. This conclusion is based on a recurring pattern of lending abuses by some business lenders.

This article will not name specific lenders to avoid, but specific examples will be provided to show why informed commercial borrowers should be ready to avoid a variety of business lenders in their search for viable commercial loan solutions. This business financing strategy article will illustrate the significant benefits of avoiding “problem lenders”.

Meaningless Pre-approvals for a Commercial Mortgage Business Loan

An early commercial mortgage pre-approval is often sought by commercial borrowers. The expected advantage to this initial commercial loan approval is that the business borrower can make other business arrangements which are based on the business financing being completed.

An ethical commercial lender will treat any form of business financing approval very seriously. Commercial borrowers should expect that a meaningful version of such an approval will not be realistically possible in just two or three days.

However, there are lenders who prepare a misleading and questionable version of a pre-approval shortly after receiving minimal application data. Because this approach often produces surprises for the borrower as the commercial mortgage process moves forward, borrowers should be wary of any lenders that do this.

Why do some commercial lenders provide such meaningless pre-approvals for a commercial mortgage? There are two likely reasons. (1) To motivate the commercial borrower to stop considering other potential commercial lenders. (2) To provide a business loan pre-approval that is similar to a structure prevalent with residential loans.

Because many commercial loan situations are facilitated by residential mortgage brokers who are typically unfamiliar with normal business financing requirements, this reason will be especially relevant with business lenders that primarily work with residential mortgage brokerage firms. Such a lender should be avoided for most commercial mortgage circumstances.

Commercial Mortgage Loan – Yes or No?

I have published an article which discusses the tendency of many banks to say “yes” when they mean “no”. Such banks will typically attach onerous business financing conditions to commercial loans instead of simply declining the loan. Business owners should explore other commercial mortgage alternatives before accepting commercial financing terms that put them at a competitive disadvantage.

Think Outside the Bank for a Commercial Mortgage

In some non-competitive business markets, it is unfortunately common for a lender to employ business loan terms that would typically not be seen in a more competitive commercial loan environment. Such business lenders can repeatedly take advantage of a non-competitive commercial lending imbalance.

An appropriate response by commercial borrowers is to seek out non-bank commercial loan options. It is neither necessary nor wise for commercial borrowers to depend only upon local traditional banks for commercial mortgage solutions. For most business loan situations, a non-local and non-bank commercial lender is likely to provide improved business financing terms because they are accustomed to competing aggressively with other commercial lenders.

Commercial Property Commercial Loan Appraisals

For commercial mortgage loans, commercial appraisals are an unavoidable part of the commercial loan underwriting process. The commercial appraisal process is lengthy and expensive, so avoiding commercial lenders which have displayed a pattern of problems and abuses in this area will benefit the commercial borrower by saving them both time and money.

Copyright 1995-2007 AEX Commercial Financing Group and Stephen Bush. All Rights Reserved.

Mortgage Fixed Interest Rates Cheaper than Variable Rates

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Due to the worsening global economic crisis, the Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to cut the standard cash rate further. This scenario leads to the decreasing percentage of home lenders who avail of mortgage with fixed interest rates.

As the Europe debt situation continually affects the world market, interest rates for a 3-year mortgage deal has become lesser having an average rate of 0.6% compared to the standard variable rate which evidently is much cheaper.

From the earlier months, fixed interest rates were prompted to be more expensive compared to loans with variable rates. This has created a notion that the RBA will regularly cut rates to protect Australia against the threatening economic malaise that currently takes place globally. The Reserve Bank of Australia has taken a cash rate of 4.25% interest last November and December 2011.

The Central Bank’s minutes during the monetary meeting held last December 20, 2011 has decided to make a close call noting that the Reserve Bank of Australia noticed that the domestic economy has performed a bit stronger compared to the case over the last six months. The Central bank has also warned that Europe already has experienced consistent downside and has increased the risk of unstable economy affecting many nations worldwide, including Australia.

Most home lenders would base the fixed loan pricing from the movement of money on the market rather than the cash rate released by RBA. However, truth is the rates in the money market are still influenced by the policy settings of the bank.

As of December 20, Ratecity – a comparison group – found out that home loan clients are paying an average rate of 6.29% to cover a 3-year fixed mortgage, rather than the 6.89% standard variable rate. Last June, the standard variable rate was 7.30%, higher than the 7.42% rates that fixed loans offer to clients.

On the same month, the 3-year fixed loans has actually dropped by 1.13% points, just after the turn down in the Bank Bill Swap rate, which was considered the key standard of the money on the market that financial institutions will use to set the pricing of loans. At the same period, the official cash rate of the RBA has decreased into 0.50% point.

There were also signs that deadlines on fixed rates were slowing down along with the 3-year loans, decreasing from 6.41% (December 1), and 6.29% (December 20). The rates were smaller compared to the 0.25% point reduction in the official cash rate of the RBA last December 6.

Ratecity Chief Executive Damian Smith has pointed out that fixed rates are decreasing and there is a lesser chance for clients to see 3-year fixed rates going down at the same interest rates that they already have. Rates will continually come down at a much decreased rate compared to what they have from the previous 6 months.

At the end of the RBA minutes, economists has concluded that RBA would cut down rates over again on its next scheduled Monetary meeting, which will be on this coming February 2012.

Ben Jarman, JPMorgan Economist said that they view the current policy setting as appropriate, so the RBA would be on its feet from the worsening economic outlook. Jarman added that they expect more bad news from both local and international economy, which will permit RBA to ease over the line.

Bill Evans, Westpac Chief economist considered the case as significantly strong for a 0.25% point easing by the Reserve Bank of Australia on February, and will be followed by another quarterly reduction on May, making a cash rate decrease of 3.75%.

Evans further said that the RBA monetary policy meeting has concentrated on the European situation, which shows the RBA board members are completely concerned.

According to Paul Bloxham, HSBC Chief Economist, the minutes of the monetary policy meeting demonstrates that the global economic risk has greatly affected the rate cuts as the RBA is seeking to apply insurance for protection on the threatening global growth, which the board now expects. RBA is confident on their inflation outlook and this only means that they will cut rates on the first quarter of 2012.

Right To Buy Mortgage – Is Now The Time To Buy My Council House

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As property prices continue to fall many council tenants may consider that the time is right to purchase their home under the right to buy scheme.

If you are a council tenant and have lived in your home for a minimum of two years you could be eligible for a right to buy property. These are discounted purchases in which the discount increases for each year that the tenant has been a council tenant in that property. If a borrower is eligible they can usually, depending on their local authority buy their house straight away with the discount applied.

You must first contact your local authority that you rent your home from and they will send an application form for you to complete. Once this has been processed they will send out their own surveyor who will set a right to buy selling price, this figure is often lower than the open market value. Once you have been accepted you will receive your right to buy purchase papers detailing the right to buy valuation and your discount entitlement. Now you must find a mortgage.

If you would like to apply for a right to buy mortgage you need to know that not all mortgage lenders offer such a mortgage. However the lenders that will give a right to buy mortgage can often give them on the same terms as their normal mortgages.

The mortgage must always be in the names of the people on the right to buy purchase papers which will be the same as the people on the tenancy agreement. This is important to remember as if you wish do have a mortgage in joint names but the tenancy is only in one name you must apply to add this person to the tenancy prior to applying for the right to buy.

Two kinds of right to buy mortgage
There are two kinds of right to buy mortgage which are
Right to buy maximum mortgage – this is a type of right to buy mortgage that uses the right to buy (RTB) price rather than the Open Market Valuation (OMV) price and can lend up to 100% of the RTB price. This means that for a 100% right to buy mortgage a house that has an OMV of 100,000 but a right to buy price of 75,000 the lender would actually lend 75% loan to value.

Right to buy mortgage on OMV – this is type of right to buy mortgage where the lender will give the borrower up to 85% of the OMV of the property, which is more than the right to buy price.

Right to buy mortgage advice
If you are interested in getting a right to buy mortgage on your council house you can visit one of the many online mortgage comparison websites for more information. However if you would prefer to speak to a mortgage advisor make sure they are free of charge then contact them. Many brokers will try to charge a fee for right to by mortgages but there are still many that offer free advice, so for mortgage advice that is independent and no-obligation do shop around.