Government Mortgage Scheme Close To Brink

The government has been forced into emergency talks to save its flagship mortgage indemnity scheme after one of the architects of the project admitted its launch ‘has been far from satisfactory’.  In a letter to members, the executive chairman of the Home Builders Federation acknowledged that the Newbuy scheme, launched earlier this month, had not seen lenders sign up as quickly as had been anticipated and the process has been ‘incredibly frustrating and annoying’ for builders.  The last few days has seen crisis talks held between the Treasury, HBF and the Council of Mortgage Lenders, which is also backing the scheme.  The Treasury has been forced to contact lenders to urge them to implement Newbuy ‘as a matter of priority’.  So far, only three lenders – Barclays, Nationwide and Royal Bank of Scotland – have signed up, with Lloyds expected to follow next month.  Read more on Inside Housing.