George Osborne has announced the sale of £13bn of
mortgage debt to private investors, in what is said to be the largest ever sale
of financial assets by any European government. In a separate development, the
Financial Times has reported that Osborne is considering selling off around
£44bn of historic housing association debt. This inevitably prompted a flurry
of alarm across the housing industry, with many calling it the privatisation of
social housing assets. The Treasury announced that the Chancellor has
authorised the sale of the mortgages, which were acquired by the Government
during the financial crisis from Northern Rock, the mortgage assets are being
sold to capital management firm, Cerberus.
According to the Treasury, the mortgage portfolio is being sold for £280
million more than their “book value”. Read more on the Housing Excellence
website.
