Muslim mortgage approvals hit £100m

Islamic bank alburaq has reported that it has approved over £100m worth of mortgage business over the last six months.



The bank expects to see the total market grow to over £1bn by 2009.

Alburaq launched home and buy-to-let finance for the UK’s two million

Muslims towards the end of 2004, which offered the Muslim community an

ability to own and invest in property.



Keith Leach, head of alburaq at ABC International Bank plc, says: “We are now seeing the UK market developing very quickly.



“It is also noticeable that the nature of our enquiries is changing and less explanation is now required about how these products work and the focus is now more about how much is the cost.



“At the moment the volume of Islamic mortgage business is only a small percentage of the total mortgage figure in the UK, but based on our current trends we are predicting significant growth over the next two years."



Shariah law prohibits the practice of earning money from money, so the

payment of interest known as Riba is not allowed.



Shariah compliant finance products operate without earning - or charging - interest, enabling Muslims to bank without compromising their principles.



Alburaq recently partnered with Bristol West to launch the home and buy-to-let finance so it could combine its expertise in Islamic banking with

Bristol West’s experience in the UK mortgage market.



A spokeswoman for Bristol West says: "We have opened up some very interesting opportunities for the Muslim community in the UK.



“We are delighted with our partnership with alburaq and we see this going from strength to strength in the future.



“While the product’s structure differs from conventional interest based

mortgages to ensure compliance with Shariah law, the criteria are the same

as Bristol West‘s conventional mortgage range.



“All products benefit from the significantly enhanced criteria improvements Bristol West have made."

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TEMENOS named a leader among core banking vendors by leading research firm

TEMENOS Group (SWX: TEMN), the provider of integrated core banking systems, today announced that Forrester Research has placed TEMENOS in the Leaders category in its report, The Forrester Wave™ Core Banking Suites, Q1 2007. The report also found that TEMENOS T24™, the company’s modular core banking application, received the highest score in terms of core banking functionality and installed base, with some 500 clients and 600 live sites.



The report states that TEMENOS “…offers the strongest overall core banking functionality, without particular functional weak spots. TEMENOS also scored best on international versatility: If a bank needs a strong core banking solution that can comprehensively support multiple languages and character sets in terms of presentation and storage or that needs a strong Islamic banking offering, TEMENOS is one of the core banking vendors to short-list…”



TEMENOS scored 4.78 out of 5 in the core banking category, which reviewed areas such as bank and product management, bank support, sales, and product alignment. Forrester Research also highlights that TEMENOS T24 is one of the core banking systems to choose when multi-channel support is a very strong requirement.

Forrester Research selected vendors based on qualification criteria that included a forward-looking architectural approach, sound success in 2005, global delivery capability, and banking platform and core banking commitment. It then evaluated each against 88 criteria, grouped into current offering, strategy and market presence.



TEMENOS T24 is a functionally rich, thin client, scalable, integrated, modular banking system. It is built on open service oriented architecture, and uses established technology standards such as HTTP, XML and HTML. It offers a single client view across the enterprise and can support large numbers of users with true non-stop resilience. Its fully integrated architecture enables it to offer a significant cost advantage compared to other competing products. It offers multiple application server support and is the only system available with no end-of-day batch processing and so can genuinely boast of providing real-time 24/7 non-stop banking.

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TietoEnator recognised as the most innovative electronic invoicing provider

The British magazine Financial-I has recognised TietoEnator, together with Nordea Bank, as the most innovative electronic invoicing provider.

/>By combining TietoEnator's net invoicing and message conversion capability with Nordea's e-invoicing and banking services, the formatting problems and data processing incompatibilities that have hindered widespread uptake of online invoicing have been overcome.

/>With its Leaders in Innovation Award, the magazine acknowledges companies that demonstrate an ongoing commitment to product innovation. Innovation leaders are identified across more than 50 categories and researched by a team of journalists, working together with leading consultants and analysts.

/>Mats Wikström, Director and responsible for international markets at TE Digital Innovations, said that E-invoicing now starts to pay back after several years of investments.

/>"Interest in e-invoicing is increasing rapidly outside the traditionally strong Nordic region and starting to attract a wider range of customers. In order to achieve market penetration by reaching private and corporate customers, cooperation with banks is vital. We expect the growth to continue and accelerate during the coming years as the added value from e-invoicing becomes more apparent and the amount of users increases", Wikström said.

/>The European market has an annual volume of about 28 billion invoices. In 2006, market penetration in Europe was approximately 2%, with an annual growth rate of 60-100%.



Based on volume and market share, TietoEnator is a market-leading provider in the Nordic region and Germany, as well as one of the leading providers in Europe. The company offers one-stop-shopping capability for e-invoicing and e-payment services. The aim is to support the digitization of the financial value chain by providing state of art e-services for the international market.

/>TietoEnator's Digital Innovations has more than 150 e-invoicing services specialists in Sweden, Finland, Germany and the Czech Republic providing services for an international market.

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New commercial loans system for Derbyshire

The Derbyshire, has selected Phoebus Software’s ‘Commercial’ package for origination and servicing of its commercial mortgage portfolio, delivered initially through the society’s “Salt Commercial” brand.



The Phoebus installation will enable brokers to conduct their business with Salt Commercial, including proposal submission and case tracking, using the Web as well as introducing document imaging technology.

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Skipton reports 14.2% mortgage balance growth

Skipton reports 14.2% mortgage balance growth



Skipton has reported its group mortgage balances grew by 14.2% in 2006.



The society also unveils a record year for 2006 as its assets reach over £10bn.

John Goodfellow, chief executive of Skiptons called its 153rd year “a milestone in its history”.



He says: “As well as having an impressive year for growth, many other financial records, including mortgage lending and retail inflows, were broken in 2006.

“However, success has not been solely the preserve of the society - the Skipton Group, with its 17 subsidiary companies, has also achieved some outstanding results.”



Skipton Group announced that at the end of December 2006 its assets were up 15.0% to £10.5bn, its pre-tax profit was up 62.0% to £147.7m, and interest rate margin was 1.02% (down 0.06% from 2005).



The building society’s assets were up 14.6% to £10.1bn, its pre-tax profit up 63.1% to £91.0m, interest rate margin was 0.72% (down 0.02% from 2005), and its management expenses ratio was down from 60p to 57p per £100 assets.



Year-on-year Group mortgage balances grew by 14.2% and retail investment balances grew by 17.5%.



Goodfellow adds: “The business has seen growth in all of its core areas; during 2006, retail balances grew by £914m, ending the year at £6.1bn.



“With regard to borrowers, rising interest rates have been fuelling speculation that repossession figures are set to rise.



“At Skipton, however, prudent lending – with applications assessed individually on their affordability merits – means this is not an issue.



“At December 31 2006, the society had only six properties in possession from a population of 73,000 loans."



He adds: “Core areas such as savings and mortgages remain at the heart of the Group, illustrated by the fact that mortgage origination through the society, Amber Homeloans, Pink Homeloans, Skipton Guernsey and the Connells Group totalled £11.5bn last year.”

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BM Solutions has been voted as best overall lender for 2006

BM Solutions has been voted as best overall lender for 2006 by Square Mile

Mortgage Finance at its annual awards.



Beating off strong competition from Portman/The Mortgage Works and Abbey, BM Solutions reclaimed the award it previously won in 2004.



Andy Wilgoss, managing director of SMMF, says: "We had a phenomenal year with BM Solutions and they were our number one lender for business.



"BM Solutions were consistent throughout the year with the tried and tested mix of rates, service and relationship.



"Their relationship management strategy at all levels is testimony to the quality people they employ."



Adrian Moloney from Portman/TMW scooped business development manager of the year with Tony Bachelder from Halifax and Paul Dignan from Bristol West Mortgages both making the shortlist.



Wilgoss adds: "Whilst Moloney now operates as a regional manager, we are

grateful that he still looks after us as his professionalism to do the job

to the highest level is a credit to him.



"He certainly went the extra mile when needed and the end result was an increase of 100% in business placed with Portman/TMW in 2006."

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Finacle from Infosys positioned in the Leaders Quadrant in the Magic Quadrant for International Retail Core Banking Solutions

Finacle from Infosys, today announced that Gartner, Inc. has positioned Finacle core banking solution in the Leader Quadrant in the recently released ‘Magic Quadrant for International Retail Core Banking (IRCB) 2006’ report.



Magic Quadrants depict markets using a two dimensional matrix that evaluates vendors based on their completeness of vision and ability to execute. The Magic Quadrant has 15 weighted criteria that plot vendors based on their relative strengths in the market. Magic Quadrant for IRCB assesses the impact of transition and volatility in the market, vendor consolidation trend, and a technology evolution that promises to enhance business agility on key international vendors and their products that serve this market.



According to Gartner, “Leaders are vendors that possess a strong banking market understanding, have a measurable strategy for disaggregating core banking software functionality into component-based constructs, exhibit highly developed and certified development and delivery of quality methodologies, and have extensive marketing delivery and sales channels. Leaders also share conspicuous operational organization approaches that are relevant to the business and a willingness to extend resources to ensure a successful customer experience”.



Vendor qualification for inclusion in the 2006 IRCB Magic Quadrant was centred on market-established players and some relatively new entrants that show strong promise. The evaluation began with 31 candidates for the IRCB Magic Quadrant for 2006 and resulted in a qualified group of 18 combinations of vendors and products that represent the major movers in retail core banking systems. The selection criteria served to cull vendor products that possessed sufficient market traction and momentum, supported basic retail functionality and international support, and provided evidence of short-term viability.



http://www.bobsguide.com

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GE Money Home Lending

GEMHL outlines its 2006 results



GE Money Home Lending has said it achieved double-digit growth in its core mortgage business during 2006, with significant volume generated through new and existing products and partnerships.



The group claimed it has outperformed the general market two to one, with 37% growth in like-for-like business. It achieved 47% growth in the final quarter of the year, and said that research indicates that the specialist sector will grow by 35% by 2009.



Looking ahead, Colin Shave, chief executive, said 2007 will be another important year for the group. He added: “Our aim is to drive growth by continuing to provide our existing partners with attractive products, superior service and technology to help them meet the needs of their consumers. In addition, we intend to build upon our recent entry into the buy to let and direct to broker markets, broadening our reach and ensuring our products are available through different channels. This represents a further step towards diversifying our distribution network and offering within the marketplace.”



He continued: “In addition, our research suggests that growth of the specialist mortgage market within the direct broker channel will outstrip general growth in this market by two to one. We are keen to have a significant presence in this channel, adding to the growing partnerships we have already established within the broker and packager industry. 2007 will see us develop this further, potentially working with selected networks and mortgage club partners as the year progresses.”



http://www.mortgagesolutions-online.com

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Islamic Mortgages

UK to become a leading global centre for Islamic finance



The Economic Secretary, Ed Balls, has set out new measures to establish the UK as a leading global centre for Islamic finance.



In his speech to the Euromoney Annual Islamic Finance summit, Balls argued that the Government has a role in helping industry overcome barriers to the development of Islamic Finance in the UK.



This includes legislation in the Finance Bill 2007 to facilitate the UK issuance and trading of Sukuk – the Islamic equivalent of conventional securitizations - diminishing Musharka – the Islamic equivalent of a loan repaid in instalments and Takaful – a Shari’a compliant form of insurance - to be published alongside the Budget. He also stressed that Islamic finance will become a key priority of the work of the Chancellor’s High-Level Group.



The Government also welcomed industry developments, including a Memorandum of Understanding signed today between the International Capital Markets Association and the International Islamic Financial Market to set standards for Islamic Capital Markets. He also spoke of the launch of the Islamic Finance Qualification in October, a joint initiative between the Securities and Investment Institute, and the Ecole Superieure des Affaires, one of the leading business schools in the Middle East, to develop qualifications in Islamic Finance.



Ed Balls said: “I am pleased to be able to outline these reforms alongside the announcement of a Memorandum of Understanding to help set standards for Islamic capital markets. Today is an example of public and private sectors working together to fulfil our shared ambition of creating major international markets in Islamic finance with London as their centre.”



http://www.mortgagesolutions-online.com

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