DUBLIN, Nov 8 (Reuters) – Ireland unveiled a new corporate governance code for banks and insurers on Monday to bring ‘fresh blood’ into boardrooms and prevent a repeat of the excessive risk-taking that precipitated the country’s financial crisis.

A property market crash exposed years of reckless bank lending in Ireland, forcing the government to take over large parts of the industry and prompting concerns the country is at risk from a Greek-style meltdown.

Governance scandals at Dublin-based banks left the country with a reputation as the “Wild West” of Europe, hitting its status as a centre for international finance.

“It’s time to bring fresh blood into the board room, which brings more challenge, asks more awkward questions and devotes more time to assessing risk,” Matthew Elderfield, the country’s financial regulator, said in a speech showcasing the new code.

“These requirements are more demanding than those in place in other jurisdictions as we have decided that in the area of corporate governance we do not want to simply match best practice internationally but wish to set a higher standard.”

The statutory code lays out minimum standards for all banks and insurers operating in Ireland and additional rules for so-called “major institutions”, which would include any lender with a significant retail presence such as Bank of Ireland (BKIR.I: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), AIB (ALBK.I: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Irish Life & Permanent (IPM.I: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

Elderfield said some large banks and insurers from overseas with subsidiaries based in the Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC), Ireland’s venue for international finance, could also be designated as major institutions.

LONDON, Nov 4 (Reuters) – Housing transactions could slump even lower if the government fails to take action over the contracting mortgage market, warned the chairman of Redrow (RDW.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) as sales rose since July due to a shift in product mix.

The chairman and founder of Redrow, Steve Morgan, said that the mortgage situation is deteriorating as the major banks are being squeezed to repay colossal government loans, pushing overall housing transactions even lower.

“Housing transactions, they are already at historic lows, I can see that situation hovering at the same or possibly getting worse over the next 18 months unless something is done,” Morgan told Reuters.

“We’ve noticed in the last few months that mortgage availability has got a lot worse,” he said.

“The bank of England is insistent that the banks give back the 600 billion … this means tightening up their balance sheets and reducing lending even further,” said the housing industry veteran, who also runs Wolverhampton Wanderers football club.

The dearth of mortgages stems from a lack of competition in the market, with the majority of players withdrawing in the fallout from the credit crisis and leaving just six lenders.

Underlying demand is strong for houses in the UK, particularly in the first-time buyer market, said Redrow, but very few mortgages are available, pushing up the average age of a first time buyer to 37. [ID:nLDE69Q23W]

LONDON (Reuters) – The government has taken the axe to its budget for social housing in a move that will limit the number of new affordable homes and add another blow to the fragile UK housing industry.

Chancellor George Osborne announced on Wednesday in a review of public spending the government would cut the number of affordable homes it planned to build by 30 percent to 150,000.

The budget to do this was halved to 4.4 billion pounds compared to the 8.4 billion pounds spent over the previous three year period.

England’s social housing sector provides homes at below-market rents for nearly four million, or one in five, households.

Terms for existing social housing tenants will remain unchanged, while new tenants will be offered higher rents at 80 percent of market rental values, to help fund new building.

Shares in UK housebuilders, nearly all of whom are involved in social housing activity albeit in small quantities, dropped, with shares in the largest fallers Barratt Developments (BDEV.L: Quote, Profile, Research) down 4.4 percent and Taylor Wimpey (TW.L: Quote, Profile, Research) down 5.56 percent.

The National Housing Federation warned on Tuesday that 1.7 percent of jobs in the construction industry could be lost, as cuts were flagged up early, while charities highlighted a housing crisis about to get worse.

LONDON, Oct 20 (Reuters) – The British government has taken the axe to its budget for social housing in a move that will limit the number of new affordable homes and add another blow to the fragile UK housing industry.

Conservative finance minister George Osborne announced on Wednesday in a review of public spending the government would cut the number of affordable homes it planned to build by 30 percent to 150,000.

The budget to do this was halved to 4.4 billion pounds ($6.92 billion) compared to the 8.4 billion pounds spent over the previous three year period.

England’s social housing sector provides homes at below-market rents for nearly four million, or one in five, households.

Terms for existing social housing tenants will remain unchanged, while new tenants will be offered higher rents at 80 percent of market rental values, to help fund new building.

Shares in UK housebuilders, nearly all of whom are involved in social housing activity albeit in small quantities, dropped, with shares in the largest fallers Barratt Developments (BDEV.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) down 4.4 percent and Taylor Wimpey (TW.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) down 5.56 percent.

The National Housing Federation warned on Tuesday that 1.7 percent of jobs in the construction industry could be lost, as cuts were flagged up early, while charities highlighted a housing crisis about to get worse. [ID:nLDE69I15J]

LONDON (Reuters) – Bellway (BWY.L: Quote, Profile, Research) said the autumn pick up in house sales had been muted, leading the housebuilder to cut its full-year sales target as uncertainty around the government’s spending review crimps confidence.

Bellway, which posted full-year results in line with expectations, is the first housebuilder to comment on the traditionally active autumn selling period.

A stagnant housing market will add to the gloom of the coalition government’s austerity measures, with spending cuts to be announced on Wednesday.

“The first two months of this trading year, it’s picked up, but not quite to the extent we that we hoped,” chief executive John Watson told Reuters in a phone interview.

He added that subdued activity so far this year has caused the builder to abandon its target of raising sales volumes by 10 percent this year.

“Our sales rates are slightly below were there were 12 months ago so we’re probably going to say to ourselves, our sales rates will probably be similar in volumes year on year,” said Watson.

Bellway, the UK’s fifth largest housebuilder by market value, said earlier this year that it was on track to meet its target of 10 percent volume growth next year after reporting a rise in its order book.

LONDON, Oct 19 (Reuters) – Britain’s Bellway (BWY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said the autumn pick up in house sales had been muted, leading the housebuilder to cut its full-year sales target as uncertainty around the government’s spending review crimps confidence.

Bellway, which posted full-year results in line with expectations, is the first housebuilder to comment on the traditionally active autumn selling period.

A stagnant housing market will add to the gloom of the coalition government’s austerity measures, with spending cuts to be announced on Wednesday. [ID:nLDE6960KC]

“The first two months of this trading year, it’s picked up, but not quite to the extent we that we hoped,” chief executive John Watson told Reuters in a phone interview.

He added that subdued activity so far this year has caused the builder to abandon its target of raising sales volumes by 10 percent this year.

“Our sales rates are slightly below were there were 12 months ago so we’re probably going to say to ourselves, our sales rates will probably be similar in volumes year on year,” said Watson.

Bellway, the UK’s fifth largest housebuilder by market value, said earlier this year that it was on track to meet its target of 10 percent volume growth next year after reporting a rise in its order book. [ID:nLDE6731ZJ]

LONDON, Oct 18 (Reuters) – Lloyd’s of London [LOL.UL] insurer Beazley (BEZG.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said smaller peer Hardy Underwriting (HDU.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) had rejected a takeover approach made earlier this month but it still hoped to clinch a deal.

Dublin-based Beazley said it had on Oct. 6 proposed paying 300 pence per share in cash for Hardy, valuing the company at about 155 million pounds ($247.9 million).

The approach, which represented a 36 percent premium to Hardy’s closing share price on Oct. 5, was rejected by the Bermuda-based insurer in a letter dated Oct. 8.

Consolidation among Lloyds insurers, which offer cover against large-scale risks such as natural disasters, has long been mooted, especially among the smaller players, but deals can be difficult to secure. [ID:nLDE65A0K3]

However Lloyds of London insurers have emerged as potential takeover targets recently because cyclically low insurance prices have weighed heavily on their shares.

Brit Insurance (BRE.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) agreed to a 850 million pound ($1.3 billion) offer from buyout firm Capital Partners and Apollo Management last month. [ID:nLDE68G1UV]

CATASTROPHE BLIP

LONDON (Reuters) – A taskforce of six major British banks has unveiled a 1.5 billion pounds business growth fund to kickstart funding to small businesses in the wake of a sharp downturn in business lending after the credit crisis.

The fund will offer equity support to UK businesses with an average turnover from 10 to 100 million pounds and funding requirements of up to 10 million pounds, as part of 17 initiatives proposed on Wednesday by the British Bankers’ Association and the industry.

The banks involved are Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander and Standard Chartered.

They will build up an investment portfolio capped at 1.5 billion pounds over a number of years, which will be managed by an independent board and chairman.

“As banks we have an obligation to help the UK economy return to growth. The private sector will play a key role in the recovery and it’s our job to help viable firms to be successful,” said Barclays Chief Executive John Varley, who is also chairman of the taskforce.

Other initiatives include a new appeals process for customers, publishing lending principles, a mentoring system and a Business Finance Round Table that will bring together banks and business groups.

“This government has always insisted that banks need to increase lending to our essential small businesses, in order to support economic growth, while also restoring customer trust,” Chancellor George Osborne and Business Secretary Vince Cable said in a joint statement.

LONDON (Reuters) – A taskforce of six major British banks has unveiled a 1.5 billion pounds business growth fund to kickstart funding to small businesses in the wake of a sharp downturn in business lending after the credit crisis.

The fund will offer equity support to UK businesses with an average turnover from 10 to 100 million pounds and funding requirements of up to 10 million pounds, as part of 17 initiatives proposed on Wednesday by the British Bankers’ Association and the industry.

The banks involved are Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research), HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research) 0005.HK>, Lloyds (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research), Santander (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research) (2888.HK: Quote, Profile, Research).

They will build up an investment portfolio capped at 1.5 billion pounds over a number of years, which will be managed by an independent board and chairman.

“As banks we have an obligation to help the UK economy return to growth. The private sector will play a key role in the recovery and it’s our job to help viable firms to be successful,” said Barclays Chief Executive John Varley, who is also chairman of the taskforce.

Other initiatives include a new appeals process for customers, publishing lending principles, a mentoring system and a Business Finance Round Table that will bring together banks and business groups.

“This government has always insisted that banks need to increase lending to our essential small businesses, in order to support economic growth, while also restoring customer trust,” Chancellor George Osborne and Business Secretary Vince Cable said in a joint statement.

LONDON, Oct 13 (Reuters) – A taskforce of six major British banks has unveiled a 1.5 billion pounds ($2.38 billion) business growth fund to kickstart funding to small businesses in the wake of a sharp downturn in business lending after the credit crisis.

The fund will offer equity support to UK businesses with an average turnover from 10 to 100 million pounds and funding requirements of up to 10 million pounds, as part of 17 initiatives proposed on Wednesday by the British Bankers’ Association and the industry.

The banks involved are Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), HSBC (HSBA.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) 0005.HK>, Lloyds (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Santander (SAN.MC: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Standard Chartered (STAN.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (2888.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz).

They will build up an investment portfolio capped at 1.5 billion pounds over a number of years, which will be managed by an independent board and chairman.

“As banks we have an obligation to help the UK economy return to growth. The private sector will play a key role in the recovery and it’s our job to help viable firms to be successful,” said Barclays Chief Executive John Varley, who is also chairman of the taskforce.

Other initiatives include a new appeals process for customers, publishing lending principles, a mentoring system and a Business Finance Round Table that will bring together banks and business groups.

“This government has always insisted that banks need to increase lending to our essential small businesses, in order to support economic growth, while also restoring customer trust,” British Finance Minister George Osborne and Business Secretary Vince Cable said in a joint statement.