Hunt meeting large lenders including HSBC and Santander in Downing Street to ask them if they can do more to support struggling households
We are hearing that the breakfast meeting between Jeremy Hunt and mortgage lenders is due to start at 8am.
Those at the meeting include Nikhil Rathi, head of the Financial Conduct Authority, as well as bank chief executives including Charlie Nunn of Lloyds Banking Group, Debbie Crosbie of Nationwide, Britain’s biggest building society, Alison Rose of NatWest Group, David Duffy of Virgin Money and Mike Regnier of Santander UK (the Spanish bank’s UK head).
I will be meeting the principal mortgage lenders to ask what help they can give to people who are struggling to pay more expensive mortgages and what flexibilities might be possible for families in arrears.
It is very important that he [Hunt] speak to them this morning.
We’re planning another session with the mortgage lenders [at the committee] because one of the things that we wrote to the regulator about, the Financial Conduct Authority, is making the changes that are necessary to put in, almost enshrine in their rulebook, the kind of forbearance that people were shown during the pandemic
We just had a big debate about how independent do we want our independent regulators to be and where both the government and the opposition ended up, was that it’s best to leave the regulators to be independent and not to take a call in power as it were.
The King’s coronation was cause for celebration across the High Street as the extra bank holiday boosted sales in May. With consumers in a festive mood for the once-in-a-lifetime event, and good weather throughout the month, retailers saw elevated demand for outdoor goods and summer clothes.
The challenge for retailers will be to continue to attract footfall as the macroeconomic environment worsens. A well-managed blend of newness will drive consumer interest even when demand is weaker, alongside a core assortment to maintain loyalty and drive healthy margins. Summer sales have also begun earlier this year as retailers seek to rotate stock – those who can do this effectively and avoid costly warehousing will emerge as winners.
8am BST: Spain GDP growth final for Q1 (forecast: 0.5%)
8.15am BST: France HCOB PMIs flash for June
8.30am BST: Germany HCOB PMIs flash for June
9am BST: Eurozone HCOB PMIs flash for June
9.30am BST: UK S&P Global/CIPS PMIs for June
2.45pm BST: US S&P Global PMIs for June
