Consumer
Following the Chancellor of the Exchequer's Summer economic update on Wednesday, the Scottish Government have announced that the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT) will be increased from £145,000 to £250,000 in an attempt support homebuyers get on the property ladder and help the Scottish economy recover from the impact of coronavirus. Additionally, an extra £50 million has been added to the First Home Fund, a shared equity scheme providing first time buyers with up to £25,000 to buy a property. There has been no change to the Additional Dwelling Supplement (ADS) meaning this surcharge would still be payable.
Since the World Health Organisation claimed Coronavirus a pandemic, lenders in the UK have offered a variety of support to borrowers suffering financially as a result of the pandemic. One of the biggest forms of support has been allowing borrowers to take a mortgage payment holiday and the latest figures published by UK Finance have shown that one in six borrowers have requested a payment holiday. As the UK and Scottish Governments look to relax the lockdown restrictions and navigate the next steps for the country, lenders have offered further support to borrowers allowing for a further full or part holiday for 3 months if a borrower is nearing the end of their current payment holiday or if a borrower has not yet applied for a mortgage holiday, they are now able to do so until the 31st October 2020. https://my.website-editor.net/home/site/b8b7d7345473497c970e8771e8f9c659/lending-in-scotland-the-def...
The Bank of England has published their first report on the potential impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on the banking sector and UK economy. The report focuses on the recent performance of the financial system after the seriousness of Coronavirus was reported, the resilience of the UK banking sector amidst the Coronavirus Pandemic and discusses the financing of the corporate sector during the Pandemic. The report also includes a scenario which based on the assessment of risk of the UK's financial stability and the resilience of the UK's economy. If the scenario is correct, it would see the GDP of the UK falling to 14% which would equate to the worst annual slump for more than 300 years. The report can be read here
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