In brief

Zest Home Loans has launched the latest addition to its non-conforming range.

Its ‘Spritzer’ mortgage has a pay rate of 5.49 per cent on a two-year discount offer with up to 95 per cent LTV of discounted purchase price available. The mortgage is currently available throughout the South West of England.

Borrowers ‘fleeced by lender fees’

My Mortgage Direct has criticised the steep climb of arrangement fees being charged by lenders with Paul Hearnden, managing director of My Mortgage Direct, claiming that borrowers are now barely benefiting from remortgaging.

He said: “We have reached the point where borrowers are barely saving anything on their monthly payments. Many now feel it’s not worth the bother. This situation is causing the remortgage market to stagnate and is penalising those who have lower debts.”

Hitachi and Advent team up for GI venture

Hitachi Capital and Advent Solutions have announced the formation of a partnership offering general insurance (GI) to the intermediary market under the name SECURAH.

The partnership is designed to respond to demand from mortgage providers for a simple online sales tool that meets FSA requirements. SECURAH is intended to enable mortgage providers to meet individual client needs through features such as risk pricing and bespoke policy coverage