NatWest boss says not ‘that difficult’ to buy a house
The chairman of NatWest bank has come under fire after he claimed it is not “that difficult” for people to get on the property ladder in the UK.
Sir Howard Davies, who is paid £764,000 a year according to the bank’s latest annual report, said that while some found it hard to “start the process”, aspiring homeowners “have to save and that is the way it always used to be”.
He later responded to criticism, saying he “did not intend to underplay the serious challenges” people face when buying a home.
It comes after recent research found home ownership in Britain fell from 71% to 65% between 2004 and 2021 amid soaring house prices.
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Sir Howard, speaking during an interview with BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, made the comments after being asked when he thought it would become easier for people to get on the property ladder.
He replied: “Well, I don’t think it’s that difficult at the moment… You have to save and that is the way it always used to be.”
The banking boss added: “What we saw in the financial crisis was the risk of having people being able to borrow 100% in order to get onto the property ladder, and then suffering severe falls in the equity value of their houses, and having to leave and having a bad credit record.
“So, there were dangers in very, very easy access to mortgage credit.
“I totally recognise that there are people who are finding it very difficult to start the process, they will have to save more, but that is, I think, inherent in the change in the financial system as a result of the mistakes that were made in the last global financial crisis.”
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It came as research from Halifax on Friday said average property values increased by 1.7% in 2023, with the typical home valued £4,800 higher than at the end of 2022.
The bank also said the average cost of a UK home was £287,105 in December, with prices up 1.1% on the month before.
Campaign group Generation Rent said it was staggered by Sir Howard’s comments.
Chief executive Ben Twomey said: “What planet does he live on? This is astounding to hear from a senior banker.
“We are in a cost-of-renting crisis that is making it incredibly hard for people to buy a home as we hand a third of our wages every month over to our landlord.”
He added: “Interest rates have increased but house prices have yet to correct, meaning we still need to save for a huge deposit, but also would need a high income to afford monthly mortgage repayments.”
Nigel Farage, who was embroiled in a row with NatWest last year over his Coutts bank account, was also critical of the comments.
He told GB News: “It is all but impossible for young people to get on the property ladder, and what that has done is it has destroyed the culture of thrift.
“Howard said save, but I have spoken to young people who have said that there is no point saving because we are never going to save enough to even get the deposit that is now required.”
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Students ‘struggling’ to find housing
Bank boss ‘did not intend to underplay challenges’
Nathan Emerson, chief executive at estate agent body Propertymark, said: “Saving for a home can be a real struggle for many first-time buyers and can make purchasing a home feel like an impossibility.”
He added: “House prices have started to drop from the spike seen on the back of the pandemic, so for some, this should be seen as a golden opportunity. Of course, more needs to be done to help first-time buyers”.
The comments also prompted a backlash on social media.
Finance expert Prof Richard Murphy, from Sheffield University, wrote on X that Sir Howard’s remarks were a “staggering demonstration of the disconnect between bankers and reality in this country”.
Following the backlash, Sir Howard issued a statement later on Friday, “clarifying” his comments.
He said: “Given recent rate movements by lenders there are some early green shoots in mortgage pricing and while funding remains strong, my comment was meant to reflect that in this context access to mortgages is less difficult than it has been.
“I fully realise it did not come across in that way for listeners and as I said on the programme, I do recognise how difficult it is for people buying a home and I did not intend to underplay the serious challenges they face.”
“People have to save much more than they did in the past and that is tough for first-time buyers.”
Business
Vivergo: How US-UK trade deal could bring about collapse of huge renewable energy plant in Hull
The smell of yeast still hangs in the air at the Vivergo plant in Hull but the machines have fallen quiet.
More than 100 lorries usually pass through here each day, carrying 3,000 tonnes of wheat. It is milled, fermented and distilled. The final product is bioethanol, a renewable fuel that is then blended into E10 petrol.
This is a vast operation. It took several years to build, with considerable investment, but it is on the verge of closing down. Management and staff are holding out for a last-minute reprieve from the government but time is running out.
It’s been a turbulent journey. The plant was already being annihilated by US rivals, losing about £3m a month. Vivergo and Ensus, based in Teesside, blamed regulations that enable US companies to earn double subsidies.
They were pushing for regulatory change but then a killer blow: The US-UK trade deal, which allows 1.4 billion litres of American ethanol into the UK tariff-free (down from 19%).
“We’ve effectively given the whole of the UK market to the US producers,” said Ben Hackett, managing director at Vivergo.
“If we were to have the same support that the US industry has, if we could use genetically modified crops, we wouldn’t need that tariff. We would be able to compete. If we had the same energy costs. We wouldn’t need those tariffs.”
The government has the weekend to come up with a plan that could keep the business running. If it fails, Vivergo will begin issuing redundancy notices to its 160 staff.
Ben Hackett
It’s a devastating prospect for workers, many of them live in Hull and are nervous about alternative opportunities in the area.
Mike Walsh, a logistics manager who has been working at the plant for 14 years, said: “It’s not a great place to be at the moment. It’s a very well paid, very high-skilled role and they’ve (Vivergo) given everybody an opportunity in an area that doesn’t pay that well…. The jobs market isn’t as good as what people would like. So it does impact the local economy.”
He called on the government to “help us, save us, give this industry a future”.
His colleague Claire Wood, lead productions engineer, said: “I moved here after a career in oil and gas for 10 years, partly because I want to be part of the transition to renewable fuels. I can see so much potential here and it’s absolutely devastating to know that this place might be closed very, very shortly and that all that potential just goes away.”
Thousands more could be affected. Haulage companies may have to lay off truck drivers and farmers could also suffer a blow.
Vivergo makes bioethanol using wheat. That wheat is bought from farms from Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Claire Wood
The National Farmers Union has sounded the alarm, saying: “Biofuels are extremely important for the crops sector, and their domestic demand of up to two million tonnes can be very important to balance supply and demand and to produce up to one million tonnes of animal feed as a by-product.”
Another bioproduct is carbon dioxide. The gas can be captured and used to put the fizz in drinks or injected into packaging to preserve food.
If Vivergo and Ensus were to go, Britain would lose as much as 80% of its output of carbon dioxide. Supplies are already tight across Europe, meaning this decision could compound shortages across a range of sectors, from meat-packing to healthcare.
The industry is calling on the government to help. Vivergo says it needs temporary financial support but that the government must create a regulatory and commercial environment in which it can thrive.
It says rules that award double subsidies to companies that use waste product in their bioethanol must be changed. At present, these rules are being used by US companies that make ethanol from Uldr – a by-product of processing corn. They argue this is not a genuine waste product.
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Another option is to grow the market. Industry leaders are calling on ministers to increase the mandated renewable fuel content in petrol from 10% to 15% and for an expansion into aviation fuels. That would allow British companies to carve out a space.
The government has been locked in talks with the company since June.
It said: “We will continue to take proactive steps to address the long-standing challenges it faces and remain committed to a way forward that protects supply chains, jobs and livelihoods.”
However, the time for talking is almost over.
Mr Hackett said he had no idea how the government would respond but he was firm with his stance, saying: “In times of global uncertainty, losing that energy certainty and supply from the UK is a problem.
“I think what they’re missing out on is the future growth agenda. We’re the foundation on which the green industrial strategy can be built. We make bioethanol that today decarbonises transport. Tomorrow it will decarbonise marine. It will decarbonise aviation.”
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