Business Development

Archive for March, 2009

For foreigners wishing to buy a property in Spain, there are a variety of different mortgages on offer in the country. Variable rate mortgages, which come with a changing rate of interest, are the most popular form, but fixed-rate mortgages are also available which come with a fixed level of interest.

As well as being provided by Spanish banks, mortgages are also provided by international banks. Mortgage lenders are quite free to establish the terms of the mortgages that they provide, meaning there is a lot of choice on offer in the market. For this reason, borrowers should always shop around considerably before choosing a lender.

The situation for foreigners wanting to get a mortgage is slightly different to that of the local residents. We would advise you that foreigners are unlikely to get as good a deal as residents and, as a rule, foreign buyers will not usually be able to borrow more than about 60% or 70% of the total property value. This is because foreign buyers represent a greater risk to the lenders. Finding a good mortgage broker, therefore, is almost essential in order to find the best deals.

Consumers currently caught in a credit card debt trap are eagerly awaiting the regulatory changes initially set to take effect in July 2010. All signs are good that these changes will take place much sooner.

With that in mind, it’s interesting to look back at regulations that did and didn’t exist in the early days of the credit card industry.

For instance, until the mid-70’s there were virtually no regulations other than those imposed upon members by the industry itself.

Banks eager to cash in on the interest paid on revolving credit card accounts were aggressive in gathering new customers - so aggressive that they mailed active credit cards to consumers who had not asked for them.

Some of those consumers were income-earning adults, but some were not. In fact, it was not unusual during the late 1960’s for college students living away from home to find a shiny new credit card in their mailboxes - just begging to be used.

This practice was banned when the U.S. Congress began regulating the credit card industry in the 70’s. Interestingly, while card issuers are right now scaling back on issuing credit, reports are that they are still recruiting new card members on college campuses.