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Around 17 November last year something started happening here at THFC (The Housing Finance Corporation) …..the phone started ringing again! That was CSR (Comprehensive Spending Review) + four weeks, and Housing Associations were coming out of the bunker.
Continue reading Rental market flexibility and how much to pay for it.
Dear Sir (for it is usually a ‘Sir’) – We are a charitable organisation committed to delivering affordable housing to first time buyers and those in housing need. Like your institution we have been in business for some time. Unlike your institution we did not invest in complex and toxic investments called things like “CDO2 and “SIVs” (which we thought were for getting rid of the unwanted bits in a kitchen…clearly yours seemed to do the opposite), or pay our Chief Executive £10m in one year.
Continue reading An open letter from a Housing Association to the Bank Manager
A Shibboleth is a password and the Shibboleth of The Excellence in Treasury Management Conference this year would seem to be “Diversification”. Traditional bank funding is good, bond finance can really work well, but when you really want to cover all eventualities when planning your risk, a diverse spread works best.
Continue reading What’s a Shibboleth? – Report from Excellence in Treasury Management Conference
If you have been ‘stay-cationing’ this summer you may well have listened to the UK small business lobby bemoaning the continued lack of credit being extended to small businesses and the brutal terms attached to what credit is advanced. You may also have heard that the capital markets have been a bright ray of hope in amongst the gloom. Well the ray of hope is getting brighter as we enter the traditional financing season and, despite the likely poor news on rents from next April, there are a number of positives to report which show Housing Associations well placed to lead the house-building market through this part of the economic cycle. So what’s the good news?
Originally commissioned to mark the 20th anniversary of private finance for Social Housing a research paper jointly written by housing experts Professor Christine Whitehead and Dr Peter Williams for the London School of Economics (and supported by HEIF4), provides an incisive and sometimes critical third party summary of over 20 years of funding in the sector.
Continue reading Private Finance for Social Housing: Past, present and future
On Wednesday last week, THFC gave a presentation to a group of Scottish associations concerning the potential for distributing European Investment Bank (EIB) loan finance to them. This funding is cheaper than any other lenders’ rates and is specifically targeted at the financing of urban regeneration schemes.
Continue reading European Funding for Scottish Associations – Update
THFC will be in Edinburgh on Wednesday 20 May to give a presentation on European Funding opportunities for Scottish Associations. This is the outcome from a recent visit to members of the Scottish Government Housing Team and The Scottish Housing Regulator in Glasgow to discuss opportunities for THFC to lend European Investment Bank (EIB) urban regeneration funding to Scottish Associations.
Don’t you believe it!
Financing of our sector may have been set back perhaps 20 years, but the answer as to how the Housing Association movement comes through the recession still involves the use of private finance.
…is my two front teef. A CEO’s view on how finance teams can deliver success.
Not many people know this, but when Elvis Presley sang these lyrics he was referring to action in the capital markets!!
Continue reading A little less conversation, a little more action please
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