What you might need to think about in 2011
With the sudden chill in the weather, this article* by Mike Wilkins, Chief Executive of Ducane Housing Association, from the Christmas season could be just the winter warmer we need…
No comments
Archive for the ‘General’ Category
This is an archive of previous articles. Click here to view the latest articles.
Introducing: Will Stevenson
Having originally joined THFC as a temp in September 2009 knowing nothing about social housing, after a steep learning curve I became a permanent member of staff at the start of July 2010. In the role of “Treasury Analyst” I am responsible for providing support to the Group Treasurer (Fenella Edge) and Relationship Managers (Steve Primarolo and Nigel Perryman).
Make Your Mind Up – and Vote
What would make people go out and vote on 6 May? This video…? [Click "Continue reading" after the video for more thoughts on this subject]
Useful – and not so useful – Abbreviations
Have you noticed how any given specialist sector has its fair (unfair?) share of acronyms, jargon and in-words, known only to the real insiders? The social housing sector is not much different. Our man with his thesaurus to the ground, Steve Primarolo, has compiled a list of useful – and not so useful – abbreviations from the sector in this light-hearted look at the words we tend to throw around…
Sorry
Contrition seemed to be the new fashion for bankers for anyone watching the performance of Crosby, Stevenson, Goodwin and Mckillop at last week’s Treasury Select Committee pillory session ( the above foursome doesn’t quite roll off the tongue as easy as Crosby Stills Nash & Young….perhaps they could have done a better job of managing the nation’s finances!).
Steve “I’ll be back” Primarolo
I thought I’d seen the whole RSL cycle before I joined THFC back in early Sept. The early years at Paribas in the 90’s when loan agreements stretched to nearly 50 pages. The uncertainty of early LSVTs when lender & borrower felt their way slowly. The gradual reduction in terms as lenders (thought) they’d made their credit committees aware of the underlying risk. The exit from the sector by (the then) BNP Paribas, unable or unwilling to pursue deals with lower income streams. Re-joining the sector with Bank of Scotland, to find that some banks still loved and supported the sector (maybe a little too much). Chasing lenders for covenanted information – before and after due dates. Talking through the non-vanilla options – pros and cons. Seeing the economic world change…
Inspiration for leadership in Moss side Barack Obama, Jim Collins & Will Brown – Our Three Americans
by Pam Schwarz
Barack Obama developed a strong commitment to the South Side of Chicago in his early years. You can see from his autobiography that he learned to stand beside the people in that area. Through his community organizing he both led and followed. He sought to strengthen the skills of individual community leaders and to help people to grapple with issues they themselves identified. So it is with The Mosscare Housing Group. We have grown from community action by our founding community, Moss Side. Poor housing and a damage to the social fabric of community during the clearance process were the issues our founders identified. Mosscare Housing and Mossbank Homes are the organizations which grapple with today’s issues. We are a blend of social business and community organization.
Can RSLs make good residential developers?
by John Allan
The overwhelming belief in the private sector is that RSLs cannot develop private residential schemes successfully. However, in my view, this is a misplaced belief born as a result of a total misconception of the RSL world!
NHF Finance Conference 26-28 March
The National Housing Federation Finance Conference is taking place in Coventry next week 26-28 March, focusing on the theme of Building Foundations for the Future. It’s going to be a meaty event with a number of sessions on risk and also sessions on finance, standards and performance management.
Happy Holidays
We will be taking a break over the Xmas season, back in January 2008.
Have a happy holiday season!
