The FSA has banned three mortgage brokers from working in the financial services industry for committing serious mortgage fraud.

First-time buyers accounted for 35% of all house purchase mortgages in April, the lowest level since September 2007, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

The Government's decision to abolish Home Information Packs (HIPs) has helped push more supply onto the market, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), as house prices edged up in May.

Santander has reportedly entered its final offer for Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS') network of 318 UK branches.

Banning referral arrangements between conveyancers and introducers, such as mortgage advisers, is not in consumers' interest, according to a report from the Legal Services Board Consumer Panel.

The FSA has banned sole trader Joseph Masi, trading as Select Mortgage Services, for breaching a settlement agreement with the regulator and providing false and misleading information to it.

LSL Property Services has bought Home of Choice from administrators for £1.5m.

Home of Choice has gone into administration after acquisition talks failed at the last minute.

Santander UK profits grew more than 15% in the first three months of the year to £426m, with revenue up 8%.

HML, the Skipton-owned outsourcing firm, will close its Scarborough office putting at risk 136 jobs, with a further 28 potential losses at other sites.