House purchase lending fell 26% in January to £4.2bn, as an "unusual combination of factors" drove buyers from the market, according to the CML.

The number of fraudulent mortgage cases rose 18% in 2010 to 3,542 compared to 3,004 in 2009, driven by a leap in application fraud.

House prices in the three months to February fell 2.8% compared to the same period last year, which is the largest annual decline since October 2009, Halifax reports.

FSA chief executive Hector Sants has revealed that the regulator will publish its proposed framework for the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) in autumn 2011, with no rule changes due before 2012.

Short-term lender Omni Capital has appointed BBC Apprentice contestant Liz Locke as business development director.

Nationwide said the housing market was "treading water", as figures show house prices increased by only 0.3% in February following a 0.1% drop the previous month.

Which? Money has reported two sale and rent back (SRB) firms to the FSA after uncovering "woefully inadequate" advice.

Lloyds Banking Group has set aside £500m to voluntarily redress an estimated 300,000 Halifax customers potentially confused by its SVR cap.

A Bradford financial adviser has pleaded guilty to taking part in a "calculated and sophisticated" £1.8m mortgage fraud.

Gross mortgage lending fell 13% to an estimated £9.2bn in January from £10.6bn in December, as the market shows little signs of rebounding, according to the CML.