Nationwide withdraws mortgages

Get straight to the good stuff every day with the Multiply Minute; a lightning-quick round-up of the money news and how it affects you.

No new mortgages

Nationwide has said it will temporarily limit their mortgage offering to customers with over 25% deposit, after government advice told people not to move house. That includes fixed and tracker rate mortgages for first-time buyers, new home purchases, and remortgage deals. The UK’s second largest mortgage lender will instead focus on supporting its existing customers, and processing ongoing applications to get them over the line.

Flight refund stress

Customers are struggling to claim refunds for cancelled flights, with airlines instead attempting to fob people off with vouchers or rebooked flights. If your flight has been cancelled, you’re entitled to a full refund within seven days. But EasyJet, which has grounded its entire fleet, has faced fury for only offering refunds over the phone and not online.

High risk of pension scams

Pension savers could be more vulnerable to dodgy deals (paywall) as market volatility drives them to look for new homes for their savings. The Pensions Regulator (TPR) might pause all final salary transfer activity for three months to try and protect savers from scams. Former pensions minister Baroness Ros Altmann was among those calling for a pause, saying pension valuations could be dangerously inaccurate at the moment.

11 million furloughed

One in three workers are currently unable to do their jobs, according to new research by Bank of America. With shops, offices, factories, and building sites across the country closed, over 11 million people are no longer working (paywall). Most are thought to have been “furloughed” on the government’s job retention scheme.

No bankers’ bonuses?

Banks have scrapped dividend payments to shareholders, and have been urged by the Bank of England not to pay bonuses to their senior staff either. Banks including Barclays, Santander, and NatWest were due to pay out billions in dividends, but have decided to hang onto the money in case they need to use it for measures to support the economy.