Good times on mortgages over for the big four, says Alliance & Leicester - 2004-02-21
Alliance & Leicester yesterday claimed that the dominance of the big four high street banks is under attack as customers wake up from "inertia" and start looking for the best priced deals for their loans and mortgages.

The former building society has only 300 branches compared with the thousands owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC and HBOS.
Read the full story at Guardian Unlimited

The mortgage worries of one in four first-time buyers - 2004-02-21
Almost a quarter of first-time home buyers are concerned they won’t be able to keep up with their mortgage repayments, according to a new study published today.

Huge year-on-year increases in prices have left many people overstretched with 22 per cent of those who bought their first property in the last 12 months admitting their biggest fear is not being able to pay their mortgage.
Read the full story at Edinburgh Evening News