A bond is an IOU issued by a company, typically offering a fixed rate of interest and a fixed date for repayment by the issuer. In the event of the issuer going bust, bond holders have a higher priority than, say, shareholders when it comes to getting their money back.
A covered bond is one that is backed by other assets held by the issuer. These may include mortgage loans. The idea is that the interest repayments by mortgagees are used to cover the interest to bondholders. The issuer would typically be a bank or building society.
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RICS: homebuyers are returning after stamp duty shockThe housing market has been subdued since stamp duty thresholds dropped in April, but there are signs of a recovery
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Reducing cash ISA limit will make lending difficult and expensive, warn providersAn open letter from the Building Societies Association has urged the chancellor to keep the cash ISA limit at £20,000. We look at whether a smaller cash ISA allowance will make it harder to get a mortgage or loan
