The Week Unzipped: Banks respond to ATM complaints with promise to deliver bunch of fivers

BANKS and building societies are to begin putting more £5 notes in cash machines for dispensing after complaints from consumers about always being issued with larger denominations.

A report by ATM operator Link said: "In anticipation of reforms proposed by the Bank of England, all of the UK's largest ATM-operating banks and building societies have put in place plans to begin dispensing some 5s from their ATMs, or, for the few that already dispense some 5s, to increase the proportion of 5s dispensed."

Owing to the regularity of use, a 5 note only lasts in circulation for a year before being too damaged to be fit for purpose, whereas the life span of a 50 note is usually five years or more. Notes used in cash machines need to be in good condition.

In his 2007 Mansion House speech, Bank of England governor Mervyn King said there was an ample supply of 5 notes, but it was often more economical for banks to stock machines with higher denominations.

Stay-at-home generation

NEARLY a third of men and a fifth of women aged 20-34 are living with their parents as a result of the recent financial and housing crisis, according to the Home Builders Federation.

It commissioned a survey to coincide with New Homes Month in September, which found that the average age of an unassisted first-time buyer is nearing 37, with nearly five million people on local authority waiting lists.

HBF estimates the housing shortfall at nearly a million, yet we are building fewer new homes now than at any point since the 1920s.

Property prices on hold

THE property market is slowing, according to the Nationwide Building Society, which reported a 0.9 per cent fall in August, after a 0.5 per cent slide in July, pushing the average price of a home to 166,500 across the UK.

Over three months, prices have not moved, leaving Nationwide to conclude that they have stagnated over the summer.

Elsewhere, a "bankers' exodus" from Edinburgh to London threatens to lead to oversupply at the top end of the property market and put continued pressure on prices in the Scottish capital, Saint Property has warned.

Two in three Edinburgh homes worth 1 million or more are owned by senior bankers according to Matthew Sinclair, director of Saint Property. He says there is a danger that staff who had divided their time between Edinburgh and London are increasingly gravitating to the English capital.

High-end property owners may increasingly have to look to foreign buyers seeking an investment or a holiday home if they want to sell.

He said: "A migration of bankers and leading figures from associated professions such as accounting and insurance to London would certainly have a weakening effect on the property market, causing a ripple effect from the top down."

Fixed-rate launch

LLOYDS TSB has launched a competitive new two-year fixed-rate mortgage, at 2.94 per cent which is available for house purchase and remortgage, including first-time buyers, provided applicants have a deposit of at least 30 per cent. However, there is a hefty fee of 1,895.