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The latest repossession figures do not make rosy reading, particularly for those with high repayments compared with income. Possession claims brought to court by lenders stand at 38,786 in the second quarter of this year. It is a 25 per cent rise on the same period the previous year.

It is still a long way off the highs of the market crash of the 1990s, but back then state benefits covering mortgage payments paid out after two months whereas today those waiting to be bailed out have to wait nine months.

Of course not all of these court orders will end up in actual repossession.

In recent years lenders have been more lenient. That said the number of repossessions has increased by around 40 per cent on the same quarter last year.

It is not surprising lenders want to take court action and the threat of possession as a wake-up call for those who have fallen behind.

Yet the significant thing about the data is the gap between court actions and possessions is narrowing. This suggests attitudes of lenders are changing. Borrowers are getting less chance to put their payments back in order and there is a tougher stance being meted out to those who cannot keep up.

It is a clear indicator some borrowers are paying with their homes for the easy lending criteria of recent years.

In terms of the millions and billions we are used to talking about with mortgages 38,786 does not sound like a lot. But it is 430 households a day that are threatened with losing the roof over their heads.

There will be personal reasons why some of these households are suffering. Unemployment, for example, will have pushed many to the brink.

But there will be thousands who find themselves unable to cope because they borrowed too much and then found themselves unable to get a cheap mortgage deal when the time came to remortgage.

We all know the reasons for this but once again it needs saying that hundreds of families face being thrown out of their homes every day because of the bungling of banks in the money markets.

Yes they have been forced to write off billions of pounds down to bad debts but are any of those people that took these massive gambles suffering?

With the exception of Adam Applegarth from Northern Rock, not one senior banker seems to have lost their job over the financial turmoil they have inflicted. Yet consumers are expected to be understanding when fees and charges on their borrowing keep on spiralling.

Mortgage rates have started to come down finally, but margins have increased. None of this will be any consolation to any of the two million people that came to the end of deals this year.

It is not nice to see anyone lose their job but bankers get massive salaries for the responsibilities they take on. When they get it wrong they should be expected to forfeit this.

So let us hope the next time these bankers come back from a long lunch they will at least spare a second of thought for the 30 families that have been booted out of their home in the time it has taken them to consume their roast lamb, neck a bottle of riesling and a glass of port.

By the coat tails

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If that is the case then Barclays should be very honoured indeed.

Having led the way with fixed rates for several months this year First Direct has decided to make a move on the tracker market and it has done this by taking a leaf out of Barclays book. A rate of 0.99 per cent more than base rate for life with no fees. It all sounds very familiar, doesn't it?

It is a mirror image of the product that hauled Barclays to the top of the new lending league. It does leave you wondering where First Direct is headed. Its service has always been stellar and was enough to guarantee not too many customers ditched it when a monthly charge for its current account was brought in.

But in the last year HSBC and First Direct have been making a move on mortgage lending. Compared with the big guns they are still only small fry and with little intermediary focus they are unlikely to become top five.

Sooner or later though advisers are going to have to start paying attention to this sleeping giant.

Taking the plunge

At last estate agents will be forced to sign up to an ombudsman service that is free for consumers.

Starting in October it will be compulsory for them to become part of an ombudsman service, meaning any movers with complaints can get redress.

Compared with the huge regulatory burden placed on mortgage advisers it has been a long time coming. Let us hope the two schemes approved are as good at forcing firms to up their game as the Financial Ombudsman Service has proven to be.