FTAdviser.com

Advertising

Rather than clambering over each other to grab hold of the ball and run to victory, it has been more of a case of "After you" in recent months.

When a lender raised its rates and its rivals found themselves thrust to the top of the best buy tables rather than jump for joy the majority - excluding Abbey and HSBC - have instead beaten a hasty retreat.

Some have rushed backward so quickly from the front of the pack you could argue they have gone right back to the changing rooms.

As Team GB soared up the medal table at the Beijing Olympics, results reporting season came to an end and the phrase credit crunch entered the Oxford English Dictionary though it seemed some lenders had become aware of a lack of killer instinct.

The Times heralded Halifax and Abbey had entered a price war with each other to attract new mortgage customers, marking the first instance where the two lenders have aggressively gone to war for new borrowers since the credit crunch.

The move from Abbey and Halifax is a promising sign for the stalled housing market but this is only great news for those homeowners who have enough equity or a big enough deposit to be eligible for these deals.

What I want to see from our nation's lending giants is a winning instinct to come up with some top mortgage deals for individuals, like our new national hero Rebecca Adlington.

For those who have been living in a cave for the last couple of weeks the teenage swimming sensation snatched a dramatic gold in the 400m freestyle and then broke a world record that was as old as she was and won the 800m freestyle too.

Unlike footballers, Ms Adlington was not sat in a palatial pad with a swimming pool. It is only thanks to her parents helping her out with costs such as the hats, goggles and £33 swimming costumes she gets through once a month that she was able to stand at the top of the podium.

The 19-year-old has been surviving on £250 a week, drives to training in a battered Vauxhall Corsa and revealed without a £1000 travel and hotel grant from the council in her hometown of Mansfield she may not have been able to have found the £300 she needed to make the Olympic trials.

Just because you have not got a hefty income should not mean you are unable to climb onto the housing ladder.

It would be great if lenders once again were able to do something for potential first-time buyers who may not have big deposits but have got the determination and grit to make something of themselves.

AIG recently became the first US lender to return to the UK sub-prime mortgage market after agreeing to fund the launch of a non-conforming lender.

Our sister monthly magazine Money Management learnt AIG's general finance division was the backer behind the launch of Link Loans through AIG subsidiary brand Ocean Money, which the US financial group acquired last year.

Halifax, RBS Intermediary Partners, Nationwide and HSBC all told Mortgage Adviser more help will be on the way for first-time buyers.

I long for the day when lenders slug it out for all first-time buyers again rather than just the ones with hefty deposits.