Briefs: Heartland Bank lifts profits, rates on hold send property upwards, NAB UK customers claim wi

Heartland Bank in NZ lifted quarterly profit by 13 per cent over the September 2014 quarter, to NZ$9.8 million from NZ$8.7 million in the same quarter last year. The inclusion of earnings from the group's Australian Seniors Finance reverse mortgage bolstered the profit. Heartland grew assets by NZ$62 million or three per cent.
The outlook for first home buyers in 2015 is grim, with property prices expected to continue to rise next year, according to research conducted by comparison website finder.com.au. In its Reserve Bank Survey of 37 leading economists and experts - including from all four major banks - there is a strong expectation that the Reserve Bank of Australia Board will keep the cash rate on hold at 2.5 per cent at its last meeting for 2014.
John Glare, founder of the UK's National Australia Bank Customer Support Group, who took Clydesdale Bank to court last year, is claiming the bank has admitted the loan was mis-sold, reports The Herald Scotland. The bank, for its part, denies the claim with a bank spokesman saying Glare's statement was "misleading, inaccurate and should not be relied upon." Glare was pushed into bankruptcy when a â‚¬750,000 loan went sour and since then has been challenging the NAB subsidiary's claim that a fixed rate tailored business loan was properly sold to him.