Investec Will Not Get Rid of Kensington

Investec denies that it is seeking to offload troubled U.K.-based Kensington Mortgages, a source at the South African bank told ASR.But rumors of a sale continued to swirl. Kensington was acquired by Investec earlier this year for £283 million and includes the largest non-conforming lender in Ireland, Start Mortgages. Recent headlines said that Goldman Sachs has exhibited interest in acquiring Kensington but the source at Investec said that while the timing of the acquisition of Kensington could have been better, the South African bank is investing in the lender's future and not looking to sell. Some changes underway at the mortgage include tightening its mortgage criteria, said the source, indicating that Kensington will no longer do cheap self-certified mortgages. Kensington has also withdrawn its 'Adverse' range of mortgages temporarily, which cater to borrowers with bad credit and portfolios with higher-than-average LTVs, "until market conditions improve," the source told ASR. .