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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
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| House prices 'will keep falling' | House prices 'will keep falling' |
| (1 day later) | |
| House prices in the UK and the US are likely to fall for another two years, the chairman of one of the world's most powerful banks has warned. | House prices in the UK and the US are likely to fall for another two years, the chairman of one of the world's most powerful banks has warned. |
| Sir Win Bischoff of Citigroup told BBC Business Editor Robert Peston he expects it will take two years for the markets to "stabilise". | Sir Win Bischoff of Citigroup told BBC Business Editor Robert Peston he expects it will take two years for the markets to "stabilise". |
| Sir Win also expected the credit crunch - fraught conditions in financial markets - to continue through 2009. | Sir Win also expected the credit crunch - fraught conditions in financial markets - to continue through 2009. |
| Citigroup lost $2.5bn (£1.25bn) in the three months to the end of June 2008. | Citigroup lost $2.5bn (£1.25bn) in the three months to the end of June 2008. |
| The figures were less than analysts had been expecting. | The figures were less than analysts had been expecting. |
| Nonetheless, the announcement took cumulative losses at the bank - until recently the world's largest - to $17bn (£8.5bn) over the previous nine months. | Nonetheless, the announcement took cumulative losses at the bank - until recently the world's largest - to $17bn (£8.5bn) over the previous nine months. |
| Sir Win told the BBC that there would be redundancies at the bank, which employs 12,000 in the UK - some of them compulsory. | Sir Win told the BBC that there would be redundancies at the bank, which employs 12,000 in the UK - some of them compulsory. |
| Our correspondent said the remarks by Sir Win, who chairs one of the largest consumer banks in the world, carry weight. | |
| Citigroup is shedding assets and cutting costs by shedding staff to cope with the new financial conditions. | Citigroup is shedding assets and cutting costs by shedding staff to cope with the new financial conditions. |
| The interview was broadcast on the BBC News Channel at 2230 BST, in the first of a new series of interviews with business leaders, called Leading Questions. | The interview was broadcast on the BBC News Channel at 2230 BST, in the first of a new series of interviews with business leaders, called Leading Questions. |
| Sir Win's warning comes against a backdrop of gloomy forecasts elsewhere. | Sir Win's warning comes against a backdrop of gloomy forecasts elsewhere. |
| One of Britain's major mortgage lenders, Halifax, has also claimed that house prices are falling at their fastest rate since the 1990s house price crash. | One of Britain's major mortgage lenders, Halifax, has also claimed that house prices are falling at their fastest rate since the 1990s house price crash. |
| During the past year it said properties had lost 6.1% of their value. | During the past year it said properties had lost 6.1% of their value. |
| But the credit crunch has made it difficult for buyers, especially first-timers hoping to get on the property ladder, to get a mortgage. | But the credit crunch has made it difficult for buyers, especially first-timers hoping to get on the property ladder, to get a mortgage. |
| 'Rent first, buy later' | 'Rent first, buy later' |
| This has spurred Halifax and other major lenders including Nationwide and Abbey to announce some cuts in mortgage rates to try and help existing borrowers. | This has spurred Halifax and other major lenders including Nationwide and Abbey to announce some cuts in mortgage rates to try and help existing borrowers. |
| The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which records the numbers of people moving house, says the figures are at their lowest level since they started collecting the data in 1978. | The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, which records the numbers of people moving house, says the figures are at their lowest level since they started collecting the data in 1978. |
| Last week Housing Minister Caroline Flint announced a series of government measures to try and combat the problem. | Last week Housing Minister Caroline Flint announced a series of government measures to try and combat the problem. |
| These include a "rent first, buy later" scheme for some in England whose household earnings are less than £60,000. | These include a "rent first, buy later" scheme for some in England whose household earnings are less than £60,000. |