Abbey takes 28.9% share of new mortgage lending
Abbey has announced that it lent over one in four new mortgages in the UK during 2008, accounting for 28.9% of net new home loans.
During 2007, the bank’s share of the market stood at a mere 8%.
Despite the credit crisis, the Spanish-owned lender has made it clear that it is keen to increase its share of the UK mortgage market and has therefore been expanding its offering while other lenders have been scaling back.
As part of the Santander group, Abbey has been less restricted on funding than some of its High Street rivals and has also claimed less exposure to the credit crisis.
Abbey’s progress looks set to continue because during the second half of 2008 the bank accounted for 30.3% of net new mortgage lending.
However, the figures should be understood alongside a rapid decline in approvals for new home loans.
According to the Bank of England, new mortgage approvals fell by 58% during 2008, when a total of 519,000 such loans were sanctioned.
During December, 31,000 mortgages were approved for house purchases, up from 27,000 a month earlier but analysts were unimpressed by the improvement saying it reflected business delayed from November, when volumes were at an all time low.
In related news, Abbey has this week reported a 20% rise in pre-tax profit for 2008.
Consumers opened 572,000 new accounts with the bank during the year, many will have been searching for a safe place to keep their cash amid chaos in the UK banking sector.
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