Co-operative Bank halves home repossessions

Home repossessions by the Co-operative Bank halved during the last 16 months, the lender revealed this week.

The ethical financial provider said since the start of 2008, it has only carried out 8 home repossessions, compared to 16 home repossessions in the 16 months leading up to 2008.

The announcement comes as the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) revealed that overall repossessions in the UK doubled during the first quarter of 2009 compared to the first quarter of 2008.

Co-operative said it managed to counter the trend of rising repossessions because it takes a responsible approach to lending, and only uses repossession as a last resort.

“Our responsible approach to lending has also resulted in a strong mortgage book as we believe in only lending to people what they are able to afford,” said Terry Jordan, Co-operative’s head of mortgages.

“If any of our customers do face difficulties, we have a dedicated team of personal mortgage advisers able to give advice to customers on how to manage their finances and deal with problems at the earliest stage.”

Debt advice agency Advice UK said more needs to be done by lenders to prevent borrowers from losing their homes.

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