RBS reports 8% gross mortgage lending growth

November 6, 2010 by Brendan O'Neill

News

RBS’ level of gross mortgage lending rose by 8 percent in Q3 of this year compared to the preceding quarter to reach £5.6 billion.

According to RBS’ interim management statement, the net UK mortgage balance also grew by 6 percent from Q2 to Q3 for this year.

The mortgage lender states that the growth reflects both the greater level of mortgage market competition and the large volume of customers’ accounts that completed a fixed term mortgage deal.

The bank’s gross mortgage lending UK market share also remains high at 14 percent. The lender said it continues with its large range of mortgage products that can offer up to 90 percent loan-to-value (LTV) in its efforts to continue supporting the first time buyer. RBS said it helped over 8,000 first time buyers move into their own homes throughout Q3.

The bank is on target to achieve its own mortgage lending aim of £8 billion between March 2010 and February next year.

However, despite these figures, thanks to the bank’s own debt overall the bank still reports an operating loss, although the Chief Executive Stephen Hester stated:

“Our third quarter results demonstrate that we continue to make good progress in our recovery. We are delivering what we set out to achieve.

“The Core Bank is becoming stronger. As we focus on serving customers better, profitability is also improving and rebalancing towards a more sustainable mix of business contributions.

“While economic challenges, especially interest rate-driven, and regulatory costs will impact the level of improvements targeted and their speed, RBS remains focused on achieving balanced progress across all our key objectives.”