Bradford & Bingley operator repays £3.8bn to taxpayers
THE group responsible for the former Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock mortgage operations today said that it had repaid £3.8bn to the government in the first nine months of this year.
UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), which was set up to try to get maximum value for the taxpayer from the assets of the two failed banks, said that the underlying pre-tax profit for the nine months to September 30 was £856m, up 15% from a year ago.
Both Bradford & Bingley and Northern Rock were nationalised in 2008 with the branches sold on but their mortgage books were retained and managed by state-owned UKAR which has integrated the two operations and aims to optimise the balance sheets to facilitate the repayment of the Government loans.
Since it was formed in October 2010, UKAR has repaid £8.3bn of Government funding and reduced its balance sheet from £113.7bn to £79.3bn.
UKAR said that mortgage accounts three or more months in arrears, including possessions, have reduced overall by 26% this year to 18,993.
It completed the £400m sale of the previously announced NRAM standalone unsecured personal loan book earlier this year.
Richard Banks, UKAR chief executive, commented: “UKAR has continued to make good progress in the past three months, with payments to taxpayers in the first nine months of 2013 now totalling £3.8bn. It is also pleasing to see the continued reduction in arrears due to the dedication and professionalism of colleagues proactively working with our customers to help them achieve the right outcomes.”
The company added: “The signs continue that a recovery of the UK economy is emerging, both in the wider economy and in the housing and mortgage markets. House prices have increased in the first nine months of 2013, which combined with continued low rates of interest, is good news for homeowners.”
