Virgin Money nine-month mortgage lending up 19%

Virgin Money reported a rise in gross mortgage lending for the nine months to the end of September as it expressed confidence that the Brexit vote would not affect its full-year performance.

Mortgage lending was up 19% to £6.5bn, giving the challenger bank a 3.6% share of the overall UK mortgage market. The group said its mortgage book comprised 82% residential and 18% buy-to-let mortgages at the end of September.

Net mortgage lending was up 33% compared to the first nine months of last year to £3.5bn, driven by the strong gross lending performance and increased existing customer retention.

Mortgage balances in the period were up 14% on the year at £28.9bn, while credit card balances rose to £2.2bn at the end of September, up 41% from 2015.

Chief executive officer Jayne-Anne Gadhia said: “We delivered a record start to the year for mortgages and we have maintained that momentum following the outcome of the EU referendum. Our savings franchise is thriving and our credit card business continues to go from strength to strength. We remain on track to meet our target of £3bn of high-quality card balances by the end of 2017.”

Virgin said that since the EU referendum back in June, the near-term momentum of the UK economy has been more positive than initially projected and it has experienced continued strong customer demand, with no evidence of material changes in customer behaviour.

“The board continues to monitor the impact of the referendum and does not believe there will be a material adverse impact on the group's results or financial position in the current financial year.”