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United Trust Bank hits top three in second charge lending

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  • 28/02/2018
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United Trust Bank hits top three in second charge lending
United Trust Bank (UTB) grew its asset book by 32% in 2017 to pass £1bn for the first time.

The lender revealed its gross new lending, which includes its non-mortgage asset finance division, rose 18% to £782m.

UTB said it increased its market share in the second charge mortgage sector becoming a top three lender of secured loans within two years of launching.

The development finance, bridging finance and asset finance businesses continued to perform very well, it said.

While the new structured finance division, which provides unregulated bespoke loans to clients with complex corporate structures or requirements, doubled in size and exceeded targets for new business volumes and income.

 

Supporting builders

The lender was generally positive about the short-term prospects for the market: “The outlook for the UK housing market is uncertain, but there remains a long-term housing shortage in the UK, which is supporting builders of the right kinds of property in the right locations.

“We continue to experience good quality business in these markets, particularly while the Help to Buy scheme is strongly underpinning demand for family homes and apartments.”

It added that total assets grew by 32.2% to £1.014bn with the main drivers for growth being property development, mortgage and structured finance divisions.

UTB also noted that its newer mortgage products generated lower interest margins and fees traditional lending divisions, but had longer duration while requiring significantly lower capital.

“Accordingly, while the bank’s average return will reduce as mortgage lending becomes a larger proportion of the loan book, mortgage lending business provides a very good balance to the book by diversifying risk, underpinning earnings and reducing payment flow volatility,” it added.

 

TFS withdrawal

UTB confirmed that the withdrawal of the Funding for Lending Scheme and Term Funding Scheme would mean all new lending would need to be funded by the market.

It suggested that may impact deposit rates but noted that less than 3% of the bank’s requirements were funded through the schemes.

UTB chairman Richard Murley (pictured) said the last year the bank made good progress.

“The bank’s performance delivered strong growth and an excellent return on equity,” he said.

“We also continued to diversify our product range and to reinforce some key internal functions that form the solid platform we need to support further expansion. The world outside remains uncertain and this is reflected in the UK’s economic performance.

“In particular, the South East property market (especially at the high end) continues to suffer from tax changes and the effects of Brexit negotiations. However, elsewhere, activity remains strong and demand for the Bank’s products has held up well.

“It has also been pleasing to see the strong growth in our mortgages portfolio following the board’s decision to make a major investment in this area,” he concluded.

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