UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), the holding company which owns the independently-operating brands, which is itself 100% owned by the UK government, reported Bradford & Bingley’s underlying profit before tax figure of £200.1m, compared with a £166.5m loss in 2009.
NRAM reported an underlying profit before tax of £277.4m, compared with a £313.4m loss in 2009.
Bradford & Bingley reported cost-cutting drove down costs by 8% to £126.4m, from £137.1m in 2009 and reported a 32% fall in the number of accounts more than three months in arrears from 13,096 in December 2010 down from 19,159 in December 2009.
NRAM reduced its costs by 10% down to £303.6m from £335.5m in 2009. The number of accounts more than three months in arrears including possessions at 31 December 2010 increased by 3% to 25,419, up from 24,625 in 2009.
NRAM also repaid £1.1bn of government loans during the year.
Richard Banks, UKAR chief executive, said: “We achieved all our business objectives in 2010. B&B and NRAM moved from loss to profit and we continue to focus on managing customer arrears. We will continue to help customers alleviate short term issues and also work with customers with more fundamental problems to enable them to exit the housing market in an orderly way.
“The combined business is now better placed to move forward in 2011. However, the uncertain economic environment, increases in taxes, inflation and unemployment will, inevitably, impact our customers and our financial results.”
Richard Pym, UKAR chairman said some of the mortgage lending on the assets UKAR holds was at LTVs which were “too high” or at rates which were “too cheap”.
UKAR spokesman Nigel Charlesworth, said: “People borrowed at the top of the market and at higher levels than they could afford and that impacts on the repayment performance.”
He added that over 90% of people continue to repay their mortgage as normal, but an element of these are finding themselves in difficulty.
For the full year report for B&B, click here. www.bbg.co.uk
For NRAM, click here www.nram.co.uk
