Full-year gross mortgage lending in 2014, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, reached £19.7bn.
The lender reported strong levels of mortgage activity in its third quarter with a 66% year-on-year rise in applications from £6.2bn to £10.2bn. This gave RBS a 15% new business market share of approvals.
The bank said income earned from mortgage sales had fallen from £657m earned in Q3 2014 to £637m in Q3 this year because of increasingly competitive pricing. Borrowers on Standard Variable Rate (SVR) mortgages continued to transfer onto lower-rate products causing the portion on its mortgage book on SVR products to shrink to 15% as at 30 September compared to 23% last year.
RBS is contining to work towards its goal of reducing volatility by focusing on its key franchises; personal and business banking and commercial and private banking.
One phase of this project is to shed more than 300 branches under its William & Glyn brand, a condition of its 2008 government bailout. Williams & Glyn submitted its application for a banking licence this month. RBS wants to complete the separation by next summer and plans to launch an Initial Public Offering (IPO) by the end of 2016.
On 4 August 2015, the Treasury sold 630 million RBS ordinary shares, its first sale since its initial investment in 2008. The sale of the 5.4% stake reduced the Treasury’s economic interest in RBS to 72.9%.
