Overall, its share of the mortgage market now stands at 19 per cent. Abbey National, its next nearest rival enjoys a 7 per share and Nationwide 3 per cent.
The achievement is in part helped by Bank of Scotland mortgages coming into the fold but Intelligent Finance accounts for 10 per cent of the net new lending figure. It is obviously a force to be reckoned with, though as a relatively new lender it does not have a large back book that might adversely impact on its net lending performance.
Specialist mortgage lender Birmingham Midshires also seems to be performing well within the group. It has recorded mortgage assets of £11.4 billion, up from £10.6 billion at year-end (31 December 2001). It has also reported record new lending of £2 billion gross advances and record net lending of £852 million.
Overall HBOS Group delivered pre-tax profits of £1,578 million (before tax and exceptional items).
Chief executive James Crosby insisted that the housing market was in good health and that house prices would continue to rise next year, albeit at a slower rate.
