Announcing its half year results, the group said its profits from the mortgage side of the business had dropped from £35.2billion in the first half of 2006 to £33.6billion this year, reducing its market share from 21 per cent to 19 per cent.
The drop was blamed on the mistakes made with its retention strategy, but Nigel Stockton, managing director of HBOS Intermediaries, believed the business was back on track.
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“We have acknowledged that the gap between new and remortgage pricing was too narrow. However, this has been addressed and the pipeline is looking strong.”
The results also showed that life in the mortgage market was tough, with margins being squeezed all the time in both prime and specialist sectors.
It was indicated that further emphasis would be placed on specialist product as the margins were better, although Stockton insisted the balance of HBOS’ portfolio would remain similar.
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“It will be business as usual but we want to make sure we cover all the opportunities that are out there. I don’t see the 70/30 split changing too much but where we feel there is an opportunity, we will look to provide brokers with solutions.”
Mike Fitzgerald, sales director at Brentchase Financial Services, said: “HBOS must not take its eye off the ball. For most brokers, I don’t think Halifax is first choice at the moment, which is strange as there was a time when we worried about using them too much.”
