Particularly since the financial crisis, there has been a significant difference between the two lists. This is because some lenders which were previously active have stopped doing any new lending or are undertaking a lower volume of lending, while other lenders which were relatively active in 2010 (albeit in a very subdued market) do not necessarily have such a significant back book of existing business.
It will surprise no-one that the same six lenders as in 2009 dominated gross lending in 2010, together accounting for an estimated 81.5% of the total volume of lending undertaken last year. This was slightly down from the 83% market share that these lenders collectively represented in 2009.
In terms of value, the largest six lenders collectively accounted for just under £111 billion of lending, down from £119 billion in 2009.
Perhaps the most notable feature of this year’s gross lending table is the increase both in lending volume and in market share of the mid-sized lenders. Those lenders ranked from 7-15 in the table together undertook around £19.6 billion of lending last year, nearly double their combined lending of £10 billion in 2009.
Together, the mid-sized lenders’ market share rose from a fraction over 7% in 2009 to 14% in 2010. While this is in the context of a market that was extremely subdued, it is nevertheless a notable change. It certainly points to the capacity and appetite of the mid-sized lenders to continue to bring diversity to a market that has become highly concentrated among a small number of large providers in the wake of the financial crisis.
Among the smaller top 30 lenders (each with market share below 0.5% of the total), a number of new entrants appear on the list. 2010 saw the following lenders in the top 30 for the first time: Saffron Building Society, Cambridge Building Society, UBS, Aldermore Mortgages and Market Harborough Building Society.
Together, the lenders ranked from 16-30 undertook 2.5% of the share of total gross lending in 2010, leaving around 2% of the market spread among the remaining active lenders outside the largest 30.
Largest mortgage lenders by gross lending (estimated market share)
1. Lloyds Banking Group (22.1%)
2. Santander (17.8%)
3. Barclays (12.4%)
4. Royal Bank of Scotland (11.9%)
5. Nationwide (9%)
6. HSBC (8.3%)
7. Northern Rock (3.1%)
8. Coventry BS (2.6%)
9. Co-operative Financial Services (2.4%)
10. Yorkshire BS (2.1%)
11.Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banks (1.2%)
12. Bank of Ireland (0.9%)
13. ING Direct (0.8%)
14. Leeds BS (0.7%)
15. Principality BS (0.6%)
16. Northern Rock (Asset Management) (0.3%)
16. Aviva Equity Release (0.3%)
16. Nottingham BS (0.3%)
16. Skipton BS (0.3%)
20. Ahli United Bank (UK) plc (0.1%)
21. Saffron BS (0.1%)
21. Cambridge BS (0.1%)
21. Tiuta (0.1%)
21. Progressive BS (0.1%)
21. Monmouthshire BS (0.1%)
21. UBS (0.1%)
21. Furness BS (0.1%)
21. Aldermore Mortgages (0.1%)
21. LV Equity Release (0.1%)
21. Norwich & Peterborough BS (0.1%)
21. Allied Irish Bank (0.1%)
21. Market Harborough BS (0.1%)
21. National Counties BS (0.0%)
Source: Thedata Ltd
Notes:
1. Most figures are shown on a calendar year basis. Where we are not able to obtain calendar year figures we have used published results for the organisation's financial year which ended in the same year.
2. All figures relate to calendar year except:
Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banks & Paragon: Sep 10
3. Where possible, gross lending figures are shown net of portfolios purchased.
4. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100 million and ranked on the same basis.
5. Wherever possible, figures are shown on a financial services group basis.
Figures for previous years have been adjusted to account for any mergers and acquisitions occurring in the latest year.
6. Figures for lenders outside CML membership are taken from published accounts,
and may not be on a basis that is fully comparable with those from CML members.
7. Figures for Kensington are not available.
8. Yorkshire BS 2010 figures include figures for Chelsea BS, which it acquired in that financial year. However Chelsea figures are not available for 2009.
9. In previous years' publications, Nationwide BS figures were reported on a different basis than others shown in the table. Figures shown here are now fully consistent, both for 2009 and 2010. However, values and rankings for Nationwide BS will differ from those shown in last year's table.
Lenders with the largest value of outstanding mortgages
Particularly since the financial crisis, there has been a significant difference between the size of lenders by gross lending, compared against the size of lenders measured by their outstanding lending.
Some lenders which previously undertook large amounts of lending have become inactive or less active for new business, while other lenders which have recently taken a larger share of business are not those with historically large mortgage books.
The same “big six”, however, appear at the top of the balances outstanding table as the gross lending table. Together, these lenders account for around £899 billion of outstanding mortgages – nearly 73% of the total mortgage stock as at the end of 2010.
Although this was an increase on their £884 billion combined balances at the end of 2009, and their 71.5% share at that time, their combined back book still represents a lower share of market than their 81.5% share of gross lending for 2010, reflecting the ongoing concentration effects on the supply of new lending that were one of the effects of the financial crisis.
Largest mortgage lenders by balances outstanding
1. Lloyds Banking Group
2. Santander
3. Nationwide
4. Barclays
5. Royal Bank of Scotland
6. HSBC
7. Northern Rock (Asset Management)
8. Bradford & Bingley
9. Bank of Ireland
10. Co-operative Financial Services
11. Yorkshire BS
12. Coventry BS
13.Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banks
14. Northern Rock
15. GE Money Home Lending
16. Paragon Mortgages
17. Skipton BS
18. Leeds BS
19. CHL Mortgages
20. West Bromwich
21. Principality BS
21. Kensington Mortgages
23. Aviva Equity Release
24. Allied Irish Bank
25. Newcastle BS
26. Norwich & Peterborough BS
27. ING Direct
28. Nottingham BS
29. Redstone Mortgages
29. Northern Bank Ltd
Source: Thedata Ltd
Notes:
1. Most figures are shown on a calendar year basis. Where we are not able to obtain calendar year figures we have used published results for the organisation's financial year which ended in the same year.
2. All figures relate to calendar year except:
Clydesdale & Yorkshire Banks & Paragon: Sep 10
Kensington: Mar 10
3. Where possible, gross lending figures are shown net of portfolios purchased.
4. Figures are rounded to the nearest £100 million and ranked on the same basis.
5. Wherever possible, figures are shown on a financial services group basis. Figures for previous years have been adjusted to account for any mergers and acquisitions occurring in the latest year.
6. Figures for lenders outside CML membership are taken from published accounts, and may not be on a basis that is fully comparable with those from CML members.
7. Figures for Paratus (formerly GMAC-RFC) and Acenden (administrators for Lehman group lenders' portfolio) are not available. These organisations both featured in the largest lenders by balances outstanding for the most recent years of data available: Paratus £4.1bn (2009); Acenden £7.8 bn (2008).
8. Yorkshire BS 2010 figures include figures for Chelsea BS, which it acquired in that financial year. However Chelsea figures are not available for 2009.
9. Figures for Redstone Mortgages are not available for 2009.
10. Figures for Northern Rock Asset Management in 2009 include a portfolio of approximately £10 bn transferred to Northern Rock plc on January 1 2010. This portfolio is also included in the 2009 Northern Rock plc figure for 2009.
11. In previous years' publications, Nationwide BS figures were reported on a different basis than others shown in the table. Figures shown here are now fully consistent, both for 2009 and 2010. However, values and rankings for Nationwide BS will differ from those shown in last year's table.
