The lender is currently undertaking a strong drive for growth in the self-cert and buy-to-let markets, which will see its mortgage assets in these specialist sectors grow beyond £10 billion by the end of the decade.
Assets stood at around £2 billion when Nationwide purchased the specialist lender in 1995. Since then, expansion in the self-cert market and a launch into buy-to-let lending has seen business grow considerably.
Speaking of recent developments in specialist lending, UCB Home Loans managing director, Keith Astill, said: “Competition has increased significantly in both the buy-to-let and self-certification sectors over the past four years, with a number of mainstream lenders entering these markets, either directly or via subsidiaries.
“Our own product range has been sharpened over recent months and, with new developments such as the expansion of our sales force and improvements to the buy-to-let product portfolio, our business is on target to reach the £10 billion asset figure which we have set for 2010.”
