Bradford & Bingley’s mortgage lending volumes are down because it has raised the prices on its mortgages to regulate volumes and widen new business margins, according to the company.
To improve quality of collateral it has increased minimum credit requirements and selectively lowered maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratios.

Meanwhile, over March, one month arrears on its existing mortgages increased from 2.03% to 2.21%; three month arrears increased from 1.07% to 1.18% and repossessions increased slightly from 0.14% to 0.16%. Bradford & Bingley said this reflects increasing payment strain, and based on its assumption that house prices will fall modestly this year, it has made higher credit impairment provisions.