HBOS has announced that it will be closing its mortgage intermediary arm, The Mortgage Business (TMB), on Friday 22 nd August as it attempts to ‘streamline’ its mortgage operations.

Of the five mortgage brands owned by HBOS, TMB specialised in self-build and buy-to-let mortgages. TMB business will now be transferred to its other intermediary service Birmingham Midshires. Existing customers with TMB will be unaffected.

HBOS recently suffered from both a -72% fall in profits and a decrease in its share of the mortgage market. The lender reported its share of the market for new mortgages fell by -15% in H1 2008 and now stands at just +9%.
Andy Pratt, chief operating officer for Alexander Hall, told PIN: “HBOS is streamlining its business in an attempt to manage down its running costs. It has anticipated that the market will remain in a similar condition for the next 12 months. It appears unlikely that we will see HBOS reducing its products, instead by consolidating its business I would expect the lender to attempt to regain some of its market share. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is the other bank which operates a large multi-brand strategy with four separate mortgage businesses and it is possible that we could see it take the same action.”