HBOS reports mortgage weakness

Halifax Bank of Scotland today said its share of the UK mortgage market was likely to have fallen below 10% in the first half of the year.

The group said its customer retention strategy introduced last year had not brought the anticipated benefits, but added it was confident it would return to its normal market share range of 15% to 20% in the second half.

With the exception of the retail arm, responsible for around 40% of profits last year, HBOS said all its divisions enjoyed double digit profits growth.

It added it was on track to deliver a “robust financial performance” in 2007 and to meet the market’s recently upgraded consensus forecasts for earnings per share.

The London market had been looking for full-year profits of £6bn (€8.9bn) prior to today, compared with £5.54bn (€8.1bn) reported for last year.