Abbey trebles share of new mortgage market in UK

UK high street bank Abbey today said it had trebled its share of the new mortgage market in the first three months of 2008, as it dodged the credit crunch losses of its rivals.

The firm, which is owned by Spanish bank Santander, said it took a first-quarter share of 15.9%, compared with just 4.9% a year earlier. New lending more than doubled to £2.9bn (€3.7bn).