Northern Rock Q1 sees profits grow 13%
02/04/2004 - 11:17:21UK mortgage bank Northern Rock said it is comfortable with the market consensus for 2004 pre-tax profits of around £430m (€645.6m), representing underlying growth of 13%.
In its first-quarter trading update, the group said it is starting the second quarter with a pipeline of agreed lending business of over £4.6bn (€6.9bn), which is 20% higher than at the start of the year.
The bank said remortgaging continues "to be strong" and accounts for around 40% of new residential lending and that first-quarter total net lending was 16% above the same period last year.
Remortgaging and a healthy "movers" market mean the UK's banks and building societies may end up lending more than they were expected to in 2004, the company said.
