Metro Financial institution mentioned its gross new residential mortgages fell by greater than a 3rd after the sale of a £2.5bn portfolio of loans, however provides that its “pivot in direction of specialist mortgages continues”.
The challenger financial institution mentioned its retail mortgages fell 34% to £5.1bn from a 12 months in the past after a portfolio sale of prime dwelling loans to NatWest in July.
But it surely added in its annual report: “The pivot in direction of specialist mortgages continues, following current funding to re-platform the mortgage enterprise and improve the product providing.
“Metro Financial institution’s working mannequin is tailor-made to extra complicated underwriting which permits the group to fulfill the wants of extra prospects and scale underserved markets whereas providing improved risk-adjusted returns.”
It provides that mortgages stay the most important part of its lending e-book at 56%.
The lender presents a variety of buy-to-let lending to new landlords and restricted firms.
The enterprise additionally offered £584m slice of unsecured private loans to an undisclosed purchaser yesterday.
The financial institution mentioned the, “transactions create further lending capability to allow Metro Financial institution to proceed its shift in direction of higher-yielding company, business, and SME lending, and specialist mortgages”.
Its total arrears ranges elevated to five.6% on the finish of December from 3.8% a 12 months in the past, pushed by “the sale of retail mortgage belongings and the run-off of the unsecured private loans portfolio”.
The lender swung to a pre-tax lack of £212.2m from £30.5m the 12 months earlier than.
It added that its full-year after-tax revenue was £42.5m up from £29.5m over the identical interval.
Metro Financial institution chief government Daniel Frumkin mentioned: “We’ve made important progress in creating a less complicated, extra agile Financial institution and continued, at tempo, the strategic shift in direction of company, business, and SME lending, and specialist mortgages – a compelling alternative in an underserved space of the market.”
