Credit, Collections & Insolvency News
Virgin Money has cut the amount of money put by for bad debts in the pandemic, releasing £19 million of cash set aside for loans that could turn sour in its third quarter.
The lender added that the remaining £678 million of provisions could be cut further alongside full-year results if the rebound in the wider economy continues.
Virgin Money posted a 0.7% rise in mortgage lending to £58.7 billion for the three months to 30th June, while personal lending grew 2.5% to £5.2bn. This helped offset a 2.4% drop in business lending, with Government-backed lending balances falling 3.2% to £1.4 billion as borrowers started to repay emergency loans.
The BANK also saw a rise in current account customers, with nearly 110,000 accounts opened this financial year so far – up from 80,000 during H1. Relationship deposits increased 3.7% to just under £30 billion, though overall deposits decreased slightly by 0.8% to £68 bIllion.
Chief Executive Officer, David Duffy, said “Virgin Money performed well as our strategy continued to translate into improved financial delivery in a strengthening environment”. Although the lender continues to feel the effect of the pandemic in the short term, he added: “We are well placed to grow profitably next year as we play our role to support the UK economic recovery.”
