Danske Bank mortgage lending grows by 96%

Kevin Kingston, CEO of Danske Bank UK, said it had introduced a number of new customer incentives during 2016, with the most successful being its enhanced mortgage proposition.

“We began the year with an exciting new £2,000 cashback offer targeted at first-time buyers, switchers and home movers. A sustained focus on this market throughout the year resulted in new mortgage lending increasing across all customer touchpoints, but particularly via the broker channel.”

Danske Bank also reported a net credit in loan impairments of £26m, down from £55m, which it said was indicative of a continuing recovery in property values and in the trading results of the bank’s business customers.

However, Kingston did warn that external economic changes could impact the bank’s profitability after the Bank of England’s first rate change in more than seven years.

“All banks are operating in an environment of historically low interest rates for a prolonged period, and this will affect our profitability moving forward. It remains to be seen how the EU referendum result will impact on confidence levels and economic conditions in 2017.”

The lender also revealed a loan-to-deposit ratio of 72% as it looks to continue its strong capacity for lending with Kevin confirming it would invest in its branch network in 2017.

“Despite the prospect of significant change in the external environment, we remain fully committed to our role as a driver of growth in the local economy. We have the capacity to support substantial new lending to both personal and business customers. In 2017, our strong position in the marketplace will be complemented by the introduction of more innovative banking solutions and a drive to improve overall customer experiences.”