UKAR aims to pay off last of its B&B loan by next summer

UK Asset Resolution (UKAR), which manages Bradford & Bingley and NRAM's closed loan books on behalf of the taxpayer, said it has reduced its balance sheet by a further £13.2bn.
By The Newsroom
Published 30th Nov 2017, 10:57 BST
Updated 11th Dec 2017, 22:01 BST
Bradford & Bingley was rescued by the taxpayer at the height of the financial crisisBradford & Bingley was rescued by the taxpayer at the height of the financial crisis
Bradford & Bingley was rescued by the taxpayer at the height of the financial crisis

The firm said this brings the total reduction to £94.7bn since the formation of UKAR in 2010. The taxpayer had to bail out the collapsed banks '‹at the height of the financial crisis and UKAR said that 76 per cent of the Government loans have now been repaid. UKAR said its mission is to maximise value for the taxpayer, whilst serving customers well and treating all stakeholders fairly.UKAR's chief executive Ian Hares said: "We've made great strides in the last two to three years."We are providing customers with a high level of service. It's been a very good six months."Government loan repayments of £13.1bn, including £11.0bn of the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) debt, brings total repayments to £36.8bn since UKAR wasformed. As part of the plan to repay the FSCS loan, UKAR completed the sale of two separate Bradford & Bingley asset portfolios to Prudential and funds managed by Blackstone. It has also launched a further sales process that is expected to repay the loan in full. "We expect to repay it by spring/ early summer next year," said Mr Hares."There is £4.7bn remaining. We don't know who we will sell it to yet. We are inviting offers and the level of interest has been encouraging."In total UKAR has 139,000 customers, with 149,000 mortgage accounts and 32,000 unsecured personal loan accounts. It said the majority of these loans continue to perform well with more than 93 per cent of mortgage customers up to date with their monthly payments. Mortgage accounts three or more months in arrears, including possessions, have reduced by 9 per cent since March 2017.In addition, UKAR continues to provide oversight of the 98,000 accounts sold to Prudential and Blackstone as part of an interim servicing arrangement."Our arrears have come down a long way," said Mr Hares."We are much closer to market norms now. The economy continues to grow, interest rates are extremely low and unemployment remains low."If that deteriorates, you'd expect more people to struggle."Reflecting the reduction in mortgage balances, underlying pre-tax profit fell 41 per cent to £238m in the six months to September 30.

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