UPDATED: UKAR cuts balance sheet again

Library photo of a branch of mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley in Chelmsford, Essex. UK Asset Resolution - the taxpayer owned company formed from the merger of Bradford & Bingley (B&B) and Northern Rock Asset Management, has released its interim results Photo: Ian Nicholson/PA Wire

UKAR, which was created in 2010 to run down the loans in Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley, has issued its interim results for the six months ended September 30, 2016.

UKAR is winding down the loans of the two bailed out lenders, which were nationalised during the financial crisis of 2007 to 2009.

Over the half year, the company outsourced the servicing of its customer loans to Computershare.

It also completed the final stage of the sale of around £13bn of assets. The financial highlights included the completion of Government loan repayments of £1.1bn, bringing the total repayments to £21.4bn since UKAR was formed. Forty-four per cent of the Government loans have now been repaid.

The balance sheet was reduced by a further £6.4bn, bringing the total reduction to £78.9bn since the formation of UKAR. Ian Hares, the chief executive, said: “In the first half, we finalised a major sale of assets and completed the outsourcing of our mortgage servicing operations, providing stability of service to customers.

“We are now working on an asset sales programme that could ultimately lead to the phased repayment of the FSCS loan extended to Bradford & Bingley. This will be a significant step in the successful delivery of our strategic objectives.”