Virgin Money reports profits rise as it prepares for takeover by Yorkshire Bank

Virgin said it had been boosted by growth across the bank’s core mortgages, savings and credit card businesses.

The challenger bank said underlying pre​-​tax profit rose to ​£​141.6​m in the six months ​to​ June 30, ​up ​from 128.6​m a year earlier.

Virgin Money forecast a banking net interest margin of about 162 basis points for the full year 2018, lower than the 172 basis points reported in 2017.

It is not yet clear whether the Yorkshire Bank brand name will survive following the takeover of Virgin Money.

It is understood that retail customers will switch over to the Virgin Money brand name and then it will be tested on small and medium sized businesses. The plan is that once the deal goes through, there will be a three year period to switch to the Virgin Money banner.