Clydesdale Bank making steady progress

Clydesdale Bank owner CYBG today assured investors that recent trading has been in line with expectations while reporting an upturn in business lending.
A branch of the Clydesdale BankA branch of the Clydesdale Bank
A branch of the Clydesdale Bank

The London-listed group, which also owns Yorkshire Bank, said in a trading update that it had made £1.5 billion of new SME loans and facilities available in the nine months to the end of June, up 4 per cent on the year before.

It reported a mortgage book of £21.7 billion at 30 June, representing annualised growth of 8 per cent versus 30 September.

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The group said its cost management was “firmly on track” to meet full-year guidance of £730m.

David Duffy, chief executive of CYBG, said: “We are making good progress in executing our strategy.

“We continue to support our customers through the current period of uncertainty following the EU referendum result.

“We made £1.5bn available to small and medium sized businesses in the first nine months of the year, growth of 4 per cent on the same period last year.
“As expected growth in mortgages returned to target levels after the surge in buy-to-let in Q2, with the majority of new business in owner occupied.”

He added: “We are pleased that the early customer reaction to [banking app] ‘B’ has been positive, with a high level of engagement on social media and positive reviews. B is already broadening our customer demographic and reach outside of our core regions and is now an integral part of our omni-channel strategy.

“We remain focused on delivering returns for shareholders through sustainable growth, lower costs and capital efficiency while adapting to the new economic environment.”

The group noted the current speculation surrounding the next move for interest rates and said decisions on pricing of variable rate products would be made “in the context of the market and interest rate environment”.

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