HSBC figures reveal mortgage share has jumped to 11%

8 March 2010 | By Natalie Thomas

HSBC laid claim to 11% of all mortgage sales last year, according to the bank’s annual results.

In recent years HSBC has seen its total mortgage market share rise significantly, from 2.4% in 2007 to 7% in 2008.

The bank managed to increase its market share despite its level of net lending dropping to £8.9bn last year from £10.1bn in 2008.

A spokesman for HSBC says: “This made us the second biggest net new lender in the market last year after the Royal Bank of Scotland - larger than Santander, Lloyds Banking Group and Barclays.”

HSBC made available £15bn of new mortgage lending last year compared with £12.8bn in gross lending in 2008.

The bank posted pre-tax profits of £4.7bn for 2009, down on the £6.2bn profit it recorded in 2008.

Underlying pre-tax profit excluding write-downs rose from £3.1bn to £8.9bn while loan impairment charges rose to £17.7bn from £16.6bn in 2008.

Michael Geoghegan, group chief executive at HSBC, says: “In the UK the recession tightened its grip on the economy. While the downturn lasted longer than in many other developed markets, low interest rates and the quantitative easing programme helped to moderate its impact on borrowers.

“The low interest rate environment also negatively affected our deposit spreads but HSBC continued to support its customers during this challenging period.”

In January HSBC moved its head office to Hong Kong. The bank says this reflects the changing shape of its business.

It raised £12.5bn via a rights issue last March and has reported a pre-tax profit for each year since the start of the financial crisis.