Santander claims large mortgage market share

Spanish bank Santander increased its net mortgage lending in the UK to £7.6 billion last year and estimates that this represents a net market share of 69.1 per cent.

However, the firm's share of the total residential mortgage market in the fourth quarter of 2009 stood at 13.5 per cent.

Ben Wilkie, editor at What Mortgage, argued that larger and more financially secure banks have been best-placed to offer more competitive deals throughout the recession.

"While no-one is immune from the downturn, the big banks that were relatively stable during this time could afford to offer lower rates," he commented.

Mr Wilkie added that Santander is unlikely to be able to increase its market share in 2010 because other lenders will offer more products and become "more competitive".

He said maintaining its current market share would represent "quite an achievement".

The Council of Mortgage Lenders reported last month that gross mortgage lending in December 2009 reached an estimated £13.7 billion - up 14 per cent from £12.1 billion in November 2009.

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2010-02-08 13:31:05 © Moneyextra.com