15th Jan 2015 09:20
LONDON (Alliance News) - LONDON (Alliance News) - AIM-listed Arbuthnot Banking Group PLC Thursday said it expects to report pre-tax profits in line with or above market expectations, citing good trading in the final quarter of last year.
In a statement, Arbuthnot said that Secure Trust Bank, the retail bank in which it retains a 51.92% stake after selling down its holding last year, saw "healthy" growth in its lending portfolios, resulting in the total loan book closing in excess of GBP600 million.
Secure Trust Bank, which has a separate listing on AIM, said it expects its full-year results to be at or above the upper end of market expectations, citing careful management of lending balances coupled with lower impairment levels and firm control over operational costs.
The retail lender said that growth in consumer lending, especially in retail finance and motor, remained strong. It also cited the Black Friday sales as a reason for customer demand, with a 1,300% increase in retail finance applications and a 600% increase in new business written compared with 2013.
Secure Trust Bank also said it has made "significant" progress in developing its lending to small and medium-sized businesses, now providing asset finance, invoice finance and real estate finance, where it is seeing "very strong" demand.
"The growth in this area is being carefully managed. This is reflected by continuing sizeable investment in the audit, compliance, finance, relationship management and risk management capabilities of the group during the final quarter of 2014," Secure Trust Bank said.
Meanwhile, Arbuthnot Group's private bank, Arbuthnot Latham, saw its core lending portfolio close in excess of GBP400 million, boosted by its purchase of the residential mortgage portfolio from the administrators of the Dunfermline Building Society.
"This is the first step in further developing the market opportunities that exist for a well-funded and strongly capitalised bank such as Arbuthnot Latham," Arbuthnot Group said.
Arbuthnot Banking Group shares were up 6.6% at 1,434.00 pence on Thursday, while Secure Trust Bank shares were down 1.6% at 2,835.95 pence.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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