Smaller players increase lending to social housing

The annual Private Finance Monitoring Bulletin, produced by the National Housing Federation and the Housing Corporation, showed smaller banks moving up the league table of the biggest lenders to the sector.

However, the total lent by the top 16 banks fell £750m last year. The capital markets showed a slight rise of £221m, boosting the overall amount lent to the sector by £141m.

Newcastle Building Society almost doubled its lending to social housing in a year. Darren Warneford, Newcastle’s social housing lending manager, said it had made “a big push” to grow its lending over the last two years. Major deals included a £30m loan to transfer landlord Erewash Housing in March 2002.

Lending by the big four – Nationwide, Bank of Scotland, Royal Bank of Scotland and Abbey National – was almost double that of the rest combined.

Abbey National’s competitive lending strategy paid off; it lent more than £500m in 2002. Top player Nationwide lent an extra £247m during the year.

Andrew Heywood, senior policy adviser at the Council of Mortgage Lenders, said: “There remains a lot of small-scale lending undertaken by small lenders to existing housing associations. That said, there is a gradual reduction of players in the market, especially in large-scale voluntary transfer.”

He added: “While there has been some increase in bond finance the competitive level of debt finance means it’s difficult for institutional finance to compete.”

The order of the top capital markets lenders did not change. However, Royal Bank of Scotland and Morgan Stanley, whose capital markets figures were static between 2000 and 2001, saw small increases in the amounts they lent.

Royal Bank of Canada’s capital markets arm came top, lending an additional £266m to the sector. The institution’s fixed income manager Phil Jenkins said the capital markets had been quiet in 2002. The last big transaction was Sunderland in 2001.

He said: “There is scope for the capital markets to take a bigger role. In the last year or two it has been quiet, but I wouldn’t discount the possibility of increases in activity in the next year.”