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Co-Op Bank Set for First Profitable Year After Decade of Losses

Co-Op Bank Set for First Profitable Year After Decade of Losses

Co-operative Bank Holdings Ltd. reported its third profitable quarter in a row after 10 years of losses, driven partly by increased demand for mortgages as house prices soared.

The Manchester, U.K.-based lender saw its pretax profit for the first nine months of 2021 hit 28.5 million pounds ($38 million), according to a statement from the company on Friday.

“2021 as I very much expected, is turning out to be a turning point year,” Chief Executive Officer Nick Slape said in a call with investors. 

The firm generated an additional 1.1 billion pounds of gross mortgage lending in the quarter, taking the total for the year to 4.1 billion pounds. The demands for mortgages in the U.K. surged in the aftermath of the pandemic, as buyers raced to take advantage of a cut in stamp duty, a levy on home purchases.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.