10/06/2002

Abbey National issue profit warning

Abbey National has warned that its profits will be considerably lower than expected this year because it has begun writing off debts in its wholesale banking division, which deals with loans to companies.

Last year the UK group wrote-off a total of £256 million in its business banking unit, and Abbey National said they would be writing off a similar amount for just the first six months of the current financial year.

Another reason for the warning over lower profits is that Abbey National has seen a fall-off in sales of its with-profits products because people are reluctant to invest in the stock market.

Abbey National has also decided to be more wary about lending money to some homebuyers and said they would be taking a more cautious approach to "certain high risk market segments."

(MB)

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