Intelligence Finance announce operating statistics

Business highlights include:

A total of £8.9 billion balances in hand and forecast to complete with actual balances amounting to £6.4 billion.

New business growth continues apace averaging over £750 million per month.

Share of the UK net mortgage market increases for the year to 9 per cent up from 7 per cent in June.

Savings and current account actual balances amount to £2 billion.

Over 90 per cent of the business is new tothe newly created HBOS group.

Commenting on the results, Jim Spowart, chief executive of Intelligent Finance, said: "I am very pleased to be able to report an outstanding performance from Intelligent Finance in our first full year of business. These results clearly demonstrate that we are winning the hearts and minds of consumers – many customers are leaving the big four and joining us – as they patently warm to our fairer principle of being able to integrate any personal banking products."

Research commissioned by Intelligent Finance suggests that the potential market for its integrated banking offer is significant with around 55 per cent of homeowners with a mortgage, or some 11 million homeowners would consider moving to a bank with such an offer. Intelligent Finance expects that the appetite for integrated accounts will continue to drive its growth over the next year and it remains on target to break even by the end of 2003.