The Co-operative Bank records 50% fall in repossessions

The Council of Mortgage Lenders has today painted a negative short term picture in the number of repossessions for 2009; The Co-operative Bank can reveal it has cut repossession by half in the past 12 months.

During the last 16 months The Co-operative has experiences a low but static level of arrears and has only been involved in 8 repossessions (0.015% of its mortgage book), compared to 16 repossessions in the preceding 6 month period.

Terry Jordan, Head of Mortgages at The Co-operative Bank, said: "Our repossession figures as a proportion of our mortgage book are extremely low, when compared with the industry average. We are committed to helping people stay in their homes and we always view repossessions as a last resort. Our responsible approach to lending has also resulted in a strong mortgage book as we believe in only lending to people what they are able to afford."

"If any of our customers do face difficulties, we have a dedicated team of personal mortgage advisors able to give advice to customers on how to manage their finances and deal with any problems at the earliest stage."

The Co-operative Bank personal mortgage advisors work on a pre-booked appointment system, with each initial consultation lasting for approximately one hour. This gives the advisors a complete picture of the customers' situation. Each case is different and we provide customers with a personalised solution, arranging a new payment plan, changing the way the customer makes a payment or even changing their type of mortgage.