Clydesdale promises ‘business as usual’

NAB’s UK spin-off has posted a steady third-quarter performance, and sees no need to reduce forecasts.

The group, which branched off from NAB earlier this year, said it was mindful of the “greater uncertainty” around Brext. Photograph: Mike Wilkinson/Bloomberg.

NAB’s UK spin-off Clydesdale Bank has said it has operated with a “business as usual” mantra since the Brexit referendum, with its third-quarter results meeting its expectations.

The group, which branched off from NAB earlier this year, said it was mindful of the “greater uncertainty” around credit demand following the vote to leave the European Union, but said it saw no need to trim its full-year guidance given a steady third quarter performance.

Clydesdale did, however, warn on the threat to margins from a predicted Bank of England rate cut, noting a 25 basis point reduction would reduce fiscal 2017 net interest income by £10 million to £15m ($17.5m-$26.3m) before any “potential management actions”.

In its third-quarter results the bank reported a 4 per cent year-on-year lift in SME loans and facilities and an 8 per cent rise in its mortgage book on an annualised basis.

“It is too early to draw any firm conclusions regarding market conditions and the revised outlook for balance sheet growth from the short trading period since the referendum, but for Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks it has been business as usual and we will continue to support our customers through the current period of uncertainty,” Clydesdale said in a statement.

The bank’s shares closed down 0.67 per cent at $4.42 on the ASX today and remain down 20 per cent since the Brexit vote, despite a sharp recovery off lows around $3.69 a share.