Clydesdale and Yorkshire beat deadline for £10bn lending target

CLYDESDALE and Yorkshire banks revealed yesterday that they had delivered their two-year pledge to advance £10 billion of gross new lending to businesses and mortgage customers - three months ahead schedule.

The banks, which form the UK arm of National Australia Bank, unveiled the achievement in a trading update that showed they had continued their "gradual improvement" in trading in the three months to end-June.

David Thorburn, chief executive of Clydesdale and Yorkshire, said: "Despite the challenging economic conditions and subdued market demand for credit, we have achieved this target three months ahead of schedule as we continue to support our customers by offering a distinctive choice for personal, business and private banking in the UK."

However, he warned: "The current uncertain economic environment underscores the need for us to continue to pursue our strategy of conservative and prudent banking".

NAB's update said the British banks had grown both business and mortgage lending, with an unspecified fall in bad debts.

The subsidiary noted that sour loans continued to be a "key focus" given the recent deterioration in economic conditions.

The update came as NAB revealed it had delivered earnings momentum in the quarter from a mixture of "revenue growth, careful management of costs and a gradual decline in the charge for bad and doubtful debts".