B&B 'will hit £250m target '

BRADFORD & Bingley presented a confident message about the future and confirmed that its first year as a bank has delivered robust growth in key areas.

The group, which converted from a building society last December, has turned itself from a standard mortgage provider to a broker of third-party products.

'We are optimistic about our prospects and we don't think we are going to see an exceptionally unpleasant economic cycle,' said chief executive Christopher Rodrigues.

B&B expects to meet City forecasts of £250m for 2001, up 8% from the previous year. The mortgage broking business is growing fast and completions are expected to increase by 15% from the first half. B&B's estate agency business is also performing well despite market conditions, and the second half is likely to show an improvement on the first six months.

The group is changing its accounting policies on mortgage incentive costs to bring them in line with the industry - a move expected to boost profits by more than £10m next year. B&B continues to discuss ways of managing down its capital and is likely to embark on a series of share buybacks next year.