archiveTaking Stock

Virgin Money (VMUK) struck a somewhat sombre tone when it released its full-year figures in November. The nominally favourable backdrop provided by rising interest rates had been clouded by persistent inflation and squeezed lending margins. The digital bank did placate shareholders with a £150mn share buyback, but it also prudently set aside another £309mn in expectation of a sizeable increase in loan defaults. Unduly pessimistic, perhaps, but we shall see.The provision added ballast to the view that 14 successive rate hikes by the Bank of England (BoE) were finally dampening...