Mortgage balances rise for a sixth straight quarter as bank tightens focus on core UK lending
Barclays has reported further growth in its mortgage book alongside higher group profits in its full-year 2025 and fourth-quarter results.
The bank said mortgage balances had risen for six consecutive quarters, supported by strong lending last year. Gross mortgage lending reached £9.3 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025, compared with £8.1 billion in the same period of 2024. Mortgage applications in 2025 were also higher than in any previous year.
Barclays completed 146,000 mortgages during 2025, the highest figure since 2021 and 42% above 2024. During the year, it rolled out a new platform to more than 26,000 mortgage brokers across the UK, reducing typical application processing times from about 45 minutes to around 15 minutes.
Since August, this has helped roughly 23,000 customers complete their mortgages more quickly, the bank said. Broker satisfaction, measured by net promoter score, has increased to +51 from +8 in December 2024.
On portfolio metrics, Barclays – one of the largest mortgage lenders in the UK – reported an average balance-weighted loan-to-value of 55.2% across its mortgage stock, and an average valuation-weighted LTV of 41.5%.
Higher loan-to-value lending accounted for 26% of completions in the fourth quarter of 2025, up from 18% a year earlier. Buy-to-let mortgages made up 10% of total balances.
The 90-day arrears rate stood at 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2025. The bank said this reflected established affordability assessment processes.
“We are committed to becoming the number one lender of choice for brokers.” said Roland McCormack (pictured right), head of intermediaries at Barclays. “Last year saw us make significant enhancements to how we work alongside intermediaries.
“Our broker partners have played a significant role in delivering a sixth consecutive quarter of growth in Barclays’ mortgage lending. We will continue to listen, learn and deliver for this group and are excited for what’s to come.”
At group level, Barclays reported profit before tax of £9.1 billion for 2025, up from £8.1 billion in 2024 and broadly in line with the bank’s compiled analyst consensus of £9 billion.
The lender also raised its medium-term performance target, stating that it now aims for a return on tangible equity of more than 14% by 2028, compared with previous guidance of more than 12% in 2026.
The high street bank said it intends to improve returns by focusing on its core UK market and expanding the use of technology, including artificial intelligence, to manage costs. It expects to return more than £15 billion of capital to shareholders between 2026 and 2028.
For 2025, Barclays announced £1 billion of share buy-backs and a final dividend of 5.6 pence per share. Total capital returned to shareholders for the year was £3.7 billion, close to analyst expectations of £3.8 billion.
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