British mortgage bank Northern Rock has trimmed its 2007 profit forecast, saying it was suffering from the number of customers on cheap fixed-rate mortgages at a time when interest rates are rising.
The low-cost mortgage specialist said it expected annual underlying profit to rise around 15% this year, compared with analysts' average forecast of 17% growth to £430m.
'As forward interest rates have moved higher, it takes time for new retail fixed rate mortgage prices to adjust upwards,' Northern Rock said in a trading update.
Northern Rock said its gross market share in the first five months of this year was running at around 10%, above the level seen in 2006.
