Northern Rock said it posted a profit of 466.7 million pounds ($696 million) in the second half, following a loss of 724.2 million in the first half of 2009.
For the full year, Northern Rock reported a pretax loss of 257.5 million pounds ($384 million), down from a loss of 1.355 billion pounds in the previous year.
Loan loss impairments rose to 1.05 billion pounds from 894 million pounds in 2008.
“Loan loss impairment charges are expected to remain high during 2010, relative to historic norms, but below the level recorded in 2009,” the company said.
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The default rate for loans on office, retail, hotel and industrial properties surged to 3.8 percent from 1.6 percent a year earlier, the New York-based real estate research firm said yesterday in a report. The default rate for loans on apartment buildings climbed to 4.4 percent from 1.8 percent.
“The level of distress continues to rise irrespective of improving economic trends,” Sam Chandan, Real Capitals global chief economist, said in a telephone interview.
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During the housing boom, millions of people borrowed against the value of their homes to remodel kitchens, finish basements, pay off credit cards, buy TVs or cars, and finance educations. Banks encouraged the borrowing, touting in ads how easy it is to unlock the cash in their homes to “live richly” and “seize your someday.”
Now, the days of tapping your house for easy money have gone the way of soaring home prices. A quarter of all homeowners are ineligible for home equity loans because they owe more on their mortgage than what the house is worth. Those who have equity - - - - >

But Kurihara has fought back, with impressive results.
The reason is simple - a recognition that Japans famously high suicide rate is not so much a feature of Japanese culture, drawing from samurai or kamikaze traditions, but is uniquely woven into the health of the economy.
So instead of treating the suicidal just for depression, as has long been the practice, the city offers financial and legal counseling, along with “hope loans” - or “nozomi” loans in Japanese - to get the needy out of debt.
The suicide rate in Kurihara fell from 48.6 per 100,000 people in 2005 to 27.5 in 2007, - - - - >

JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. are approaching managers of leveraged loans to offer terms for new collateralized loan obligations following a record rally this year in the debt, according to people familiar with the discussions who declined to be identified because the talks are private. The highest-rated portions of CLOs have climbed to 89 cents on the dollar from a record low of 69 cents in April, according to Morgan Stanley data.
The $440 billion market for CLOs, which pool loans - - - - >

The administration will announce its expanded program on Monday, Treasury spokeswoman Meg Reilly said.
“We are taking additional steps to enhance servicer transparency and accountability,” Reilly said. She said the goal was to increase the rate that troubled home loans were converted into new loans with lower monthly payments.
Industry officials said the new effort would include increased pressure on mortgage companies to accelerate loan modifications by highlighting firms that are lagging in that area.
The Treasury is also expected to announce that it will wait until the loan modifications are permanent before paying cash incentives to mortgage companies that lower loan payments.
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Stevens made the remarks during a speech at the National Association of Realtors annual conference and expo in San Diego.
His comments come days after the agency revealed its financial reserves have fallen to a dangerously low level due to more homeowners defaulting on their loans. The FHA does not make loans, but rather offers insurance against default.
Thats led to mounting concerns that it will eventually need an infusion of cash like government-controlled mortgage finance companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
But Stevens sought to dampen those concerns, noting that despite the most severe housing recession in decades, the agency has $31 - - - - >

CW Capital will work on a possible loan modification, Fitch said in an e-mail yesterday. Servicers are used when a loan is in or near default and needs to be reviewed. The loan was transferred after sponsors Tishman Speyer and Blackrock requested “relief,” Fitch said, without providing details.
“Fitch expected the transfer of the loan to special servicing as cash flow generated by the property remains insufficient to service the debt,” the ratings company said in the statement. “Debt service reserves are expected to be depleted by - - - - >

The $115 million loan backed by the property, a landmark Beaux Arts tower at Park Avenue South and 17th Street, has a moderate risk of default “given the assets weak financial performance and declining hotel fundamentals nationally,” credit rating firm Realpoint LLC said in a report on Oct. 28.
A drop in business and leisure travel caused by the recession has hurt luxury hotels, especially in New York. The average daily rate among chains with the costliest rooms dropped 17 percent to $240.93 in the nine months - - - - >

A total of 937,840 homes received a default or auction notice or were repossessed by banks, a 23 percent increase from a year earlier, the Irvine, California-based seller of default data said today in a report. One out of every 136 U.S. households received a filing, the highest quarterly rate in records dating to January 2005.
“The problem is prime loans going into foreclosure and people being underwater and losing their jobs,” Richard Green, director of the Lusk Center for Real Estate at the University of Southern - - - - >