A CHALLENGER bank is emphatically outshining its predecessor as a £30bn savings business and prevailing customer confidence provides a Brexit buffer, its boss has told The Northern Echo.

Jayne-Anne Gadhia last night said Virgin Money has “a lot of good news to report” amid rising demand for its mortgage, credit card and savings accounts.

Ms Gadhia also revealed the lender’s £30bn deposit book is now higher than it ever was when under the guise of Northern Rock.

Virgin Money, based in Newcastle, paid the Government £747m for the so-called ‘good bank’ element of Northern Rock back in 2011, and chief executive Ms Gadhia said its savings achievement was a clear reflection of its growth on the high street and resonance with customers.

Ms Gadhia was speaking yesterday upon the announcement of the lender’s third quarter trading update for the period to September 30, which showed deposit balances were up to £30bn from the £28.1bn recorded at the end of December.

Mortgage balances had risen to £33bn from £29.7bn, with credit card balances standing higher at £2.8bn, meaning the latter has inched closer to bosses’ £3bn target.

Referring to Virgin’s growth, and the way it has built on its Northern Rock deal, Ms Gadhia told The Northern Echo: “The most important thing is that the growth of the business continues to be really strong.

“The deposit book is now bigger than Northern Rock ever grew it to.

“There is a lot of good news to report.

“We are a famous brand and we have got products that are well-known in the marketplace.

“We also work really hard on customer service and we have good people working for us on that.

“Having them means customers come to you in the first place and then they stay with you.”

Ms Gadhia, who revealed Virgin’s gross mortgage lending of £6.5bn to the end of the third quarter meant it had a market share of 3.5 per cent, said the business was yet to see any real impact from Brexit, citing the improving jobs market and clamour of house buyers keen to climb the ladder.

She added: “The housing market is definitely resilient and with the unemployment rate at an all-time low, it is giving customers some real stability in terms of managing their finances.

At the moment, there is no evidence that the uncertainty of Brexit we are all reading about is having an impact on customers or the growth of the business.”

Ms Gadhia previously told the Echo that Virgin would remain true to its traditional roots in a digital transformation.

The company is expected to launch its digital venture next year and is working with 10x Future Technologies to create a platform for the service, which customers will access through phones and tablets.

Ms Gadhia said the endeavour will allow the company to cater for a changing banking landscape, where convenience is key, while retaining a traditional feel through its branches.

She added: “That will be transformational for the business.

“But we don’t think it will be the end of branches because we find that some people still like to have that face-to-face relationship.”