Virgin Money saw its underlying profits slashed by nearly 60 per cent in the first half, as it braces itself for a spate of bad loans triggered by the pandemic.
The group admitted that around 12,000 of its credit card customers, or 1.2 per cent, were already seriously in arrears by three months or more before the pandemic, but claimed this was well below industry norms.
In response to the pandemic and interest rate cuts by the Bank of England, Virgin Money has, among other moves, slashed the rate on its Double Take e-ISA from 1.31 per cent to 1.01 per cent and halted sales of its Virgin Atlantic Reward credit card.
In a presentation to investors today, Virgin Money said it was all too aware of the impact mass job losses could have on its bottom line.