He added that HBOS’s share of the mortgage market could come down further, though he ruled out ceding its No 1 position to its competitors Mr Crosby said HBOS had seen signs the market was “slowing”. Mr Coogan described it as a “marginal increase” when compared with almost 12,000 in 2002 and a peak of 58,540 in 1993.Meanwhile HBOS, Britain’s biggest mortgage lender, said it had deliberately scaled back the amount of new loans because rising mortgage rates had made it more difficult for people to manage repayments.HBOS’s share of net lending fell from 25 per cent to 17 per cent in the first half of the year. Mortgage banks launched a total of 18,135 county court actions for repossession over the spring, the highest since the first quarter of 2001.The Council of Mortgage Lenders said the number of repossessions could double by the end of the year after more than a decade of uninterrupted falls. Michael Coogan, its director general, said: “With interest rates rising, it looks as if the long run of declining arrears has now flattened out.”He forecast that repossessions, which totalled just 3,240 in the first six months of the year, could approach 9,000 by the end of the year.

That was a premium to Santander’s mainly paper offer, valued yesterday at 550p a share.It also emerged that Standard Life Investments has ditched almost all of its stake in Abbey, having sold off 12.4 million shares in two days Fidelity has also reduced its stake. There was speculation that the US investment house Brandes, which holds nearly 10 per cent of Abbey, believes Santander is not offering enough for the bank.A number of hedge funds have bought shares in the past few days. Its shares slid 21.5p to 485.5p.Niall FitzGerald, the co-chairman, warned that consumer confidence remained weak. BG had planned to sell its stake to its partners, who include Shell, Exxon-Mobil, Total and ENI, until the government stepped in.Operating profits for the three months to the end of June rose from £299m to £348m – in line with analysts’ forecasts – due to higher oil production and prices.

The number of advertisers on the site rose 35.8 per cent to 110,000 and the number of advertisers in its printed directories, accounting for those that drop out through the year, rose 1.5 per cent to 138,000.John Condron, the chief executive, said: “We are growing our net advertising base in the UK. In other areas, such as in Europe, the number of advertisers is going backwards.”The US continues to see much stronger growth, despite weakness of the dollar. The region accounts for about 46 per cent revenues and rose 11 per cent over the quarter to £130m. The number of advertisers increased by 18 per cent and the average turnover per advertiser was up 4.5 per cent to $1,902.Shares in Yell yesterday rose nearly 1 per cent, closing at 332p. The stock is more than 17 per cent above its IPO price of 285p and the company has a market capitalisation of £2.3bn.. BG, the oil and gas exploration group, yesterday shrugged off an investigation by the Kazakhstan government into alleged non-payment of taxes as a “routine” matter. “It is a routine business and really not exceptional in any sense,” he added.Kazakhstan is one of BG’s most important regions, with the giant Karachaganak field expected to account for a fifth of the group’s entire oil and gas production.

The tax authorities there claim BG has underpaid duties by $5.5m (£3m) amid accusations that the company has been “smuggling” gas out of the country.Mr Chapman said the situation was in no way comparable with that of Yukos in Russia, where the country’s biggest oil producer has been brought to the brink of collapse by action to recover unpaid taxes.He also denied that the tax probe was linked to the Kazakhstan government’s decision to exercise its pre-emptive rights to take over BG’s stake in the Kashaghan gas field for $1.23bn. points to a tighter policy in the near-term in order to moderate the overvaluation in house prices,” he said.But he dampened fears of half-point rate increases, saying: “We are not in the business of trying to clobber the consumer.”Analysts said the speech was a clear signal the Bank would raise rates next week – and again later in the year. Richard Iley, at BNP Paribas, said: “A typically elegant effort that subtly repositions Mr Bean on the Bank’s hawkish wing.”Government figures showed the number of families under threat of home repossessions has hit a three-year high. “But we simply do not know how things will unfold – only time will tell.”He said the strength of the housing market was a key reason for a “somewhat sharper withdrawal of the stimulus” – code for raising rates faster than once every three months.”Worries that excessively high house price inflation in the present raises the probability of a sharp correction in the future…