The Spanish-owned home loans provider has overtaken HBOS, new market share figures show.
Abbey has replaced HBOS as Britain's biggest mortgage lender, new figures have revealed.
The firm, which operates as part of the Spanish-owned Santander business group, issued around one third of new home loans over the second quarter - allowing it to take top spot. Its total market share currently stands at 26 percent.
Abbey has been less badly-hit by the credit crunch than many of its rivals, and has been able to pick up more new business as a result. In marked contrast to the crisis-induced losses announced by most UK financial firms, it also declared a healthy £485 million profit for the first half of the year.
The firm's market share is also set to be boosted further with Santander's £1.25 billion takeover of rival lender Alliance & Leicester (A&L), which was announced earlier this month. If the deal goes through and both firm's branches are merged, Abbey will gain 959 extra outlets and a further eight per cent of the mortgage market.
Alliance & Leicester has been hit hard by the credit crunch, and was vulnerable to a takeover as a result.
Santander chief executive Alfredo Saenz said that he was "very happy" about the deal. "If the offer is successful, we'll be facing an integration period ahead," he added.
