HBOS, Britain's largest mortgage bank, said Tuesday that its portion of the home-loan market will drop by as much as half in the first six months of the fiscal year.
Still, the lender expects its share of the market to recover to its normal 15% to 20% in the second half of the year, HBOS said in a statement.
Shares of HBOS fell 3.6% to 1,031 pence ($20.31; 15.21 euros) on the London Stock Exchange.
"Despite reassurance on current trading to date, overall the statement raises investor uncertainty with regards to the outlook," said Keith Bowman, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers. "With hindsight, a poor strategy looks to have been followed in the mortgage arena."