Banks likely to take another round of writedowns

(Reuters) - UK banks will likely take another round of writedowns on structured credits, that have until now plagued U.S. securities, as negative equity begins to spread in the housing and mortgage markets, Panmure Gordon & Co said.

All UK banks, excluding Standard Chartered (STAN.L), have a significant degree of exposure to the UK mortgage market and related securities, analyst Sandy Chen said in a note to clients.

Bradford & Bingley BB.L, Britain's biggest mortgage lender HBOS HBOS.L, and the country's third biggest bank Barclays (BARC.L) have segments that are particularly exposed to the high loan-to-value segments at highest risk, Chen added.

"If UK house prices fall by 20 percent, we estimate that 30 percent of mortgages will have negative equity," Chen said.

Mortgage approvals and house prices are falling and about two-fifths of UK households may have negative weekly cashflows, Chen added.