Asda and Tesco announced plans to enter the mortgage market last year. The former said it was in talks with three financial-services providers to launch a range of white-label mortgages by the end of 2008.
However a spokeswoman for Asda has admitted there are no longer 'concrete plans' to carry this through, saying any such launch was a 'long way off'.
Following its buyout of Royal Bank of Scotland's 50% stake in Tesco Personal Finance in December, Tesco financial director Andrew Higginson said he was looking to expand its portfolio to include current accounts and mortgages.
However, despite the Financial Services Authority granting it a full banking licence late last year, a Tesco spokeswoman confirmed it has no imminent plans to launch mortgages.
Anthony Thomson, chief executive of marketing advisory service the Financial Services Forum, said that the lack of available capital is hindering brands' entry to the market. 'I would be interested to see where Tesco is going to find its mortgage funding. I will be very surprised if it does launch the offer,' he said.
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