Investors took fright at a sharp rise in bad debts and dumped shares in the second-tier bank and mortgage lender, sending the price down by almost 6% to 144p. Profits were down by 25% at £236mln but bad debt provisions jumped nearly sixfold to £144mln and VMUK anticipates arrears to increase based on economic conditions and credit bureau data. Shore Cap said the results were mixed with profits coming out better than expected and an upgrade to the net interest margin the plusses, but the downbeat guidance especially the dropping of the returns target underlined the uncertainty.