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Hopes Northern Rock could muster cash by sharing any data it has on the ability of cohabiting couples against married couples to make mortgage repayments have been dashed.

After the Newcastle-based lender revealed 70 per cent of its repossessions in the first half of this year came from its 125 per cent loan-to-value Together mortgage range, advisers said the lender had the ability to turn this negative into a positive.

Intermediaries questioned why Northern Rock had not aided the sector and mustered more cash by identifying the different risk presented by cohabitees.

But Ron Stout, assistant director of PR for Northern Rock, said data taken for the lender's own research purposes were typically on whether applications were single, joint or multiple as opposed to the nature of the relationship between individuals.

He said: "In common with other financial organisations we undertake a certain level of customer profiling for research purposes but we do not share that information with third parties."

Phil Castle, an IFA for Kent-based Financial Escape, said: "The Together mortgages were nearly all cohabitees rather than married couples although I do not have a large enough mortgage presence for my impression to be conclusive.

"But bearing in mind Northern Rock could have all of this information it would be very interesting to see statistics on this.

"I suspect the data could be used very well to identify different risk groups for better loan underwriting in future.

"That data in itself could be of monetary value and I would have hoped that Northern Rock realises the value."

Nick Gulliford, principal for Somerset-based relationship education website Affinities, said research had shown repossessions by lenders were typically tilted towards cohabiting couples, divorcees and single parents.

He said the fact the Together range accounted for such a high percentage of reposessions would hopefully influence lenders in the future.

"We need to know whether the repossessions are disproportionately against cohabiting couples as compared with married ones, not just that 70 per cent of repossessions involve loans of more than 100 per cent of the property value.

"The parties who have the information that would enable an answer to be give to this question seem to be very reluctant to provide it. This is a contentious public policy issue but I do not think the banks, the media and the politicians can continue to ignore it."