Abbey National might be taking as much as a quarter of the mortgage market, analysts believe, as funding difficulties constrain its rivals.

Research published yesterday by Dresdner Kleinwort on Abbey's Spanish parent Santander suggests that it could top a stunning first quarter when it increased its share from 15.9% compared to 4.9% in the same period of 2007.

The analysts wrote: "Given the situation of the UK market, we are starting to think that its Q2 share will surprise even the most bullish."

Defying worries that the sluggish UK market could hold the company back, analysts Arturo De Frias and Jaap Meijer wrote: "Given that all the small, aggressive players exited the market, leaving it in the hands of three to four large banks, we would not be surprised if Santander were writing 25% share, or more."

Abbey has a large retail deposit base but other lenders are having trouble sourcing funding since the credit crunch hit. To help, the Bank of England agreed in April to accept mortgage-backed bonds in return for gilts.

There are signs this could boost the market after Royal Bank of Scotland issued a £16.7bn mortgage-backed bond, called Greenock Funding 2, on Friday which would qualify for the scheme.

Meanwhile, troubled buy-to-let specialist Bradford & Bingley faces small investors voting against its £400m fundraising plans. Bradford & Bingley refused investment vehicle Resolution, which was proposing an alternative scheme, access to its books.

Small investor group the UK Shareholders' Association said: "In our view (Bradford & Bingley) have not provided adequate explanations for why the proposals were unacceptable. We therefore suggest that shareholders should consider ignoring the recommendation of the directors to vote in favour of the rights issue."

Separately, consumer confidence in investment funds showed signs of recovering in May despite volatile markets, figures showed yesterday.

Sales of unit trusts and open-ended investment companies reached £653.3m during May - the second highest level for the past seven months, according to the Investment Management Association.