By Lars Mucklejohn Virgin Money has reported lending growth across its target areas but a downtick in mortgage balances as it prepares for a mega-merger with Nationwide. In an unaudited trading update, Virgin Money said its customer loans remained “stable” at £72.7bn during the six months to 31 March. It said five per cent growth across its target lending segments of business and unsecured lending was offset by mortgage balances falling two per cent during the six months to £56.6bn. The bank said this decline reflected a “subdued market” and noted that application volumes had improved since th…