MortgagesFeb 24 2015

YBS sees net lending up 32% last year

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YBS sees net lending up 32% last year

Last year the Yorkshire Building Society saw gross mortgage lending up 13 per cent to £7.6bn and net lending up 32 per cent to £2.6bn, while core operating profit was £178.8m.

The group’s annual results also showed that total assets grew to a record £37.6bn - from £34.5bn in 2013 - on the back of 34,800 mortgages completed during the year - including a record 8,200 to first-time buyers.

That first-time buyer figure - up from 7,400 in 2013 - equates to 37 per cent of all group house purchase mortgages, including through 5 per cent deposit mortgages. The lender also helped borrowers by providing 34 per cent of all UK offset mortgages.

The group’s chief executive Chris Pilling said he was proud of being able to help people save for the future and buy their own home, promising further investment in technology, digital capabilities and branch and agency network.

However, he also took to opportunity to acknowledge that the building society was fined twice by the regulator for previously letting customers down - in June over structured product promotions and in October for treatment of struggling borrowers.

“We have apologised for our errors, taken action to fix those problems swiftly and decisively and reimbursed those affected, which demonstrates our absolute commitment to fair outcomes for customers.”

Mr Pilling also expressed frustration that despite broad consensus on encouraging challenger institutions in the banking market, there is little evidence of meaningful progress.

peter.walker@ft.com