Coventry Building Society reveals record interims

COVENTRY Building Society has announced record first half profits with net mortgage lending equivalent to 25% of the UK market.

The Coventry, which is the UK’s third largest building society, saw pre-tax profits of £45m for the first six months of the year, which compares with £43.5m this time last year.

The mutual also claimed a record market share with net mortgage lending of £846m – equivalent to 25% of all net mortgage lending in the UK.

Gross mortgage advances exceeded £1.9bn, representing 3% of mortgage lending in the UK and around 19% of all lending undertaken by mutual lenders.

In addition, retail savings balances increased to a record £17.7bn.

The society said it had consistently out-performed the market during the credit crunch.

In the four years since June 2007; total assets have grown by £9.7bn (75%), mortgage balances by £7.8bn (73.2%) and savings balances by £9.2bn (108.5%). All the figures include the contribution made by the Stroud & Swindon Building Society, which the Coventry acquired last year.

David Stewart, chief executive, said: “Coventry Building Society continues to perform extremely strongly.  Underlying profit before tax increased by 10% to £51.1m, during a period in which the society’s net mortgage lending was equivalent to 25% of the market as a whole.  

“Retail balances also increased to a new record level and the society’s strong funding position was supported by a successful debut in the covered bond market, raising £750m from institutional investors.  These excellent results demonstrate Coventry’s consistent strength in what remains an uncertain environment.”

He said the society’s experiences during the last four years had underlined the Coventry’s ability to weather the worst the economy could throw at it.

“We have the right business model to succeed and the current environment continues to present opportunities for the society to grow,” he added.