‘Very challenging time’ sees profits slump at Building Society

Coventry Building Society has seen its profits cut substantially for the six months to 30 June, falling from £75m last year to just £22m this time around.

Despite this, the Society said it has delivered a “resilient” performance, pointing to the fact that mortgage balances had grown by £800m. It also said it has put aside £39m to mitigate the risk of future credit losses.

Steve Hughes, chief executive, said: “I joined the Society on the 20th April with Covid-19 impacting all parts of the Society and affecting our members, customers, colleagues and the communities in which we operate. It has dominated the first half of the year.

“We responded quickly to keep members and colleagues safe and stayed open for business. Managing the competing needs of savers, borrowers and those in financial difficulty has been challenging. I’m confident we’ve made the right decisions, even if difficult at times, balancing the needs of our savers and borrowers, maintaining the financial stability of the Society and continuing to invest for the future, all with the aim of protecting the long term interests of our members.

“Outside of the Society, the efforts to control the pandemic have been immense and I would like to thank every key worker in the UK for what they have done for us during this time, the spirit and hard work shown by so many has been great to see. I extend this to all of my colleagues at the Society for their fantastic efforts on behalf of our members during these very challenging times.”