Full year profits treble at Dudley Building Society as lending grows 14%
THE Dudley Building Society has revealed full-year pre-tax profits of £556,000 – a threefold increase on its 2012/13 performance –with lending rising 14% to £31m.
The improvement in profitability has been attributed to the society reducing the amount of mortgage accounts in arrears and improving its margin.
Jeremy Wood, chief executive, said: “I am very pleased with our year-end position and the improvement in the society’s financial position especially with the security it offers to all of our members.
“Our savers have continued to support the society and we have seen significant inflows of money from new and existing members throughout the year. We have appeared on national ‘Best Buy’ league tables numerous times throughout the year which has seen our customer base expand.
“During this prolonged period of low base rates we have maintained competitive products throughout.”
He said that despite mortgage rates remaining low throughout the year, the society’s lending levels had increased by 14% to £31m.
“I am very confident that our position within the market will continue to strengthen. As one of only 45 building societies in the UK a central part of our strategy is to continue our strong commitment to the communities we serve with a continued positive outlook to build on the foundations of our 156 years in business makes for a very bright future indeed,” he added.
The society, which has a total of 30,360 members and an average age of 50, said the year had seen the opening of 3,261 new savings accounts and over 90% of eligible mortgages were retained at end of term.
The past 12 months has seen the society relocate its headquarters to new offices on the Waterfront development at Brierley Hill. The extra capacity this has provided gives the society scope for expansion over the next few years as the housing market continues its recovery.
The society said it had managed the impact of the industry-wide Mortgage Market Review (MMR) with ease and now provided mortgage advice solely through trusted independent whole of market specialists.
It said MMR had been introduced to provide greater protection for consumers and this fitted well with the society’s commitment to place its customers at the centre of its business.
The society has also launched a new community support fund with two pots of £500 and five of £100. It is now inviting bids from local charities and volunteer organisations.
