Profits double as building society remains ‘in a position of strength’
Yorkshire Building Society’s pre-tax profits more than doubled in the first half of the year
It generated pre-tax-profits of £147.7m, up from £67.3m in 2020 and £76.5m in 2019.
Improvements were driven by net interest income performance, which was boosted by its mortgage trading, as well as the impacts that more positive economic outlooks have on loan loss provisioning.
The Society’s chief executive Mike Regnier said “On balance, the first half of 2021 brought a more positive outlook, contextualised by the successful progress in vaccinating the UK population and the gradual easing of social distancing measures.
“The majority of independent forecasters are now expecting stronger activity over the next two years; however, the range of possible outcomes is wide and risks to the downside remain significant.
“We continue to monitor the emergent challenges and threats, both economically and operationally, and the Yorkshire Building Society remains in a position of strength to continue to serve our customers, communities and stakeholders.”
YBS is a mutual and doesn’t pay dividends to external shareholders. Regnier added “in this challenging environment we have delivered strongly against our purpose – to provide real help with real life”.
It helped almost 10,000 first-time buyers secure a home in the first six months and it increased the interest rates it pays “many” of its savers twice.
