Yorkshire Building Society hails solid performance as interest rates drop

Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) has reported strong growth in its savings and mortgage balances as it releases its annual financial results today.

The building society’s profit before tax in 2024 was £383.7m (2023: £450.3m).

Also in 2024, YBS opened 537,000 savings accounts (2023: 693,000) and provided 41,000 residential mortgages (2023: 44,000).

Savings balances increased by 10.6 per cent (2023: 12 per cent) to £52bn (2023: £47.1bn), while mortgage balances grew by 6.2 per cent (2023: 3.6 per cent) to £49.7bn (2023: £46.8bn).

Susan Allen, chief executive, said: “Yorkshire Building Society’s solid performance has continued in our 160th year.

“We know through our own research that homeownership is moving further out of reach for many people, and that nearly one in five UK adults have less than £100 in savings.

“Against this backdrop, the support we provide is extremely important in helping our members and customers find a place to call home and build their financial wellbeing. 

“While interest rates have begun to fall and inflation is stabilising, some of our members and customers still face barriers to their financial wellbeing.

“We will continue to innovate to provide solutions that are distinctive and address the difficulties people face.”

The mutual adds that it expected a return to more normalised levels of profit, because of a lower interest rate environment.

During 2024, YBS launched its £5,000 Deposit Mortgage – enabling borrowers to buy a property worth up to £500,000 with a deposit of just £5,000. In total, one in three of YBS’s new residential mortgages went to a first-time buyer.

The building society also introduced a £50 Regular Saver account, which it says helped 17,600 people to begin or continue a savings habit.