Mutual model boosts profits at Leeds Building Society
LEEDS Building Society has followed rivals Skipton and Yorkshire in announcing improved half year results and increased market share.
The Leeds, the UK’s fifth biggest building society, saw new residential lending increase by 20% to £769m.
Net lending was 79% higher at £311m, while savings balances grew by £189m to a record £7.54bn.
The mutual attracted 32,800 new members, taking its total to 696,000, and pre-tax profits in the first half increased by £200,000 to £27.1m when compared with the same period last year.
Chief Executive Peter Hill said personal service was key as members go through Britain’s “longest double-dip recession for more than 50 years”.
Mr Hill said: “Our ability to attract funding gives us the capacity to offer mortgages to more and more people, including first-time-buyers.
“Leeds Building Society is in an excellent position to grow further in the second half of 2012 and beyond, and continue to do what we do best; provide good value for money products backed up by excellent service.
“As an independent building society, our members are also the owners. This makes for a very different relationship to that which customers have with their banks. As a result of the trust we have built up over many years, through excellent service and good value for money products, we now have more members than at any time in our history.”
He said the Leeds was helping to get more first time buyers on the housing ladder and that that approach would continue.
The building society also raised £375m of longer term wholesale funding over the six months to June 30.
“We no longer have any Treasury or Sovereign debt exposure to Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece or Spain,” Mr Hill added.
“As a result of our resilient profitability, driven by good interest margins and low costs, we were able to increase our capital and reserves by £26m, to a record £598m.
“These capital and reserves are significantly ahead of regulatory requirements and we are one of only three building societies with an ‘A’ long term credit rating from both Moody’s and Fitch.
TheBusinessDesk.com recently reported how both Skipton and Yorkshire building societies have increased profitability.
