Profits rise 19 per cent at Leeds Building Society

Pre-tax profit rose by 19 per cent to £50.2m, while 58,000 new members were attracted, taking total membership to a record 691,000.

Operating profit increased by 21 per cent in 2011 to a record £102.4m.

The chief executive, Peter Hill, said: “Leeds Building Society has again delivered an excellent set of financial results and provided even more capacity in the UK mortgage market, especially to first-time-buyers (FTBs).

“I am particularly pleased that my first results as chief executive saw record operating profit, and our membership and savings balances reached their highest ever levels.

“We also saw new mortgage lending increase by 25 per cent, to £1.23bn, which is one and half times our natural market share.

“This significant increase in new residential lending represents £442m above our CML market share. Furthermore, £290m of this, almost 24 per cent, has helped 4,000 first time buyers onto the property ladder.

“We intend to increase lending further in 2012, and this will include more availability of 95 per cent loans, which we see as an important contribution to supporting home ownership, the housing market and the wider economy.

“Our prudent approach to underwriting continued and, even when taking into account our lending to FTBs, the average LTV on our new lending was only 51 per cent in 2011.”

“Savings balances rose by £329m to a record £7.4bn. This represents £156m above our natural building society market share, with 41,000 new saving customers attracted by the security and value we provide.

“Our success in attracting deposits means that all of the society’s residential mortgage balances are funded entirely by members’ savings.”