Yorkshire cheers strong start despite small drop in profits

Announcing its interim results for the first half of 2018, the Bradford-based firm delivered an increase in core operating profit to £86.3m, up from £84.2m last year, and a profit before tax of £88.6m down from £92.3m in 2017.

The society’s liquidity and capital positions have remained solid, with liquidity comfortably above regulatory requirements at £6.0bn.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, chief executive Mike Regnier said: “The mortgage and savings market is pretty competitive and increasingly so. But we are pleased to help more customers and to increase our core profit There is continued pricing pressures and that is down to competition.”

In the first six months of the year, Yorkshire Building Society offered the lowest discounted variable mortgage rate in the market and advanced more than 4,700 mortgages to first-time buyers. It also supported savers by offering rates on average 0.37 per cent higher than the market.

It also delivered a Net Promoter Score, the commonly-used measure of customer satisfaction, of +41, more than 13 times higher than the industry average.

“Customers trust mutuals,” said Mr Regnier.

“We have our members interests at the heart of what we do.

“Our priority is to continue delivering good long-term value to our members while maintaining a focus on our core purpose of helping people into homeownership and save for the future.

“We believe this is increasingly important, considering the challenges many people are facing as a result of housing affordability and an extended period of low interest rates in the savings market.”

The society completed the retirement of the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society brand from the high street and successfully transferred savings customers to Yorkshire Building Society systems.

The society was also recognised for the quality service it offers people registering a power of attorney.

A survey by Which? highlighted the mutual for dealing with customers who have been given legal authority to make decisions for someone else.