Yorkshire reports strong performance in a tough market

Yorkshire hails a strong performance in a difficult market

The UK’s second largest building society behind Nationwide reported a record core operating profit of £185m, up from £179m, and said it is investing in the business to deliver significant improvements for customers.

During a year when competition in the mortgage and savings markets intensified, Yorkshire said it helped thousands of people to buy their own homes with gross mortgage lending totalling £6.9bn, and to save for their futures with over 160,000 new savings accounts opened.

The group's pre-tax profit fell from £188m to £173m.

Chris Pilling, Yorkshire Building Society’s chief executive, said: “I am happy to report another strong set of financial results and am pleased with our achievements during what has been a challenging and competitive year in the financial services industry.

“Interest rates have remained at historically low levels for mortgages and savings customers and competition within the market has become even more intense. As a result, during the year we proactively reduced our lending and funding targets to reflect our commitment to long-term financial sustainability whilst continuing to offer extremely attractive mortgage and savings products. This included launching our lowest ever fixed rate mortgage and helping customers save for their futures with the opening of 166,000 new savings accounts."