West Bromwich Building Society has announced that gross residential mortgage advances grew by 18% to £837m in the financial year ended 31st March 2018.
Contributing to that growth was £265m of new lending to first-time buyers (FTBs), the highest in the building society’s history.
As well as the surge in lending, the West Brom also reported pre-tax profits of £8.8m.
Jonathan Westhoff, chief executive at the West Brom (pictured above), said its focus on lending to customers to support their plans for home ownership was pivotal to its success.
“We have responded to customer demand to assist first-time buyers by increasing our maximum loan to value ratio to 95%.
“We also added a government-backed Help to Buy Isa account to our savings portfolio for those who want to buy their own home, but still need time to raise a deposit.
“With the society’s new lending to first-time buyers now at record levels, our commitment to this market sector is clear to see.
“New technology and the drive to digitalisation must be firmly on our radar.“While the West Brom’s focus on helping borrowers and savers is very much in line with our mutual heritage, we have to recognise that we operate in a fast-changing retail environment.
“This is a challenge we are already responding to so that our overall proposition continues to meet the needs of our members, both present and future.”
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