West Brom back in the black for half year

It made £4.2 million for the six months to the end of September compared to a £23.7m loss in the same period a year before when the society was hit by a one-off £27.5m charge for reimbursement of interest charges on certain buy-to-let mortgages.

The West Brom advanced £478m of new mortgage lending in the half year – £37m more than a year ago.

It enjoyed an uplift in its net interest margin to 0.98 per cent from 0.93 per cent in September last year and saw 11 per cent growth in prime residential mortgage balances from £2.3 billion at the end of March to £2.6bn.

The building society increased support for first-time buyers, who represented 28 per cent of all new lending during the period from 20 per cent a year before.

Society chief executive Jonathan Westhoff said: "I am pleased to report a period of solid progress for the Society during which we have continued to support the financial wellbeing of our membership. Profits achieved represented an 11 per cent improvement in underlying performance and will be used to deliver further member benefits for savers and borrowers alike.

"We have successfully increased new lending for home ownership and channelled more than a quarter of these funds to help buyers taking their first step onto the property ladder. There is still demand for mortgages, with borrowers understandably favouring longer term fixed rate products given that bank base rate has finally moved and future rises are to be expected.

"While higher interest rates are a new experience for many homeowners and therefore potentially unsettling, we believe borrowers are generally well placed to cope financially. This is supported by a reduction in the number of our residential mortgage holders experiencing significant arrears."

Mr Westhoff said the West Brom offered a wide range of savings products and its choice of competitively-priced fixed rate bonds and fixed rate ISAs had proved particularly popular over recent months.

"We remain committed to serving customers through our regional branch network, however we also recognise the need to invest in our technological capabilities. This is key to achieving future growth and also plays an important part in our defence against the risk of cyber crime.

"Although the West Brom operates a traditional building society model built around the provision of savings, investments and mortgages, we must still ensure we adapt to the changing trends in how people view, manage and transact with their money.

"It is this flexible and forward-thinking approach that puts us in a strong position to deliver against our core objectives for the remainder of the financial year, helping more members purchase their own homes and plan for a secure future.

The West Brom has also received recognition for its approach to people management from Investors in People, receiving the gold accreditation standard.