Principality Building Society’s mortgage loan book has grown by £600m in mortgage balances to £9.9bn in the first half of the year.
According to Principality Building Society’s half-year report, this is an increase from mortgage balances of £9.3bn at the end of December.
The report found that the mutual had helped over 3,576 first-time buyers with a mortgage to get onto the property ladder, which is up from 3,304 at the half-year mark last year.
The firm’s underlying profit before tax stands at £20.1m, which is down from £39.1m at the half-year mark.
The report added that its net interest margin (NIM) stood at 1.21%, which is a fall from 1.52% in December.
Principality Building Society reports ‘strong performance’
Julie-Ann Haines, chief executive officer of Principality Building Society, said: “The first six months of 2024 have been another challenging period for our members, colleagues and communities as the cost-of-living crisis continues to bite and impact people’s finances.
“I am pleased to announce a strong performance for the first half of the year whilst we have continued to support our members and communities through these turbulent economic times, building on two years of progress towards our strategy against a testing backdrop of macroeconomic pressures, higher inflation and political uncertainty.”
She said that its “ambition” was to have “impact beyond our scale, and to grow the business sustainably for future generations is making real progress”.
Haines said: “We have delivered strong mortgage and savings growth in the last six months, whilst becoming more efficient through improving our online and branch customer experiences.
“Our member-owned, sustainable business model, responsible approach to lending and conservative interest rate risk management have enabled us to balance the needs of savers and borrowers while also keeping the society safe and secure for the long term.
“That’s why we remain committed to local communities in Wales, not just through having the largest high street branch presence of any bank or building society in Wales, but also through championing access to cash, providing good interest rates, volunteering, community engagement and sponsorships.”
Outlook ‘becoming more optimistic’
Regarding outlook, Haines said that “living in the homes we desire and saving for the future we deserve is more difficult than ever before”.
She said that inflation had begun to ease and it expected a “more stable political environment”, so the outlook is “becoming more optimistic”.
Haines added: “I’m confident that Principality is well-positioned to leverage our strengths and meet our ambition to have an impact beyond our scale.
“Our long-term vision remains steadfast: to help build a society of savers where everyone has a place to call home.
“Our strong financial performance means we can continue to invest to protect the long-term relevance of the society to better meet the needs of our customers, colleagues and communities.”
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
