Gross residential mortgage advances increased by 18% to £837m. At £265m for the year, new lending to first time buyers was the highest in the building society’s history.
Jonathan Westhoff, West Brom chief executive, commented: “Pivotal to the West Brom’s success is our focus on lending to customers to support their plans for home ownership, which has grown for the fifth year in succession.
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.
This has been another satisfying year where we delivered on our stated purpose to support the financial wellbeing of our membership through the provision of mortgages and savings products. 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.
New technology and the drive to digitalisation must be firmly on our radar. 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.”
