The Nottingham Building Society said lending figures and profits were up as it prepared to hand over to a new chief executive.
The mutual, one of the top 10 biggest in Britain, said its net underlying income was £49 million in the last calendar year, up from £44.3 million the year before.
It said pre-tax profit in 2021 was £15.1 million – with an underlying pre-tax profit of £7.4 million – compared to losses of £8.4 million the year before.
Gross mortgage lending was up 13 per cent, it said, to more than £550 million resulting in total assets of £3.6 billion.
Meanwhile the society had “very low” arrears levels of 0.21 per cent, which were a quarter of the industry average of 0.83 per cent.
In all it had branch savings balances of £2.5 billion across 48 high-street locations covering nine counties.
Chief executive David Marlow’s is stepping down as chief executive to be replaced by Sue Hayes.
Mr Marlow said: “Entering 2021, we had a number of key areas on which to focus our energies – the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic; the significant economic uncertainty brought about by a combination of the pandemic and Brexit; our intent to reinvent the society for the emerging new world; continue to act as a responsible society accepting our responsibilities to stakeholders, communities and the environment; and to continue to grow membership, whilst delivering a level of financial performance that would sustain us for the future.
“Whilst the challenges of the pandemic remain, I am delighted to report good progress on the development and delivery of our strategy, as well as a return to strong financial performance providing the platform for continued investment and growth.
“We enter 2022 financially strong and confident that the changes we are making to reinvent the Society are the right ones ensuring that we have a relevant and vibrant future.”
“I am immensely proud of what we as a team have consistently achieved over many years and it has been an honour and privilege to serve our members over that period.
“The Nottingham will always have a special place in my heart, and I will continue to watch our continued progress with real interest and pride.
“My enormous gratitude and respect go to our colleagues and partners for their outstanding efforts in what has been another unique and challenging year.
“You have all been amazing. Finally, I’d like to thank our members for continuing to have faith and trust in us to help you save, plan, and protect your futures.
“I hope that continues for many years to come.”
Mr Marlow said that in the face of intense competition, the society continued to help its members buy homes by widening its mortgage offering.
Overall new mortgage applications rose by 22 per cent on 2020 figures, supporting an increase in net interest income of 13 per cent to £45.9 million, with underlying income rising 11 per cent to £49 million.
Another key priority for the year was to launch the society’s very first app through its Beehive Money digital brand.
