Swansea Building Society has seen its total assets reach almost £530m after posting record growth and profits. The mutual, which has offices in Mumbles, Carmarthen, Cowbridge and Cradock Street in Swansea, saw total assets reach £529.8m in the 2022 financial year - up £66.3m on 2021.
Total assets comprise the society’s mortgages, assets held for liquidity purposes, and a small amount of other assets. The organisation posted pre-tax profits of £5.4m - up from £5.2m in 2021 - giving the organisation greater capital reserves.
Total assets, mortgages and savings balances all increased by a growth rate of 14% compared with the same period a year earlier. Its savings balances reached £492.9 million, an increase of £61.6 million. While mortgage balances were £410.9 million, an increase of £50.3 million.
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Mortgage growth was driven by gross mortgage completions of £112.3 million, the second highest in its history after 2021. In response to interest rate hikes, the building society took the decision not to pass the full increase onto mortgage borrowers.
It said only 1.25% was passed on to variable rate borrowers as at 31st December 2022, compared with an increase in the Bank interest rate of 3.4%. While it increased rates on its fully variable rate savings book several times, which was reflected in the record growth in savings balances.
Swansea Building Society remains one of the few financial institutions in the UK that receives no wholesale funding or support from the Bank of England in the form of cheap funding. Its balance sheet is funded entirely by customer savings balances and its own capital reserves built up from retained profits over many years.
Chief executive Alun Williams said “2022 was another difficult year for the UK economy due to the severe headwinds we have faced. The Society had to balance the needs of borrowers, savers and colleagues. But I am incredibly proud of how we thrived last year, strengthening our financial position for future years, as well as investing in several initiatives to better serve the needs of our customers and communities.”
“Financial ratios are just one measure of the Society’s performance. It is also vitally important that we are also successful in terms of the quality of customer feedback and member satisfaction. I was delighted that, based on customer surveys in 2022, 97% of respondents said they would recommend the Society to other prospective customers.”
He added: “As a member-owned business, the community is close to our hearts and we offer support not only through the products and services we provide, but also by donating our time, skills, and resources. Maggie’s, the cancer charity, will again be our charity of the year in 2023. In addition, as we also celebrate our 100th year, we have launched our £100K centenary fund to provide further support to local good causes in branch communities, as well as through a number of other initiatives such as colleague volunteering days.
“As we look to our 100th year and beyond, the Society is well placed to navigate through difficult trading conditions caused by the current economic uncertainty. We will continue to support members through whichever channel is best for them, whether that is in-branch, telephone or online. We aim to further build on our brand awareness in our core geographical areas and continue to be there for our members and communities when they need us. Together with our robust financial strength, we are in a strong position to deliver on our core purpose of enabling individuals and families to realise their goals of a better, more secure future in strong communities.”
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