The Scottish Building Society has posted the best financial results in its 174-year history, with pre-tax profit of £2.4m.
Chief executive Paul Denton previously told Insider that the mutual was set for a turnaround, with the last financial year beating the £2.2m profit made in 2014.
He said this was due in large part to an efficiency drive, with higher trading volumes, while keeping costs low.
The world’s oldest building society, founded in 1848, saw its balance sheet grow by nearly 40%, with mortgage assets reaching £454m.
The mutual has £463m in savings, while its capital balance increased by nearly £2m from the previous year to £37.4m.
Total cash and investments at 31 January 2022 amounted to £132.8m, up from £113.8m the previous year, and represented 24% of total shares and borrowings.
Total assets under management stood at £592m, with £113m as liquid assets.
A recent simplification of its product range means the society only offers savings and mortgage accounts. It led to having a 93% customer satisfaction rating.
Denton said: “We are as committed to our wider purpose today, as we were back in 1848 - we reward our members with fair interest rates, while responsibly using those funds to provide flexible mortgages.
“The environment has changed over the years, but that simple strategy has helped the Society survive and thrive towards its 175th anniversary next year.”
He continued: “Despite the historic low base rate, we have continued to pay savings rates above the market average, while our income has benefitted by growing our mortgage balances more than 36% in the last two years.”
Denton added: “It has been without doubt two enormously difficult years from an economic and operational perspective, but our staff have delivered outstanding results despite these major challenges.
“When many of our competitors sought to save money by cutting services, we were looking for ways to help our members, by offering compelling interest rates for savers and have now helped a record number of people own their own home.”
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