Annette Barnes (pictured), CEO of Leeds Building Society, spoke to Mortgage Solutions and said she was very proud of a “solid” set of results for the mutual this year.
Barnes said this drop was in line with Leeds Building Society’s growth plans as it focuses on its long-term strategy, noting: “For us, that’s exactly where we exactly expected it to be.”
The mutual said it helped 13,000 people onto or up the housing ladder during the six months to 30 June, a fall from 19,400 a year earlier.
Of those borrowers, 6,450 were first-time buyers, accounting for almost half of all homebuyers supported by the mutual.
Barnes added: “It’s certainly a turbulent market right now. What we’re certainly seeing from a house buying point of view is that if you’re one of those discretionary house buyers, you’re absolutely thinking about holding for now.”
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She said it was different for those who were making a “needs-based” move, stating: “If you need to go from two bedrooms to three bedrooms for a growing family, those folks are still absolutely purchasing.”
She added: “The housing market hasn’t stalled. People are just very thoughtful, bearing in mind the external factors we’re all seeing.”
Leeds BS continues affordability push amid economic uncertainty
During the period, Leeds Building Society launched its New Start mortgage range, designed to help first-time buyers overcome affordability barriers through a combination of high-loan-to-value (LTV) lending and loans of up to five times income.
It also expanded its Income Plus proposition, allowing eligible borrowers earning at least £75,000 to access loans of up to six times income, subject to affordability checks.
Barnes said its affordability criteria remained “rigorous,” all while meaning “those customers that couldn’t otherwise get on the housing ladder can.”
She continued: “We’re keen to make sure that we can help people onto the housing ladder, but we’re really removing the barriers and lending responsibly.”
The mutual said supporting people into homeownership remained central to its strategy, despite ongoing economic uncertainty.
Barnes added: “Supporting people into homes is central to everything we do, and in the first half of 2026, we helped 13,000 people onto and up the housing ladder, almost half of whom were first-time buyers.”
Barnes expects impairment increase to reverse
Impairment charges on loans increased to £7.3m from £2.2m a year earlier, indicating the lender has set aside more money against potential future credit losses.
In spite of the increased impairment charge, Barnes said: “We would expect some of that to reverse later on this [year]. It is as you would expect.”
Mortgage book quality remained stable during the period, with arrears unchanged at 0.57% compared with the end of 2025 and broadly in line with the same period last year. The mutual said this reflected ongoing support for borrowers experiencing financial difficulty.
Regarding what signs Leeds Building Society was looking at for mortgage stress in the months ahead, Barnes said: “The signs now are the same as the signs always were.”
Looking ahead, Barnes said the mutual continued to see opportunities within the mortgage market despite wider economic uncertainty.
She said: “Looking ahead, we see significant opportunity, despite economic uncertainty. Our financial strength and focused strategy mean that we are well-positioned not only to navigate change, but to pursue opportunities that strengthen the society.
“We’re happy to keep innovating and keep supporting our members and our brokers.”
