The bank completed a record quarter for total mortgage lending, which includes residential, commercial and landlord mortgages, as gross advances grew by 60% year-on-year to £542m in Q1.
Chief executive Phillip Monks described the performance as the bank’s ‘best ever quarter’ for lending.
“We took advantage of the anticipated extra demand for buy-to-let mortgages, ahead of the introduction of the additional Stamp Duty from 1 April 2016, and more than doubled our buy-to-let origination compared with the first quarter of 2015,” said Monks.
Net loans to customers rose by £0.4bn or 6% to £6.5bn, compared to £6.1bn of net lending in Q4 2015.
The bank’s lending growth was supported by a 7% rise in the total deposits taken. Deposits received in Q1 stood at £6.2bn, compared to £5.7bn in the previous quarter.
Monks said market conditions in the first quarter of the year had remained broadly consistent with those experienced last year, as credit conditions remained favourable and interest rates unchanged.
