Gross mortgage lending exceeded £4bn in 2016, up from £3.1bn in the previous year.
The building society followed quickly in Nationwide’s wake this week to confirm plans to pay a 20bps retention procuration fee later this year.
The mutual helped a record 53,700 borrowers last year and achieved record net mortgage lending of £1.9bn up from £1.4bn in 2015 taking total mortgage balances above £13.2bn.
Peter Hill, CEO, said: “This was achieved across a balanced product range. Alongside mainstream and buy-to-let lending, we remain focused on helping borrowers who are not well served by the wider market including, first-time buyers, shared ownership, affordable housing, Help to Buy and interest only.
“During the year, we lent more than £1.42bn in these key segments and helped over 17,500 people, including 12,500 first-time buyers, who might otherwise have found it more difficult to have the home they want.”
In February, Leeds launched cashback interest-only mortgages and a series of educational videos on the interest-only marketplace.
Why are interest-only cases still the hardest to place? Video panel – part one
The society also increased savings balances by £1.3bn in 2016, taking total balances above £11.2bn.
The mutual paid 1.66% to savers, against a market average of 0.97%.
On the outlook, Hill added: “Competition among mortgage lenders remained strong in 2016, resulting in downward pressure on our net interest margin, and we expect this to continue in 2017.
“Combined with Bank Base Rate at an historic low and uncertainty linked to the UK’s exit from the EU, these factors are likely to prove testing this year, both to us and the wider financial services sector.
“Despite this, our successful sustainable business model means we’re well-placed to withstand the challenges that may arise in 2017 and beyond.”
