Gross lending rises to £821m at United Trust Bank

While the bank declined to state precisely how much of that is down to property loans, it noted that its mortgage activities were making up a more significant proportion of its loan book, which in turn was pushing its margins down.

However, it argued that while mortgages generate lower interest margins and fees than its traditional lending divisions, it said they provided “good balance” to the loan book.

UTB revealed that both its loan book and deposit books exceeded £1bn for the first time, with the loan book having grown by 20 per cent to reach £1.034bn.

Last year UTB took its first steps into residential first-charge lending, with the launch of a ‘mini-mortgage’.

Pre-tax profit up

Overall the specialist bank posted profit before tax of £31.4m, up by more than 19 per cent from last year’s figure.

It also noted that it plans to introduce new technology upgrades which will “improve the customer and broker experience” and improve the overall efficiency of its lending processes.

Graham Davin, chief executive officer at UTB, said the firm was planning for another year of growth and solid returns despite “the economic and political headwinds”.

He continued: “We operate in large growing markets where the clearing banks are less active. We have experience of developing and building business units and of collecting loans in less benign markets.”