The Leeds-based building society has lent more mortgages this year completing on 21,981 against 20,058 last year in the first half, with 3,464 borrowed by first-time buyers.
Net lending is also up to £1.1bn from £0.4bn the previous year and the society opened 84,529 savings accounts and increased savings balances to £30.3bn.
In February the lender, which includes intermediary arm Accord Mortgages, confirmed a new annual gross lending record for the mutual of £8.1bn over 2018.
Last year, the increased mortgage activity helped to boost the mutual’s bottom line, with Yorkshire revealing profit before tax of £192.5m. That was a jump of 16 per cent from the £165.8m made in 2017, while core operating profit increased by 13 per cent to £180.8m.
Jeremy Duncombe, director of intermediary lending at the group, said that 2018 had been a strong year for the lender’s relationship with brokers, noting its entry into the new build market as well as the launch of its growth series.
Enhanced digital capabilities
In its interim results, the society said it continued to enhance its digital capabilities, improving the navigation on its website, launching a new web chat platform for direct mortgages and savings customers, and simplifying processes to remove paper.
Mike Regnier, chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, said: “I’m pleased to announce the society has made a strong start to 2019.
“We’ve been doing this for 150 years, but it’s particularly important at a time when many people are facing very real challenges such as housing affordability, a decade of low interest rates in the savings market and passing wealth between generations.”
He added: “We’ll continue to focus on enhancing our digital capabilities. We’re improving the digital services we offer members as well as putting ourselves in a good position to ensure we’re able to maximise the opportunities offered by advances in technology, including Open Banking.”
