New applications totalled £1.2bn, up from £900m the year before.
The society said that while at the start of the pandemic it took a responsible approach by limiting its volume of high loan to value (LTV) lending, still a third of new mortgage lending was to first-time buyers.
The West Brom also recently launched a pair of 95 per cent LTV deals for first-time buyers and homemovers.
The lender claimed to have been the first to design and launch a range of products specifically to help mortgage prisoners.
In September last year, it was quick to adopt modified affordability rules that let it launch a range of products specifically to help mortgage prisoners. This provided “significant benefit” to those who took advantage, with monthly reductions of up to £700, it said.
The society responded to members concerned about financial stability during the crisis, with an online portal that made it simple to apply for a mortgage payment deferral. It has now put in place a dedicated team for those still experiencing difficulty.
A total of 5,570 borrowers asked to defer payments, however the lender was able to maintain arrears rates at levels well below industry averages.
Core residential arrears were 0.43 per cent as of 31 March 2021, compared to the UK Finance average of 0.85 per cent.
Jonathan Westhoff, chief executive at the West Brom (pictured), said: “We’re pleased to see that 99 per cent have already resumed payments, and for those who are still experiencing financial difficulty, we have created a dedicated team who can apply a range of measures to help borrowers get back on track.”
He added that the lender’s common equity tier 1 ratio (CET 1) – a measure of the strength of its capital – “remained strong,” at 16.4 per cent. This had been built up to cope with economic shocks from a level of 6.8 per cent during the financial crisis 2008/09.
