The mutual said this was because the “most severe economic uncertainty” around the pandemic had eased.
It also compares to £125.1m of gross lending in 2020 and £92.6m in 2019.
However, the lender said mortgage growth had been lower than it would want, adding that it had chosen to hold levels of liquidity during the pandemic.
“It has therefore not needed to attract new funding this year, instead using this liquidity to fund mortgage growth. This in turn led to the year-on-year increase in net interest margin,” the report explained.
The report said the majority of the mutual’s mortgages were lent to owner-occupiers and the lender had re-engaged with its intermediary partners and re-entered the market.
Around 23 per cent of its mortgage loans went to the Outer South East, followed by 18 per cent in Greater London and 15 per cent in the West Midlands.
Nearly half of its loans, 48.2 per cent, had a loan to value (LTV) ratio up to 50 per cent, and 42.8 per cent were between 51 and 75 per cent LTV.
The mortgage book closed at £410.5m at the end of the second half its financial the year, up from £406.2m as of 31 March 2021.
Dudley Building Society said the number of mortgages in arrears had fallen from 66 at the beginning of the year to 47 by year-end.
It added that mortgage assets had grown from £406.2m to £410.5m.
The mutual’s profit before tax came to £2.9m, up from £2.2m the year prior.
Dudley Building Society’ s chief executive Jeremy Wood (pictured), who is stepping down from the business to be replaced by James Paterson, said the key objective for the mutual was to grow the business and that meant “adding more new mortgages than are repaid and funding the growth through new savings”.
Wood added: “Our focus on supporting existing borrowers has continued. We completely understand the financial strain that the increasing cost of living is having on members. The hard work of our customer facing teams has been invaluable and resulted in a reduction in the number of mortgages in arrears from 66 to 47.
“We have also been dedicated to supporting communities in and around our heartland of the Black Country wherever we can, giving back £13,000 to our community through donations, fundraising and sponsorships. Our dedication towards supporting local communities will continue to be a focus for us, as we have pledged to donate a percentage of our profits to our community initiatives in the forthcoming year.”
He said he was looking forward to the mutual holding its first face-to-face Annual General Meeting since 2019 and expressed sadness that this would be his last day at the society after 10 years.
