In its latest financial results, Ecology Building Society said that these were “stable levels of lending” in spite of “challenging market conditions”, and this was across 310 properties and projects.
The company’s total mortgage asset balances rose to £241m, which is 10.7% up on the prior year.
Ecology Building Society noted that arrears had stayed low despite some members experiencing difficulties due to the cost-of-living crisis.
It added that it held £600,000 of impairments against its mortgage book, which is a rise from £570,000 in 2022.
This was driven by an adjustment of £80,000 for the “increased risk as a consequence of the challenging economic environment and cost-of-living crisis”.
The society also retained more borrowers at the end of their build periods, reducing mortgage redemptions to £26m, a fall from £35m in 2022.
Ecology Building Society said that, in 2023, it had a full-year profit of £1.02m, down from £1.66m in 2022. The fall was attributed to “investment in member value by raising rates for savers while moderating increases for borrowers”.
The company said that the highest costs also impacted profit levels, and it was going ahead with “significant, planned investment in the skills, systems and technology needed to support its ambitions for greater impact over the years to come”.
“This work is progressing on time and on budget, but means costs are likely to remain higher in the short term,” it said.
Ecology Building Society going through ‘biggest period of transformation’ in its history
Gareth Griffiths (pictured), chief executive of Ecology Building Society, said that, after his first full year as chief executive, “we’re moving forward as a team so Ecology can continue to fulfil our mission to build a greener society and influence more positive change within our industry”.
He continued: “Those fundamentals of who we are and why we do what we do remain unchanged, even as we make progress through the biggest period of transformation in Ecology’s history.
“Completing the upgrade of our infrastructure will give us the foundations for a successful and sustainable future for the society as a triple-bottom-line business for generations to come.”
He added: “And as we strive to improve our service to members, I’m proud that last year we were able to pass on more rate increases to our savers than to our borrowers, as bank rate rose following a long time at historical lows.
“As customer expectations evolve, we’re working to offer better digital functionality to our members as part of efforts to improve our service overall.”
He said that it would need to “keep attracting savings inflows to fund our impactful lending and know more savers are joining us because of our principles of sustainability and transparency”.
“I’m confident that our founding principles of how we seek to change society for the better have never been more relevant. Care for the environment and ethical business practices are gaining in importance with the public.
“In plotting a careful course through the challenging mortgage and savings markets, we never lose sight of the needs of our members and, as a building society, we always take a long-term view,” Griffiths noted.
He concluded: “Our members will always shape our business and have fed into work underway to refresh our stated purpose. After four decades as a start-up, we’re deciding how best we can be an upstart for the next four decades.
“The changes we’re undergoing now are building on Ecology’s heritage and strong foundations to ensure we remain relevant and impactful into the future.”
