This is down on the prior year’s total of £311m, but similar to the £295m lent in the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
The mutual saw its mortgage book grow by 6% to exceed a record £1.5bn value.
The Cambridge said its partnership with Roma Finance last year allowed it to support people with complex borrowing needs, which it intends to expand with an additional £100m of lending.
Through this agreement, The Cambridge funds Roma Finance’s bridging loans, development finance and specialist buy-to-let (BTL) mortgages.
‘Static’ arrears
The mutual closed the year with 9,399 mortgage accounts, of which four were in arrears of 12 months or more. The accounts in arrears have a collective outstanding balance of £400,000, which was flat on 2022, and arrears amounting to £30,000, down on the previous year’s £40,000.
The Cambridge said arrears had remained “reasonably static” and lower than the market average. It said this demonstrated its “prudent lending policies” and personalised approach to borrowers facing repayment difficulties.
The mutual’s assets, made up primarily of mortgages and liquidity assets, rose by 1.7% to £1.89bn in 2023, driven by growth in the mortgage book. This was offset by a reduction in liquid assets and the value of its interest rate swap portfolio.
Record profit for The Cambridge
The Cambridge posted a record profit before tax of £20.5m, up on the previous year’s £17m.
The mutual said this was due to a number of one-off accounting gains following the rises in interest rates. This boosted its 2023 and 2022 profit, but The Cambridge said it did not expect this to happen again and forecast this year’s profit to return to “lower and more stable” levels.
Its net interest income (NII) rose from £31.9m in 2022 to £35.4m in 2023.
The Cambridge’s interest receivable, the interest earned on unpaid loans, rose from £49.9m to £90.9m, while the interest payable, covering the interest owed to the lender, surged from £18m to £55.5m.
Its net interest margin (NIM) improved from 1.78% in 2022 to 1.89% in 2023.
Peter Burrows (pictured), chief executive of The Cambridge, said: “2023 was by all measures a successful year for The Cambridge Building Society.”
He added: “Our financial performance is the best it has ever been. 2023 saw high inflation and multiple interest rate increases, but we remained dedicated to finding a fair balance for our borrowers and savers, while at the same time investing in our people to further support the development of our business.
“I’m proud of what we have achieved together, and the positive impact it has had on our customers, our communities, and our team members.”
