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West Brom’s new residential mortgage lending breaches £1bn

Anna Sagar
Written By:
Posted:
May 31, 2024
Updated:
May 31, 2024

West Brom’s new residential mortgage lending has surpassed £1bn, fuelled by first-time buyers and shared ownership.

According to West Brom’s latest results, which cover the year ending on 31 March 2024, this is 54% up year-on-year (YOY), with around 7,161 customers aided in the homeownership ambition. The firm added that the latter is a 46% increase on the prior period.

In 2022-2023 the company delivered £691m in new mortgage lending, a fall from £756m in 2021-22.

The company added that 4,684 of its purchase mortgages were for first-time buyers, a jump from 3,413 in the previous year.

West Brom said that 38% of first-time buyers used shared ownership, an increase from 33% in the prior period.

The firm said that the figures show its “ongoing commitment to helping people own their own home and change the difficult landscape that so many people can face on their journey to homeownership”.

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The company reported a product before tax of £32.1m for the period, which compares to £31.8m in the same period last year.

‘Major strategic review’ underway

West Brom said that, in autumn 2023, it had undergone a “major strategic review” that aimed to “enhance and strengthen” the mutual for the future by “intensifying our purpose-led approach in an increasingly digital world”.

“We have already made investments across both our people and our technology as we begin to shape what the next era of the West Brom will look like, reaching customers who increasingly prefer digital channels, whilst continuing to be there for our members across our long-standing channels, in branch and by telephone.

“Whilst this digital transformation will be a key development for us over the coming months and years, our branches remain at the heart of the society. In 2023, we made a further investment into our branches through the installation of digital screens and signage, allowing us to not only showcase a wider variety of our products and services to customers, but also update crucial information, such as rate changes, far more quickly,” it explained.

 

West Brom has ‘strong capital position and financial resilience’

Jonathan Westhoff (pictured), chief executive officer of West Brom, said that the last few years had been a “sea of change” in the wider industry and the economy, and this would be unlikely to change in the next financial year.

He said that its “strong capital position and financial resilience will continue to support us through any uncertainties, and as always, we remain guided by our purpose to help more people own their own home and save for the future”.

Westhoff added: “We now have a particularly momentous year ahead of us, as we celebrate 175 years of the society. It therefore feels fitting that, whilst we look back at our rich history, we also look ahead at how we can reshape our strategy to meet the evolving needs of our members.

“Over the coming year, and beyond, we’ll bring to life the next generation of the West Brom for both our colleagues and our members, enhancing the society for the future whilst staying true to our purpose, which underpins all that we do.”