According to Tipton & Coseley Building Society’s financial report, this was a record achievement in gross mortgage lending for the second consecutive year.
The firm noted that it had focused on shared ownership and entered the expat residential market.
Tipton & Coseley Building Society added that it had “improved” its focus on borrower retention, so it engaged earlier with borrowers coming to the end of their product term with “competitive products” and helped to better manage change to payments.
The mortgage retention rate rose to around 13% in 2024.
The report found that there was an increase in arrears, with 15 customers at year end in arrears of more than 90 days. This was a net increase of seven year-on-year. However, there were no possessions during 2024.
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Tipton & Coseley Building Society said its profit before tax came to £2.3m in 2024, a drop from £4.3m in the prior year.
The company added that it had recruited 19 new colleagues, bringing the total headcount to 120.
Tipton & Coseley Building Society said it signed a contract in 2024 with Mast Technologies to implement its mortgage origination platform and that this would offer a more “streamlined and more intuitive mortgage application journey” and simplify its underwriting process.
The firm said the implementation started in January 2024 and customers would benefit from improvements in the second half of the year.
The mutual said it was “financially strong and well-positioned to continue the positive progress of recent years”.
It added that the firm expected it to be “another highly competitive year for mortgages and savings in 2025”.
“Our strategy reflects this through a continued investment in people, processes and technology to ensure the society has a long-term sustainable, successful and secure future,” Tipton & Coseley Building Society said.
Tipton & Coseley BS’ results ‘very positive’
Adam Evetts (pictured), Tipton & Coseley Building Society’s chief executive, said it was a “very positive set of results, offering consistent value to our customers and helping them achieve their most important financial goals”.
He continued: “Our performance is testament to our clear strategic focus and is particularly impressive given the challenging economic environment and intense competition within the financial services sector.
“Tighter margins across mortgages and savings, coupled with the need for increased investment in our core processes and people, have contributed to a reduction in underlying profitability. Nevertheless, our capital position remains very strong and we are well-placed to continue the positive progress of recent years.”
Evetts said the “growth in our mortgage balances reflects our efforts to provide innovative products and competitive borrowing rates”.
“We have increased our focus on shared ownership and entered the expat residential market. An improved approach to borrower retention means more customers are now staying with us after their initial product term has ended.
“While the high cost of living is still putting pressure on people’s finances, many customers on our variable rate mortgages felt the benefit of long-awaited cuts in bank rate through reductions in their monthly repayments,” he added.
Evetts said that to fund lending activities, it needed to “continually increase savings balances, and we offer good value to our customers through a variety of fixed and variable rate savings accounts designed to help them grow their investments”.
“Our success in 2024 would not have been possible without the support and dedication of our colleagues. We all share the same belief that customers must be at the heart of everything we do and work hard to make our society a thriving mutual organisation, with its roots firmly embedded in the Black Country,” he said.
