Building society posts record profits as assets reach £529m

SWANSEA Building Society has seen its total assets reach almost £530m after posting record growth and profits.

The mutual, which has offices in Mumbles, Carmarthen, Cowbridge and Cradock Street in Swansea, saw total assets reach £529.8m in the 2022 financial year – up £66.3m on 2021.

Total assets comprise the society’s mortgages, assets held for liquidity purposes, and a small amount of other assets.

The organisation posted pre-tax profits of £5.4m – up from £5.2m in 2021 – giving the organisation greater capital reserves.

Total assets, mortgages and savings balances all increased by a growth rate of 14% compared with the same period a year earlier.

Its savings balances reached £492.9m, an increase of £61.6m. While mortgage balances were £410.9m, an increase of £50.3m.

Mortgage growth was driven by gross mortgage completions of £112.3m, the second highest in its history after 2021.

In response to interest rate hikes, the building society took the decision not to pass the full increase onto mortgage borrowers.

It said only 1.25% was passed on to variable rate borrowers as of December 31, 2022, compared with an increase in the bank interest rate of 3.4%.

It increased rates on its fully variable rate savings book several times, which was reflected in the record growth in savings balances.

Swansea Building Society remains one of the few financial institutions in the UK that receives no wholesale funding or support from the Bank of England in the form of cheap funding.

Its balance sheet is funded entirely by customer savings balances and its own capital reserves built up from retained profits over many years.

Chief executive Alun Williams said: “2022 was another difficult year for the UK economy due to the severe headwinds we have faced.

“The society had to balance the needs of borrowers, savers and colleagues.

“But I am incredibly proud of how we thrived last year, strengthening our financial position for future years, as well as investing in several initiatives to better serve the needs of our customers and communities.”