The West Brom today announces its results for the financial year ended 31 March 2016, reporting pre-tax profits of £13.5m and a substantial increase in residential mortgage lending.

Key highlights include:

• A substantial increase in gross residential mortgage lending to £673m representing 51% growth (2014/15: £446m).
• Net residential lending of £351m (2014/15: £196m).
• Savings balances grew by 10% to £4.4bn (2014/15: £4.0bn), driven by strong growth in ISA and web-based products.
• A 9% growth in pre-tax profits to £13.5m (2014/15: £12.4m).
• Growth in total assets to £5.8bn (2014/15: £5.6bn), with the increase in the residential mortgage book more than offsetting the reduction in non-core commercial loan balances.
• An increase in the Group’s strong Common Equity Tier 1 capital ratio to 14.6% (2014/15: 14.4%).
• Successful relocation to new, purpose-built head office premises at Providence Place in West Bromwich town centre, ensuring capacity for future growth.

Jonathan Westhoff, Chief Executive, commented:

"The West Brom can be very satisfied with these results, which reflect a strong performance on all fronts."

"Most notably we have delivered another year of exceptional growth in terms of residential mortgage lending, confirming the Society as a major player in the market."

"We are committed to helping people achieve their aspirations for home ownership, offering mortgages locally via our branch network and nationally in England and Wales through our telephone advisers and intermediary partners.

Our growth in lending, which has resulted in the Society increasing total assets for the first time since the onset of the financial crisis in 2008, has been entirely funded by an increase in retail savings deposits.

Seeing our customers saving more is obviously a positive trend that reflects well on the Society’s proposition and choice of products. Whilst we remain concerned at the impact ultra-low interest rates is having on the income of many savers, we are encouraged by and are supportive of efforts to improve this situation through initiatives such as the Personal Savings Allowance and planned Lifetime ISA.

A key focus for the West Brom is customer service and specifically giving customers a variety of methods to interact with their Society and share feedback. We carry out regular satisfaction surveys, with both our branch network and telephoned-based customer services centre averaging an impressive 9 out of 10 for the year.

Service is also one of the driving forces behind the Society’s decision to relocate to new head office premises at Providence Place in West Bromwich, which was successfully completed last month. It provides us with the space we need for future expansion and has the facilities and functionality to improve operational efficiency, thereby ensuring better overall experiences for our customers.

With another successful year of increased mortgage lending and sound profit performance completed, the West Brom is positioned as a well capitalised, efficient and modern building society, built on the traditional principles of supporting homeowners, providing a safe home for savers and delivering excellent customer service and satisfaction."