Tag Archives: Mortgages

Business, Business News, FInance, Finance News

Milestone Success: Swansea Building Society’s Centenary Celebrated with Financial Triumph

In its 100th year, Swansea Building Society stands as a testament to success, achieving historic growth in mortgages and savings balances, complemented by record profits. The institution’s ability to attain double-digit growth in total assets, mortgages, savings, and capital, even in a challenging economic environment, underscores its financial prowess and strategic resilience.

For the fiscal year to December 31, 2023, Swansea Building Society celebrated significant financial milestones, witnessing a 15% growth in total assets fuelled by a 16% increase in savings and a 15% rise in mortgages. Total assets soared to £607 million, savings balances reached £565.5 million, and mortgage balances expanded to £477.8 million. The Society’s impressive mortgage growth was propelled by setting another record with gross mortgage completions hitting £120.1 million, surpassing the previous highest set in 2021.

The Society’s growth was supported by record profits before tax of £6.2 million, beating the previous record of £5.4 million achieved in 2022. This increased the Society’s capital reserves to £39.8 million. This is vitally important to the Society, as it provides greater reserves to support members achieve their financial goals.

The 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.

Alun Williams, Chief Executive of Swansea Building Society, said:

“The Society has ended its centenary year in great health, having delivered a record performance in 2023. This is despite the extremely difficult market conditions experienced during the year. I am extremely proud of how the Society has balanced the needs of borrowers and savers against a backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis, falling house prices and a rapidly increasing interest rate environment. Our 100th year has been full of activity, and I am delighted with how my colleagues have shown the level of dedication and care that our members deserve.

“The Bank of England has increased the Bank base interest rate 13 times since December 2021 as they have sought to reduce inflation. We are mindful that many of our mortgage customers have never experienced a rising interest rate market and were considerate of the impact that these dramatic increases could have on both new and existing borrowers. As a result, the Society’s weighted average interest rate paid by borrowers has increased by 2.88% at 31 December 2023, compared to the 5% increase in Bank base interest rate.

“Each time the Bank Base interest rate has changed, we have reviewed the Society’s savings interest rates to ensure that they are still highly competitive. The number of changes to the

Bank Base interest rate during 2022 and 2023 has made this task more challenging than in previous years, as the increased volatility in the savings market has made it more difficult to review the interest rates offered by other savings providers. It was therefore extremely pleasing that we were able to offer our savers such competitive rates that we achieved record savings growth.

“Producing strong sustainable financial results is just one aspect of the Society’s objectives. It is vitally important to the Society that we are also successful in terms of the quality of customer feedback and Member satisfaction. I was therefore delighted that based on customer survey feedback for 2023, 97% of respondents said they would recommend the Society to other prospective customers. This was particularly pleasing given the current economic climate.

“A key element of the Society’s purpose is to be socially responsible and to make a positive impact to the local community. We offer support not only through the products and services that we provide, but also by donating our time, skills, and resources. As 2023 was our 100th year of existence, in addition to the money raised for Maggie’s, our charity of the year, we donated an additional £100k to provide further support to local good causes in branch communities.

“To celebrate its 100 years, the Society held several events throughout the year to thank our members, introducers and suppliers for their support. It gave me great pleasure to be able to share the Society’s success with so many of our supporters across our core communities from West to East Wales.

“As we look beyond our 100th year, the Society is well placed to navigate through the challenging trading conditions caused by the current economic uncertainty. Our plans continue with the theme of digital transformation, as we embrace change by investing in our people and technology. Our members will therefore continue to see improvements in the way the Society delivers its products and services in the coming years. The increased growth and subsequent profitability of recent years has enabled the Society to make such investments, for the benefit of both current and future members.

“Our core goal of serving our customers in any way they choose remains. We will continue to support members through whichever channel is best for them, whether that is in-branch, telephone, or online. We pride ourselves on being a true mutual, with a member centric focus, providing relevant, attractive products and delivering exceptional customer service. Together with our robust financial strength, we are in a strong position to deliver on our purpose of providing members with tailored, flexible solutions.”

The Society will hold its annual general meeting at the Swansea.Com stadium on Thursday 25th April 2024. Members can vote ahead of that meeting or attend the meeting in person and the Society will donate a pound to Maggie’s cancer charity for every vote received.

News

UK leading customer service outsourcer to create North East jobs following new contract win

Kura, a leading customer service outsourcing business, will create new roles in the North East following its appointment by Leeds Building Society, the fifth largest building society in the UK, which provides a range of mortgages and savings accounts.

From February 2023, Kura will provide insourced customer services based at the Leeds Building Society office in Cobalt Business Park, Newcastle.

Brian Bannatyne, Chief Executive at Kura, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Leeds Building Society using our financial sector experience to deliver first class services to its customers. At Kura we do things differently from our competitors, and our unique culture and approach to developing people were a key differentiator in our selection as a partner.

“We know that our people in the North East will deliver outstanding CX results for Leeds Building Society and strengthen its service to customers.”

For more than 15 years, Kura’s advisors have provided inbound and outbound call handling services to several businesses operating in the financial services industry. This appointment further cements Kura’s reputation for delivering excellent CX support within the sector.

Kelly Shippen, Head of Contact Centre customer division at Leeds Building Society, commented: “Finding the right partner who cared as much about its people and its customers as we do was a big ask, yet Kura demonstrated how its ethos aligns so well to our ways of working. The behaviours we expect from our colleagues at Leeds Building Society are very similar to Kura’s and the open, and transparent way the Kura team engaged with us made it a relationship I was excited to begin.

“It’s clear that Kura has great recruitment, training, and development programmes and this gives us confidence that they’ll look after the Society’s customers to the highest standards.”

The first intake of recruitment will take place on 6th February 2023. Those interested in applying for the new positions can visit the Kura careers page here: https://www.wearekura.com/careers/

Finance and Banking, News

No need to panic over interest rates rise

One of Shropshire’s leading finance companies today reassured homeowners and prospective buyers over the latest rise in interest rates.

Q Financial Services, which has its offices in Wellington and Shrewsbury, said the increase in rates to 0.5 per cent should not trigger unnecessary alarm amongst mortgage holders.

The Bank of England yesterday increased rates for the second time in three months in an attempt to curb a rapid rise in the cost of living.

However Q director Mitch Gough says rates still remain at a historic low and the cost of borrowing was likely to remain low for the foreseeable future.

“We warned three months ago when the Bank first increased rates that another rise was likely, and we are not surprised that it has come at the present time. Inflation continues to rise and the cost of living continues to be a dominant factor in the economy.

“But homeowners and first-time buyers will continue to be able to access mortgages at what are historically very low rates, and we do not see that changing significantly in the long term.

“As ever, it pays to get professional advice and shop around so that you can find the mortgage deal which best fits your circumstances and long-term planning.”

Inflation, as measured by the consumer prices index (CPI), is expected to peak at 7.25% in April – significantly above the Bank of England’s own target of two per cent.

Mitch added: “Inflation is expected to average around six per cent across the year so we expect the Bank of England to remain under continued pressure with regard to rates.

“We would advise all families to keep their budgets under review and to seek professional advice should they require any help in restructuring their own commitments.”

Awards, FInance, News, Property

Fox Davidson crowned Financial Company of the Year at the Bristol Property Awards

Property finance broker Fox Davidson is delighted to have won the Financial Company of the Year category in the 2020 Bristol Property Awards.

Organised by Media Clash, the Bristol Property Awards celebrate the best of the region’s property industry. From architects to agents and deals to designers, over 20 categories were available to enter. The winners were announced at a prestigious virtual ceremony, with hundreds tuning in from many leading property companies to make it a superb occasion.

Wesley Davidson, founder and property finance consultant at Fox Davidson said: “We are so proud to win this award and want to send our congratulations to all the other finalists. Bristol has a vibrant property sector which we are delighted to be part of. We’ve helped finance some vital local projects including much needed housing for first-time buyers and an environmentally-conscious property development project based on renewables which met Bristol’s drive to become a greener city. We’ve also helped many local people, particularly those with non-standard or variable income such as doctors, dentists, vets, lawyers and other professionals to secure the finance they need to live and work in the South West.”

Fox Davidson has previously won both national and regional awards, being crowned top position in the Mortgage Strategy Awards for Best Small
Mortgage Broker and Money Age Awards for Best Broker. Co-founder Sarah Fox-Clinch added “I was so surprised when they called out our name. We have been a finalist for the last two years, so to come out on top this time is an achievement we are very proud of. Since Wes and I founded Fox Davidson back in 2013 we have worked hard to create a business that is focussed on customers, not just hitting monthly sales targets. Specialising in non-standard lending, not just general property finance, we help where other brokers can’t.”

Fox Davidson specialises in securing mortgages of £500,000 and above for those wishing to purchase or remortgage a main residence, professional landlords wishing to grow their residential and commercial property portfolios, developers building and improving property and business owners wishing to purchase business premises to trade from.