Nationwide Group’s net lending was £6.5bn, more than double that achieved in the previous financial year - the society's highest ever market share.
Chris Rhodes, executive director at Nationwide, said: “The last year has seen us take a record share of the residential mortgage market and our net lending has more than equalled the net lending of the whole of the UK mortgage market.
“We have not simply focused on new customers but, as you would expect from a member owned organisation, we have reserved the very best deals for our existing customers.
“We have also given additional help to first time buyers through our Save to Buy scheme and we have now extended that scheme to home movers.”
During the year Nationwide provided mortgages to over 42,000 first time buyers, a 75% increase on last year.
This means that one in every three of Nationwide’s new prime mortgages during the year was to a first time buyer and that the Society accounted for almost one in five of all first time buyer mortgages in the UK.
Nationwide continued to provide mortgage deals for up to 95% loan to value through its Save to Buy scheme.
The scheme was previously only available to first-time buyers but from January 2013 Nationwide extended the scheme to home movers.
Nationwide has also maintained its Base Mortgage Rate pledge which ensures that a significant proportion of its existing mortgage members have access to a rate capped at 2% above Bank of England base rate.
The Society estimates that the member benefit of its BMR pledge has been in the region of £800m which equates to an average of over £1,100 annual net benefit for each individual mortgage account.
Ben Thompson, managing director of Legal & General Mortgage Club, said: “From a lending perspective this is an outstanding result.
"The supply of new lending to the UK housing market has been so instrumental in helping to bring about the first signs of recovery that we now see and Nationwide as a group have played in significant role in providing lending almost to all parts of the market.
"They have been highly supportive of first time buyers and helping consumers to actually achieve their dream of buying their first homes - something that for some remains merely an aspiration.
"Their presence in this part of the market will have encouraged other lenders to follow and enabled the market to grow from its real low - something that ultimately the economy will benefit from as well.
"It is also worth highlighting how well intermediaries and Nationwide have worked together over the last year.
"This is great support from Nationwide for intermediaries and vice versa. The last five years have been full of disappointments and tensions across the mortgage market, results like this are very pleasing to see."
