The lender also recorded a 12% net growth in customers last year, and core residential mortgage lending reached a record high of £575m.
Operating profit at Newcastle Building Society rose by 11% in 2019 to £16.3m, according to their latest financial report.
The lender also recorded a 12% net growth in customers last year, and core residential mortgage lending reached a record high of £575m.
Looking to its branch network, the building society said that it grew from 27 to 31 year-on-year.
Furthermore, the Newcastle Community Fund at the Community Foundation rose to over £2m and awarded over £400,000 in grants to 86 charities throughout the North East, North Yorkshire and Cumbria.
Additionally, the lender says that it created 150 jobs across the region last year.
Andrew Haigh chief executive at Newcastle Building Society, said: “Like many regions in the UK we’ve witnessed the withdrawal of banks and financial institutions from our high streets.
“We share concerns expressed across our communities as we witness closed premises, visible decline, and the reduction in the availability of local financial services.
“But for a society committed to the region and with a strategy to be part of the solution, this is also an opportunity. In our view, something has to change. It’s time for new and innovative thinking.
“Our focus on continued innovation, our sustainable, long term business model and our robust financial performance are critical factors in ensuring we can continue to make a genuine, positive difference for the customers and communities we serve across our region and beyond.”
