2003 Highlights
- Assets rose 10% to a record £5.3bn
- 5% rise in pre-tax profits to £36.6m from £34.7m
- A further big improvement in efficiency with cost asset ratio falling by 4p to just 72p - one of the lowest of any bank or building society
- Non-interest income up 8% to the highest ever level of £21.1m
- Net interest margin reduces even further to 1.11% from 1.15%
- 9% increase in mortgage completions to a record £1.45bn
- Savings balances rise by £237m to a record £3.6bn
- Membership expands to over 622,000 with the addition of 70,000 new savings and mortgage accounts
Chief Executive, Ian Ward, said: "Our overall business performance in 2003 was excellent. Record profits, increased efficiency, savings balances rising to a new record level and mortgage lending smashed all previous records.
“2003 has been reported as 'The Year of the North' with house prices in this area rising by more than twice the national average. Whilst this has helped us achieve a record £1.45bn in advances, our lending is spread throughout the UK. During 2003, our assets reached £5bn, a significant milestone in the Society’s history, particularly as we have doubled in size over the last 7 years.
“Our new branch in Gibraltar was very successful in its first year of operation and in November we expanded the range of services to include mortgage lending in Spain. During the year we launched a new personal loan facility, using our own funds, that offers extremely competitive rates. Commercial lending continued to develop in 2003 with over £100m of advances during the year.
“Pre tax profit increased to a record level of £36.6m with reserves rising by 10% to the highest ever level of £274m.
“As equity prices started to recover in the second half of 2003, most banks and building societies attracted lower levels of retail investments than in the previous year. This was not the case for Leeds & Holbeck, with savings balances increasing by £237m (2002 - £221m) to a record level of £3.6bn.
“As one of the most efficient building societies, our cost asset ratio reduced significantly from 76p to 72p per £100 of assets. Nothing better demonstrates the value to members of our mutual status than our low interest margin, which reduced from 1.15% to 1.11%. This is effectively the difference between the interest we charge borrowers and the interest paid to savers and was worth over £40m of benefits for members when compared to the average interest margin for banks.
"The Society is in great shape and continues to deliver its success across a wide range of financial measures, as demonstrated by our results in 2003. With assets at £5.3bn, we have a strong platform to take the business forward in a profitable and successful way in the years ahead and to continue to deliver benefits to all our members."
