YBS helps first time buyers

The UK’s second biggest building society after Nationwide said pre-tax profits fell five per cent to £111.2m following a £13m benefit last year from non-core investments.

Core operating profits rose eight per cent to £116m.

Savings balances rose more than £200m to £27.5bn and the mutual said it had retained one of the strongest capital positions of UK financial services providers.

Chris Pilling, Yorkshire Building Society’s chief executive, said: “I’m pleased Yorkshire Building Society Group’s robust financial strength has once again been demonstrated through our performance in the first six months of 2015.

“We have continued to deliver on the goals and aims that our organisation was originally established to achieve, which we remain true to today – helping people to become homeowners and save for their futures. We have performed well in our core business areas, completing 15,430 mortgages and opening more than 85,000 savings accounts.“

But he reiterated that this level of lending can only continue if the society can retain its profits and reinvest them back into the business.

“The Government’s proposal to introduce a bank surcharge of eight per cent on all banking services organisations’ profits over £25m will unfairly hit the six largest building societies, with these institutions paying about a third of the additional £1.7bn expected to be raised over five years,” he said.

“As the six largest building societies were responsible for 50 per cent of the UK’s net mortgage lending in 2014,6 a tax which could impact our ability to fund growth in lending could have significant consequences for the UK mortgage market.“

Yorkshire said it has remained true to its mutual values, helping people save for the future and buy their own home through offering competitive rates, including some of the lowest mortgage rates available to UK borrowers.

Yorkshire has pledged to help 150 young people over the next five years to start their careers through a new apprenticeship programme.