Leeds Building Society sees record number of new members as consumers snap up savings deals

Leeds Building Society (LBS) reported a record year for net savings inflows of £2.7bn over 2023, which allowed it to self-fund more than half of its own mortgage lending.

The building society’s total savings balance reached a record of £20.8bn, a 19 per cent jump on its 2022 figure of £17.5 bn.

It also had a record number of members who joined it last year as it welcomed 122,000 new savings members and 35,000 new mortgage members, bringing the total membership to 919,000 (2022: 839,000).

LBS said it lent to 17,700 first-time buyers, with the lending representing more than one in two of its new mortgages in 2023. Last year it launched its Shared Ownership Saver, a new savings product tailored to shared ownership borrowers aiming to buy a larger share of their homes.

However, its gross mortgage lending was down from £5bn in 2022 to £4.4bn, and net lending was £1.5bn, also down on 2022 £2.0bn.

The society did increase its market share in 2023 to 2 per cent (2022: 1.6 per cent) and the year-end mortgage asset balance stood at a record high of £21.8bn (2022: £20.3bn).

LBS reported that its profit before tax was £181.5m, down from £220.5m recorded in 2022. It stated that 2023 was the second highest in society’s history. Its total assets increased to £28.1bn (2022: £25.5bn), which was a record high for it, while capital and reserves stand at £1.6bn and liquidity levels continue above regulatory requirements.

The society has also been investing in customer service and digital transformation which led to an increase in operating costs to £169m, up from £141m. The cost-to-income ratio was 47.3 per cent (2022: 37.4 per cent) which remains one of the lowest for banks and building societies.

Commenting on the results, Richard Fearon, chief executive officer of Leeds Building Society said: “This performance underpins our financial strength and maintains our ability to invest for the future. Indeed, we continued to invest in our branches, which are one of our greatest strengths, and in improving digital experiences, which led to our highest member satisfaction score of 94 per cent.”

“We have laid the foundations for customer experiences and digital capabilities in years to come, allowing members to engage with us in a way they choose to; be that in branch, contact centre, digitally, or all three,” he added.