Challenger banks OneSavings Bank and Charter Court yesterday reported loan book growth ahead of their planned £1.6bn merger, with the terms confirmed in March, ahead of the UK’s planned departure from the European Union.

OneSavings Bank reported 5 per cent loan book growth to £9.4bn in the first quarter of the year, which it credited to strong commercial and residential lending. Further to this, the specialist lender grew loans and advances by £448m, compared with £368m during the same period in 2018.

Specialist lender Charter Court also reported loan book growth of 18 per cent to £6.5bn, it revealed in its trading update published today. New loans with a value of £710m, a first-quarter record for the company, were driven by strong performance across its buy-to-let, residential and short-term mortgage divisions.

Once the merger has completed, the company will become one of the UK’s largest specialist lenders, pairing Charter Court’s residential market expertise to OneSavings’ strength in commercial and development lending.

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