United Trust Bank (UTB) has reported a 21% increase in new lending in 2019, having completed £994m of new loans throughout the year.
The bank also revealed its operating income for the year was £64.9m while its loan book increased to £1.24bn.
Investment in its infrastructure and people, UTB indicated, coupled with sector wide margin compression and growth being weighted towards the second half of the year, led to a slight reduction in operating profit in 2019 to £32.7m.
The bank suggested the results showed its continued commitment to supporting SME housebuilders, developers and businesses as they seek funding to invest in new building projects or vehicles, plant and other assets – despite considerable political and economic uncertainty.
Consumer lending in the form of specialist first and second charge mortgages also delivered “strong growth”, UTB described, having launched several new products and service enhancements during the year.
UTB CEO, Graham Davin, called 2019 a year of “investment in people, technology and systems” to enhance the customer, broker and employee experience, while improving “efficiency and control”.
“This will continue to be a priority at UTB for the foreseeable future and is an investment which will reap rewards in the coming years,” he added.
“We came very close to achieving £1bn of new lending in 2019 which is an extraordinary performance given the political and economic uncertainty present throughout last year. I’m confident it’s a milestone we will comfortably pass in 2020.
“2019 was complex from a profitability perspective as our investment in additional people and systems and costs of higher liquidity and risk offset the headline 20% growth in new business and loans. Nonetheless the bank begins 2020 highly profitable, well capitalised and liquid and is currently writing record levels of new business.”
Latest News
Perenna and the long-term fixed mortgage market
Content editor, Dan McGrath, spoke to head of product, proposition and distribution at Perenna, John Davison, to explore the long-term fixed mortgage market, the role that Perenna plays in this sector and the impact of the recent Autumn Budget
The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.
NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?
Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.
© 2019 Perspective Publishing Privacy & Cookies
Recent Stories