Bradford-based Yorkshire Building Society announced its saving balances increased to £37.7 billion in the six months to June 30, 2022, up from £35.5 billion at the end of 2021.
The mutual said its statutory profit before tax for the six months rose to £243.4 million, up from £147.7 million at June 30 last year.
“In 2022, the market for mortgages has been subject to a high degree of volatility and increased levels of competition,” said Yorkshire Building Society interim CEO Alasdair Lenman.
“Our adaptability and agility as an organisation have helped us to perform strongly despite the challenging environment, just as they helped us through the disruption experienced over the last two years.
“As a result, we maintained a high level of gross mortgage lending at £5.3 billion (2021 H1: £5.9 billion), and so far this year we have helped 28,000 people to have a place to call home (2021 H1: 49,000) …
“The need to build greater financial resilience and wellbeing is a long-standing issue for many in society, and the current state and outlook of the economic environment has only served to make the pressures many face more acute.
“Currently, one of the main concerns is inflation and the rate at which it has risen.
“Sharp inflationary rises can have significant ramifications on the cost of living and personal finances for many, especially as household utilities and travel costs are among the most impacted.
“What savings balances people have may need to be relied upon more heavily as they try to make ends meet.
“In this environment, being fairly rewarded for saving also becomes more important than ever …
“In response to inflationary pressures, the Bank of England increased Bank Rate four times so far in 2022, increasing from 0.25% to 1.25%.
“When an increase to Bank Rate occurs, the Society carefully considers strategies of how best to balance the prospect of increases to customer rates with our long-term sustainability.
“We need to generate sufficient capital to ensure that we can continue to deliver on our purpose and be here to serve our members and customers for many years to come.
“We raised the lowest rates we pay our existing variable rate savers twice in the first half of this year, once in February and once again in April, with a further increase effected in early July.
“Our successful member loyalty programme has also continued, having launched a loyalty ISA and a loyalty fixed rate bond already this year, with more to come.
“We are proud that the differential between the rates we offer our savers and the average rate offered by the rest of the market has widened – with our rates 0.38 percentage points higher…”