The company has reported profits of GBP81.7 million in the first half of 2007. Total mortgage lending was GBP3.7 billion, down from last year’s record GBP4.1 billion. The group maintained tight control of costs, with the cost to assets ratio improving to 0.73%. The society has attracted more than GBP700 million in over 67,000 new accounts.
Neville Richardson, CEO of Britannia group, said: Our commitment to fairness means we won’t lend customers more than they can afford to repay or offer loans worth more than the house they are buying. We’re also writing to all of our borrowers with interest-only loans to remind them of the need to have a repayment vehicle in place, customer feedback has been very positive.
Fairness also means we offer savers consistently good rates, and won’t give new customers unsustainably high rates at the expense of loyal savers.