Added: 25 February 2016
Ipswich Building Society 2015 Full Year Results
Increased satisfaction of members as Society lays foundations for managing regulatory change and future growth
Ipswich Building Society has announced its results for the year ending 30th November 2015, showing its continued efforts at building a resilient platform and strong capital foundation in the face of changing regulatory requirements and significant upgrades to its IT infrastructure. The Society’s planned technology investment continued into 2015, as it reduced its mortgage business to take into account the considerable testing and integration efforts required of its new systems. On returning to the mortgage market in the second half of 2015 there was a noticeable uptick in business of 2%, with a strong mortgage pipeline for the year ahead.
Key numbers:
• Increased capital supporting growth and security, capital increased to £36 million from £34 million in 2014
• Total profit (before tax) of £1.9 million (2014: £3.8 million), reflecting technology investment and, related, reduced mortgage book
• Mortgage assets at £453 million (2014: £474 million); Savings balances at £524m (2014: £539 million) – reflective of resources being diverted to major IT project, reducing appetite for new business
Paul Winter, Chief Executive, Ipswich Building Society, comments, “It has been a year of two halves for the Society. The investment we made in the first half relating to our IT systems and in providing a strong capital foundation means that we will be able to continue to deliver products and services our members want. The second half of the year was marked by a return to the mortgage market and allowing us to continue to champion the ‘mortgage misfit’ who benefit from an individual approach, notably those with lower deposits and in particular first time buyers. Data showing our member satisfaction at an all-time high reflects the key role we play in communities and in providing a personal service both in branch and through our mortgage business where personal underwriting takes place, instead of the ‘computer says no’ approach favoured by many retail banks”
The Society continued to develop a number of other key initiatives throughout the year, including:
• Launch of new broker brand, aimed at further improving relationships with brokers and intermediaries, who deliver around 85% of new mortgage business
• Extension of broker brand to incorporate Ipswich Building Society Prestige, an exclusive club for top-performing partners limited to 18 members
• Over 1000 members attended All In member events
• Branches achieved a high customer satisfaction score of 98% (2014: 90.5%)
• 984 hours of volunteer support, compared with 616 hours in 2014
• One in five staff now trained to offer financial education, including both Head Office and branch staff at every level of the business
• 698 hours of financial education delivered in 2015, compared to 231 hours in 2014