United Trust Bank (UTB) has reported a 21% increase in new lending in 2019 completing £994m of new loans throughout the year. Operating income for the year was £64.9m and the Bank’s loan book increased to £1.24bn.
Considerable investment in the Bank’s infrastructure and people 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. Nevertheless, the Bank achieved normalized RoE of 19.0%.
The results show UTB’s 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.
The Bank’s consumer lending in the form of specialist first and second charge mortgages also delivered strong growth following the launch of several new products and service enhancements.
United Trustt Bank 2019 highlights include:
- Operating Income – £64.9m
- Operating Profit – £32.7m
- Gross new lending – £994m
- Loan book at year end – £1.24bn
- Deposits book at year end – £1.22bn
- Successfully issued £20m of Tier 2 debt
- Winner of seven industry awards including ‘Specialist Bank of the Year’
UTB also made considerable investments in people and technology during the year, both of which enable the Bank to maintain its long-term growth objectives.
The Bank increased staff numbers by 8% in 2019 and progressed several important technological projects including the development of a full online banking facility for deposits customers which is being rolled out.
In addition, the Mortgages & Bridging Division introduced a smart ‘FinTech’ ID verification system which saves borrowers time, inconvenience and money and has been warmly received by brokers and customers alike.
