"The majority of our mortgage growth was the result of a very buoyant property market following the lifting of the first lockdown restrictions and the introduction of the stamp duty holiday."
Mortgage completions rose from £115m in 2019 to £123m, with a mortgage book growth of 9% to £568m.
The Society also widened and refocused its intermediary distribution channels by forging new relationships with network partners during the year and as such, the new business pipeline at the close of the new financial year was at 65% higher than the previous year.
In its financial results, the Society reported that its total profit before tax remained steady at £1.9m and its savings balances increased by £21m, to a total of £624m.
Alan Harris, chairman of Ipswich Building Society, commented: “We started the year with a strong mortgage performance followed by an initial fall in applications during the early stages of the pandemic. The majority of our mortgage growth was the result of a very buoyant property market following the lifting of the first lockdown restrictions and the introduction of the stamp duty holiday. We carefully managed product offerings to ensure we were able to operationally manage the level of business received and to ensure service levels remained acceptable.
“In such a difficult year it has been absolutely right that we maintained a focus on governance, operational resilience and sound management. We adopted procedures and found new ways of working together and the Society’s Enterprise Risk Management Framework (ERMF) has been an immense asset as we acted in response to the requirements of both of our regulators and to the pandemic itself.
“We are firmly committed to ensuring the long-term sustainability of the Society and remain dedicated to maintaining the Society as a mutual. In fact, whilst Covid-19 has changed virtually everything for our members, partners, staff and communities, my final reflection on the year is that the long-established mutual model, as represented here at the Ipswich, has shone through in the extraordinary time of the pandemic.”
