The Coventry Building Society saw its mortgage balances grow by £1.4bn (3%) in 2022, according to its latest set of annual results.
Having moderated mortgage growth in the first half of the year the Society grew its balances by 6% in the second half as consumer demand spiked in the rising rate environment.
The full year growth of 3% took overall mortgage assets to £48bn. This was complemented by a strong performance for the Society’s savings business, with thousands more visits to branches and calls to the savings contact centre.
The Society’s mortgage teams experienced some of the busiest days on record, with Intermediary Support Team responding to 278,000 broker queries throughout the year, answering the phone or replying on web chat within two and a half minutes on average.
BDMs and telephone BDMs continued to build strong relationships with intermediary partners, whilst the Society’s existing mortgage customer teams also provided a quick and straightforward option for borrowers, answering around 450,000 calls to facilitate a range of different service requests.
The rising interest rate environment increased demand from brokers and their clients for reliable service and competitive products. The Society regularly updated its offer to borrowers with new mortgage products, including new propositions for first time buyers and new build, to help keep pace with market demand throughout the year that at points led to £400m of applications per day.
Steve Hughes, chief executive of Coventry Building Society, said: “Our strong performance last year was built on the high levels of customer and broker service, in person, online and on the phone. In a year with many challenging moments, our people delivered the consistent value and outstanding service experience that our customers expect.
“Our intermediary partners played a critical role in this performance. In a year of so much disruption, their advice has never been needed more and we really value the support brokers have given us throughout the year. We’re proud to have supported the market through thick and thin in 2022 with a service that brokers can rely on, backed by a range of consistently competitive products and underpinned by our intermediary pledges, including the 48 hours’ notice of product withdrawal.
“We’ve made significant investment in our digital infrastructure, including the launch of our digital switching service. But the need for a human touch, whether face to face or over the phone, is still very strong. Our BDMs, Telephone BDMs and Intermediary Support Team have built strong relationships up and down the UK with brokers and their teams and our direct to consumer support through our mortgage teams continues to deliver great results.
“I also want to call out the hard work and commitment of my colleagues. We’re proud to be named as one of the UK’s Great Places to Work with further awards for wellbeing and as a workplace for women. Having an excellent workplace culture gives colleagues the best environment to develop and deliver the best outcomes for our customers, our partners our communities and each other.”
