Paragon Banking Group PLC has today (24th January 2025) reported a positive start to its financial year, maintaining its full-year guidance.
The group’s performance from October to December 2024 met the board’s expectations, and all full-year targets are on track.
New lending reached £677.4m, up from £610.7m in the previous year.
Buy-to-let (BTL) lending increased to £423.2m, while commercial lending saw a decrease to £254.2m, influenced by timing in its structured lending business.
The buy-to-let pipeline showed a significant increase of 23.6% compared to the previous year.
Development finance also saw growth, with increases in both the new business pipeline and undrawn facilities.
BTL redemptions had an annualised redemption rate of 7.7%, indicating strong retention.
Net loan balances grew by 1% to £15.9bn, aligning with the growth rate achieved in the 2024 financial year.
Regarding capital and funding, deposit growth matched the loan book growth, supporting net interest margin performance.
Paragon’s full-year guidance for net interest margin, new business volumes, operating costs and RoTE remains unchanged, though margins are currently ahead of expectations.
Nigel Terrington (pictured), chief executive of Paragon Bank, said: “The first quarter of our new financial year has continued to see good progress with encouraging new business flows and margins running above expectations.
“The benefits of our digitalisation programme remain evident in both demand and efficiency, and we will roll-out further technology-driven changes during 2025.
“The Group remains confident in the guidance given for the full year and our strong capital levels mean we are well-positioned to continue delivering strong returns for our shareholders and further support for customers.”
