Yorkshire Building Society has reported a solid financial performance for the first half of 2025, with growth in mortgage lending and sustained efforts to support savers and first-time buyers, despite a more competitive lending and savings environment.
The mutual’s mortgage balances rose to £50.6bn, supported by £4.3bn in gross lending during the six-month period.
Of the 18,000 new residential mortgages provided, nearly 4,000 were to first-time buyers.
The society extended its £5,000 Deposit Mortgage to include flats and introduced a cashback offer of up to £6,250 to help first-time buyers manage increased Stamp Duty costs.
Savers opened 288,000 new accounts between January and June, earning interest rates that were, on average, 20% above the rest of the market.
This delivered an estimated additional £132.2m in interest to customers during the first five months of the year.
However, overall savings balances declined by £0.3bn to £51.8bn.
The society posted a core operating profit of £215.4m, up from £149.2m in the same period last year, and a statutory profit before tax of £187.9m.
Its common equity tier 1 ratio stood at 18.5%.
The mutual also highlighted its partnership with Uinsure, which it said helped customers save more than £1m on home insurance premiums since its launch six months ago.
The society’s chief executive Susan Allen (pictured) said its focus remains on helping members and communities navigate financial challenges:
She added: “As a building society, all the profits we make are reinvested for the benefit of our members and customers, into providing products that overcome real-life challenges, supporting our communities, and improving our society.”
She noted growing demand for the society’s community support services, particularly its collaboration with Citizens Advice.
Free appointments in 44 branches have assisted more than 3,000 people this year, with potential benefits totalling nearly £1.9m.
The society also reported that its partnership with food charity FareShare had supported 659 individuals with skills development in 2025, with 105 securing paid employment since the initiative began.
Despite market headwinds, the society maintained a positive Net Promoter Score of +66, up from +64 last year, and is undertaking what it described as its “biggest ever investment programme” focused on improving digital services, developing new products, and enhancing internal processes.
Allen acknowledged the challenges ahead but expressed confidence in the society’s direction: “While we can expect economic uncertainty to persist, our strong levels of capital and liquidity, and investment in our future capabilities, mean we will continue to support our members, customers, their families, and our communities, now and in the future.”
