Scottish Building Society balances at £342m

Scottish Building Society chief executive Mark Thomson

Scottish Building Society announced financial results for the year ended January 31, 2016, showing its savings balances increased 3.1% to £342.1 million and that total assets have reached £388.9 million, up from £378.2 million in the previous year.

Mortgage assets rose 1.2% to £286.1 million.

Profit before tax fell from £2.2 million to £1.3 million “after investment in member loyalty initiatives, designed to provide long term value to society members.”

Chief executive Mark Thomson said: “We are pleased to have delivered another strong financial performance in line with our five-year plan in what continue to be challenging market conditions.

“These results underline that it is possible for the society to retain its financial strength whilst providing our members with long term value.

“By operating a traditional business model where both our savers and our mortgage borrowers can consistently benefit from the best rates we are able to offer, we believe we are as relevant today as when we were founded 168 years ago.”

Established in 1848, Scottish Building Society is the world’s oldest building society and Scotland’s only independent building society.

It employs 71 people and has 6 branches and 62 agency offices throughout Scotland.

Its reserves rose from £30.5 million in 2015 to £31.5 million in 2016.