Record year for Progressive Building Society

The Progressive Building Society results for 2001 took the Society to new heights in supporting homeowners and savers in Northern Ireland.

Shareholders in Progressive lodged a sum of over £264 million in new deposits, an increase of £24 million over the previous year.

In a buoyant Northern Ireland housing market, Progressive agreed nearly 2,300 new mortgages to homebuyers. These new mortgages called on £161 million from the available funds in the Society. This was an increase of almost 20% on the amount of lending in 2000 and increased the share of the Progressive in the local market for mortgages.

The Chairman of Progressive, Sam Torrens, said the results demonstrated the contribution by the Society in helping to provide a bridge between savers and borrowers in a way that maximized the benefits to local people. He added: "We intend to remain an independent mutual building society sharing with our members and the wider Northern Ireland community the benefits arising from the provision of home loans and savings products.

"In support of that aim, the Progressive now has assets of over £846 million. In the last year our assets rose by nearly 15% from £740 million a year ago. This gives us a secure base to continue to expand.

"Being a mutual organization, acting only on behalf of our members, the earning of profits is not our prime objective. Nevertheless, in 2001, we made an after-tax surplus of £4.1 million that has been added to our reserves.

"Interest rates have fallen to levels that are low by the standards of the last 30 years but this has been against a background of low levels of inflation and a more stable value for money saved.

"In these circumstances, the Society has been able to maintain competitive interest rates, to savers and borrowers, and with tight management of administrative costs, leave an adequate surplus to increase our reserves."

(MB)