United Trust Bank (UTB) has reported a 31% increase in new lending to £1.3bn in 2020, helping to drive Operating Profit to £44.1m1, a 35% increase on 2019.
The strong results demonstrate UTB’s continued commitment to supporting SME housebuilders, developers, businesses and brokers throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. The Bank’s investment in technology, adoption of flexible working practices, new products and the resilience and dedication of Bank staff, enabled UTB to keep lending and ultimately deliver a record-breaking performance.
2020 highlights include:
- Gross new lending – £1.3bn
- Operating Income – £79.1m
- Operating Profit – £44.1m1
- Loan book at year end – £1.6bn
- Deposits book at year end – £1.6bn
- Total assets reached £1.9bn
- ROE for 2020 was 15.9%
- UTB and staff won twelve industry awards including Development Lender, Secured Loan Lender and Bridging Lender of the Year.
UTB continued to recruit staff throughout 2020 to support the business growth and to maintain its high service standards. The Bank welcomed 42 new team members during the year with the majority of them being recruited and trained remotely.
United Trust Bank Chief Executive Officer, Harley Kagan, commented:
“2020 was a year like no other and despite the extraordinary challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic, United Trust Bank showed its resilience and delivered a strong set of results.
“The Bank has continued to invest in business transformation and digitisation projects and introduced many new digital means of interacting with customers and brokers during the year, including the launch of full-service online banking for deposit customers. By successfully transitioning to remote working and adopting and implementing innovative technology the Bank maintained its operations and remained open for business throughout the lockdowns with all business lines continuing to grow.
“The Board and Management team are immensely grateful to our supportive brokers and customers and to our dedicated staff for their contribution to the performance UTB delivered through a particularly unusual and challenging year.”
United Trust Bank’s Annual Report and Accounts for the period ending 31st December 2020 have now been published and are available on UTB’s website at: