Scottish Building Society (SBS) has announced a pre-tax profit of £1.3 million for the year ending 31 January 2018, up from £1.27 million last year.

In an increasingly competitive mortgage market in Scotland, the Society’s mortgage balances increased by 2.35 per cent to stand at a record £318.4 million, while savings balances also grew by 2.4 per cent to reach an all-time high of £373.7 million.

Speaking to members at the Society’s AGM at Hampden Park, chief executive Mark Thomson said: “I’m pleased to report another strong set of financial results for a year that has seen both residential mortgage assets and retail savings balances increase directly in line with our five-year-plan to grow our business in a balanced, prudent and controlled manner.

“As a proud mutual institution, providing long-term value to our members is at the very heart of our strategy. We have invested in new processes and technology to improve our mortgage services, and we will shortly be launching an online savings account. Some years ago we took the decision to offer only simple, straightforward savings products which have proven to be popular with our new and existing members, evidenced by the growth in our retail savings balances over the past 3 years of 12.6 per cent.

“Scottish Building Society is the world’s oldest surviving building society and this year we are celebrating our 170th anniversary. Our robust financial performance is matched by our commitment to the communities we serve across Scotland. Our Community Charity of the Year programme lets members decide which local charities we support and our sponsorship of the Scottish Women’s Premier League and grassroots girls’ football is helping increase participation in sport as well as allowing more women to play the game professionally in Scotland.

“We have continued to invest in our loyalty initiatives and increased our reserves to provide scope for further innovation in order that we remain relevant to both new and existing members.”

The key facts presented to the AGM about the Society’s finances are:

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

The Society has over 50 branches and local agency offices in communities across Scotland.