Ecology Building Society has welcomed “another solid set of results”, with record assets and savings balances for the year ending 31 December 2016.
The ethical finance pioneer offers a range of “simple, transparent, ethical savings accounts” that fund mortgages for properties and projects which use environmental building practices, improve the energy efficiency of the UK’s housing stock and help people live or work in a way that promotes a sustainable economy.
In its annual report, it says the 2016 results “continue more than 30 years of uninterrupted profitability, demonstrating that values based and purpose-driven finance is successful in the long-term”.
The results include:
- Record assets of £173.1m (2015: £145.9m) with a strong asset growth rate of 18.59% (2015: 5.85%)
- Gross lending of £30.7 (2015: £42.1m)
- A surge in savings balances to £163.1m (2015: £134.7m)
- Increased net profit of £920,000 (2015: £881,000).
During the year, Ecology experienced high levels of demand for savings accounts and attracted record savings inflows. As the volume of savings was higher than needed to fund lending activity, says the report, the society took measures to limit the increase in funds by restricting applications for new accounts.
Related: Ecology brings in Martin Sims from Co-op Bank
In 2016, Ecology lent over £30.7m for sustainable properties and projects, with 94% of mortgages advanced on residential properties (including new builds, renovations and shared ownership) and 6% on community-led housing (including charities, housing co-operatives and community businesses).
The growth in net profit adds to Ecology’s capital base, the society adds, increasing its financial strength and enhancing its ability to undertake further lending.
Throughout 2016 Ecology maintained its commitment to ethical business practices. The society is an accredited Living Wage employer and recently received certification from Pay Compare for transparency in publishing the ratio between the highest basic salary and the lowest full grade available. The ratio for 2016 was 4.99 (2015: 4.62).
Ecology was the first building society to be awarded the Fair Tax Mark for responsible tax behaviour and says it continues to reduce its own environmental impact as well as supporting environmental lending.
Chief executive Paul Ellis said: “Our financial success is based on sticking to our core principles: thinking long-term, putting our members first and focusing on our social and environmental impact.
“Our priority for 2017 is to continue to grow our mortgage book, particularly supporting more and more people to renovate their homes to a high environmental standard.”
- The society holds its annual general meeting and members’ meet-up at the Station in Bristol on Saturday, 29 April. The last day of voting for the meeting is 5pm on 26 April, or 29 April 2017 if voting in person at the meeting. Information and registration at ecology.co.uk/agm.
