11th May 2016 06:58
LONDON (Alliance News) - OneSavings Bank PLC on Wednesday said it is confident in the outlook for 2016, as the specialist lender reported that net loans and advances grew by GBP460 million during the first quarter.
The increase in loans and advances was driven by originating loans and accelerating acquisitions of first and second charge residential mortgage portfolios totalling GBP131 million.
Margins on GBP627 million of organic origination in the quarter remained strong, OneSavings said. Net interest margin in the first quarter was in line with its expectations, prompting the bank to say it remains confident in its guidance of around 300 basis points for the full year.
OneSavings said its costs as a percentage of income remain "excellent" and expects the full-year ratio to be in line with or slightly higher than the 26% achieved in 2015, as previously guided.
Despite the introduction of the UK government's bank tax surcharge, return on equity was "strong" in the first quarter, putting OneSavings on track to deliver a return "comfortably ahead" of its financial target.
"I am extremely pleased with the performance of the business so far this year. We achieved strong levels of new business in the first quarter with GBP627 million of organic origination at attractive margins, supported by acquisitions of GBP131 million," OneSavings Chief Executive Officer Andy Golding said in a statement.
"As expected, March was a record month as we fulfilled heightened demand to accelerate mortgage completions ahead of stamp duty changes. Intermediary focus has now returned to new applications and we are confident in achieving our full-year growth targets," Golding said.
By Samuel Agini; [email protected]; @samuelagini
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