Over the last year ending 4 April 2013, the Nationwide Group has increased its gross mortgage lending by 17 per cent to £21.5 billion, accounting for 15.1 per cent of all UK residential mortgage lending.
This represents Nationwide’s highest ever market share. Over the same period, the Nationwide Group’s net lending was £6.5 billion, more than double that achieved in the previous financial year and equivalent to more than 100 per cent of total net lending in the UK. These results show that Nationwide has played a major role in supporting the UK housing market.
The Society has continued to focus on providing mortgages to first time buyers, both playing to its mutual heritage as well as helping to provide stimulus for the housing market. During the year Nationwide provided mortgages to over 42,000 first time buyers, a 75 per cent increase on last year. This means that one in every three of Nationwide’s new prime mortgages during the year was to a first time buyer and that the Society accounted for almost one in five of all first time buyer mortgages in the UK.
Nationwide has also continued to provide mortgage deals for up to 95 per cent of the value of the property through its Save to Buy scheme. Previously only available to first-time buyers, from January 2013 Nationwide extended the scheme to home movers. Customers who save at least £50 a month in a Save to Buy account for six months or more can get access to a mortgage with a five per cent deposit and have the opportunity to earn up to £1,000 cashback. Nearly 30,000 Save to Buy accounts have been opened since launch in April 2011, with the average account balance being £3,270. It means thousands more potential home buyers are on their way onto, or up, the property ladder. The Society is also an active participant in government schemes aimed at boosting the supply of new properties and access to home finance.
While some lenders have unilaterally increased their backbook mortgage rates for existing customers over the last 12 months, Nationwide has maintained its Base Mortgage Rate pledge. This ensures that a significant proportion of its existing mortgage members have access to a rate capped at 2 per cent above Bank of England base rate. The Society estimates that the member benefit of its BMR pledge has been in the region of £800 million, equating to an average of over £1,100 annual net benefit for each individual mortgage account compared to the average back book rate charged by other lenders, which exceeded 4 per cent.
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