Newcastle sees sharp rise in resi lending

Newcastle Building Society added in excess of £100m to its loan book in H1 2016.

Newcastle Building Society saw its grossresidential mortgage lending increase to £255m from £148m during the first half of 2016, it's latest figures have revealed.

Newcastle's book also performed well with the percentage of mortgages in arrears by 3 months or more continuing at a very low level of 0.47% compared to 0.51% at the same point last year; well below industry averages

Andrew Haigh, chief executive at the Newcastle, said: "We have a great range of mortgage products for customers which we have expanded to include a new range of products tailored for customers who are either self-employed or require a larger loan size.

"Our first-time buyer lending has been very successful in the first half of 2016 with consistent good value products up to 95% loan to value for those customers taking their first step onto the property ladder. Our buy-to-let and self-build mortgage products have also been well received by brokers and customers and have contributed to strong lending volumes in the first half of the year.

"We pride ourselves on having mortgage products to suit a wide range of house buyers, from 2 to 10-year fixed rates, variable and discounted rates, and fee free products. We also have a range of retention products available on maturity for loyal customers.

"Our ‘Home Saver’ products have been popular with customers looking to save for a home where they can participate in the government’s Help to Buy scheme and also take the Society’s First Home Saver account, both available through our innovative ‘CustomISA’ facility. CustomISA allows customers to combine tax free saving into a Help to Buy ISA and a First Home Saver ISA at the same time, taking advantage of the bonuses offered on both products when the customer buys their home."

The society – the largest in the North East – is six months into a £10m investment programme to improve customer services and upgrade its branch network.