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Investment case

By developing and delivering products for customers in a range of carefully selected, specialist lending markets, backed by a broadly-based funding capability, our aim is to deliver long-term sustainable growth for all our stakeholders through a low risk, robust operating model.

(All figures for six months ended/at 31 March 2023 unless otherwise stated)

Clear customer focus

Focusing on customers typically underserved by larger high street banks, we seek to know more about our customers and their markets than competitors, designing products to meet their needs and continually striving to exceed their expectations.

600 million+

items of customer data analysed every month

+62 NPS

net promoter score for customers opening a savings account

Customer focus
Lending growth

Lending growth in specialist markets

Building on our long and successful history in specialist buy-to-let mortgage lending, we are expanding into carefully selected commercial lending markets, offering asset finance, property development finance and structured lending products to UK SMEs, small corporates and non-bank lenders.

98.6%

of buy-to-let advances to specialist landlords

£570+ million

New commercial lending

Conservative risk appetite

We lend conservatively, based on detailed credit assessments of the customer and underlying loan collateral, to minimise the risk of non-payment and portfolio losses.

£7.5 million

net charge for impairment provision

Risk appetite
Cost control

Cost control

Distributing loan products principally via third party brokers, collecting savings deposits online and operating mainly from a centralised location means we run a cost-efficient business.

38.1%

cost: income ratio

Diversified funding base

We fund our assets using a variety of sources. These include retail deposits, wholesale funding and central bank funding where appropriate. We take care to secure competitive funding over an appropriate term to underpin our assets, cover working capital requirements and maintain a strong financial position.

£11.9 billion

retail savings deposits

Diversified funding
Financial foundations

Strong financial foundations

We maintain balance sheet strength through efficient use of capital and debt positions. Our proactive approach to capital management aims to provide appropriate returns to shareholders, whilst maintaining prudent levels of capital and liquidity to support our strategic objectives going forward and safeguard our depositors.

15.6%

CET1

Technology

Roll-out of new Commercial Lending portal and introduction of auto-decisioning in our SME lending division.

Roll-out of new Commercial Lending portal and introduction of auto-decisioning in our SME lending division

Technology
Management expertise

Management expertise

Setting our direction and driving us forward, our experienced management team have a successful, through-the-cycle track record, making sure we can capitalise on opportunities and weather the economic storms.

16 years

average length of service for executive management team at 30 September 2022

Distinctive culture

Eight core values underpin the way we do business and how we interact with our customers and other stakeholders, with a focus on treating customers fairly.

97%

of employees believe there is a clear and consistent set of values that underpin how we operate1

Distinctive culture
People excellence

People excellence

We are committed to helping all our employees reach their potential and recognise the importance of diversity, thereby maintaining a skilled and engaged workforce.

Platinum Investors in People Accreditation

1. Employee Survey 2023