The Nationwide Building Society has reported a fall in gross mortgage lending and market share for Q3 2017/18.
Gross mortgage lending totalled £24.1bn, compared to £26.2bn for the same period 12 months previously; total market share was 12.2%, down from 14.3%.
Meanwhile, underlying profits increased to £883m from £866m.
Joe Garner, Nationwide Building Society chief executive, said: “The Society continued to trade strongly in the period. Our mutual commitment to member value and leading service shapes our decision making. It means we continue to support loyal savings members with rates on average 50% higher than the market average. We are also proud to maintain our position as no. 1 for customer satisfaction amongst our high street peer group, with an overall lead of 2.9% over our nearest competitor and 7.6% over the peer group average.
“Nationwide is top choice for current accounts on the high street and more people are switching to us than any other provider6. As we anticipated, a subdued buy to let mortgage market, plus sustained competition, slowed the pace of growth in our mortgage book. With third quarter mortgage reservations significantly stronger than for the same period last year, we expect a strong final quarter for our gross lending.
“By choosing Nationwide, our members have helped the Society generate a substantial surplus, and our underlying profit for the year to date increased to £883 million. Members understandably expect their Society to remain safe and secure, so we’ve further enhanced our already strong financial position. Our capital and leverage ratios strengthened over the period, and are well ahead of regulatory requirements at 30.5% and 4.9% respectively.
“Supporting the financial lives of our members is a founding purpose of our building society. We also aim to play our part in helping to solve Britain’s housing shortage, in line with our founding principles and our expertise. We’ve launched a range of initiatives to support both renters and buyers, including most recently a commitment to build around 250 homes as part of an innovative, sustainable housing development in Swindon, just three miles from our head office.
“Looking ahead, we expect the economy to continue to grow but only modestly. Consumer spending, which has been a key driver of growth, has slowed noticeably, and almost three quarters of those surveyed in our Brexit Consumer Panel expressed concern about the rising cost of goods and services. Modest economic growth is also likely to hold back the housing market and house price growth. Overall, we expect house prices to be broadly flat in 2018 with perhaps a marginal gain of around 1%. We expect competition in the mortgage market to continue and we will prioritise quality over volumes in the long-term interests of our members.”