Yorkshire Building Society grew its savings and mortgage balances in the first half of 2026, rewarding members with above market rates and helping make good homes possible for more people.
Despite economic uncertainty and heightened competition, the Society delivered a solid performance, increasing mortgage balances to £52.3bn (2025: £51.9bn) and savings to £54.5bn (2025: £54.0bn).
In the first six months of the year, 288,000 new savings accounts were opened, with members receiving rates that were, on average, nearly 20% higher than the market, meaning they earned an additional £115.4m in just five months. This extends the Society’s record of paying above market savings rates to more than a decade.
The Society provided 19,300 new residential mortgages during the first half of the year, with more than a quarter going to first-time buyers, while March saw the busiest day for mortgage applications in the Society’s history.
The Society’s continued commitment to helping people own a home contributed to a modest increase in lending risk which, coupled with a more cautious economic outlook, resulted in an impairment charge of £23.7m. The mortgage portfolio remains resilient, with low levels of default.
Financial highlights:
- Compared to the end of 2025, savings balances increased by 0.9% to £54.5bn (2025 H1: reduction of 0.3%)
- 288,000 savings accounts opened (2025 H1: 288,000)
- Savers were paid on average 3.34% (2025: 3.66%), 0.54 percentage points (pp) above the market average (0.62pp higher over 2025)
- 19,300 new residential mortgages provided (2025 H1: 18,000), with 5,600 going to first-time buyers (2025 H1: 4,500)
- Compared to the end of 2025, mortgage balances increased by 0.8% to £52.3bn (2025 H1: 1.7%)
- Gross mortgage lending increased to £4.6bn (2025 H1: £4.3bn)
- Statutory profit before tax £181.9m (2025 H1: £187.9m)
- Core operating profit £175.0m (2025 H1: £215.4m)
- Impairment of financial assets £23.7m (2025 H1: 2.0m)
- Common Equity Tier 1 ratio 19.2% (2025: 18.8%) and liquidity coverage ratio 243.3% (2025: 238.7%) – both significantly above regulatory requirements
The Society continued in its commitment to deliver value for members, maintaining above-market savings rates and investing significantly in its future capabilities. As a building society, owned by its members and without external shareholders, profit is reinvested to strengthen the Society and improve products, services and value for members over the long term.
Susan Allen, chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, said:
“We have delivered a solid first-half performance, growing both savings and mortgage balances while continuing to invest in the products and services our members value.
“Against a backdrop of economic volatility and heightened competition, our results demonstrate the strength of our mutual model and the trust millions of customers place in us.
“Our Purpose – Real Help with Real Life – means members coming together to make good homes possible for more people. This remains the foundation of everything we do and is more relevant than ever. Whether helping people save for the future, buy a home or support their local communities, we are focused on making a meaningful difference to the lives of our members.
Rewarding savers and making more good homes possible
“We’re rewarding savers with competitive returns and investing in digital improvements to make it easier for members to manage their money in the ways that suit them best. In the first half of the year, three quarters of new savings accounts were opened online. Our app has a record number of users and in the last few months we’ve introduced new features being used by thousands of customers already. Mortgage customers can check their balance, rate and transactions while our new Monthly Auto Saver feature is helping members build their savings automatically.
“We remain committed to supporting and removing barriers to home ownership, particularly for first-time buyers. For example, we reacted quickly to regulatory changes to allow first-time buyers to borrow up to 5.5 times their income[4]. We also removed the minimum income requirement, and this has meant in the first half of the year we’ve made nearly 1,800 mortgage offers to customers who would not have met the previous criteria.
Supporting the communities we serve
“But being a member of Yorkshire Building Society means being part of something bigger. As well as making good homes possible for more people, our members are supporting communities across the UK.
“We have reached our target of raising £1 million to support Building Skills for the Future – The Felix Project and FareShare’s employability programme which has so far supported more than 2,300 people.
“Through our Small Change Big Difference scheme, which lets members donate the pence of interest from their accounts, the Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation has granted over £200,000 to community organisations nominated by members and colleagues in the first few months of 2026 alone.
Investing and modernising
“As a modern mutual with no external shareholders, every decision we make is shaped by what’s right for our members over the long term.
“Our performance in the first half of 2026 has strengthened the Society, allowing us to continue to invest, grow sustainably and support members through every stage of life, now and for generations to come.”
