Co-op bank reports ‘resilient’ performance in first few months of 2021
Co-op Bank reported a small underlying profit in the first three months of 2021 of £2.6m, with statutory profit before tax of £7.2m.
CEO Nick Slape said the bank had delivered a “resilient” three-month performance, that should position it well to deliver overall profit in 2021.
“We have delivered a resilient performance by maintaining our focus on income generation, simplification and by reducing our operating costs,” he said.
“Our retail business continues to grow, with net residential lending increasing by 6 per cent in the quarter with a strong pipeline. Our SME banking proposition is developing well with the launch of a new mobile app, credit card and same-day onboarding, alongside a strong pipeline of new customers switching to join us.”
The lender benefitted from the housing boom at the start of the year, with a six per cent increase in mortgage balances to £1bn with a strong pipeline going into Q2 of £2bn.
The bank launched a new SME mobile banking app in the first three months of 2021, as well as a new credit card product for its SME customers.
It also set up a ‘pay as you grow’ payment option, along with a calculator, to help SME customers with Covid bounce-back loan repayments.