Shawbrook Bank enjoys strong year as it positions itself UK’s specialist lender of choice

By Bridging Loan Directory 20th April 2020

Shawbrook Bank confirmed a strong financial performance for the year today (Friday, April 17^th) as it published its 2019 annual report and accounts.

The UK-focussed specialist lender increased profit before tax by 11% during the period ending 31^st December 2019 to £122.4 million.

The bank experienced a 15% increase in its loan book to £6.8 billion, with its Property Finance and Business Finance divisions growing to £4.4 billion and £1.7 billion respectively.

It’s Consumer Lending division also continued to show steady performance, ending the year with a loan book of £0.7 billion.

Shawbrook’s Savings business welcomed £6.1 billion in customer deposits – a figure which was enhanced by the launch of its new digital SME deposit range in November 2019.

This strong lending performance led to Shawbrook’s customer base increasing, with the bank servicing more than 420,500 business and consumer clients during the year.

Cost of risk was 47bps, highlighting excellent credit quality levels, while also experiencing strong risk adjusted returns with gross asset yield standing at 6.4%.

Meanwhile, the bank’s Common Equity Tier 1 and total capital ratio stood at 12% and 16.4% respectively.

Ian Cowie, reporting on his first full year as the bank’s Chief Executive Officer, said Shawbrook’s success was supported by “an increased focus on its core propositions”.

He said: “I am delighted to be presenting Shawbrook’s 2019 Annual Report and Accounts following my first full year as Chief Executive Officer.

“We are reporting another strong and progressive set of results, further endorsing our continued emphasis on the specialist segments we serve.

“An increased focus on our core propositions has helped drive strong lending volumes with our loan book increasing by 15%, or £0.9 billion, to £6.8 billion. This growth was particularly evident across our Property Finance and Business Finance divisions, where loan balances increased to £4.4 billion and £1.7 billion respectively.

“Our deposit franchise is key to our lending growth and in 2019 we stepped up our investment in our Savings business, serving more than 147,000 customers with our simple, straightforward and consistently competitive savings products. To provide a more rounded SME offering, we also successfully launched our new digital SME deposit range.”

Mr Cowie also provided an update on the steps Shawbrook continue to take in response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. He commented: “We are taking all appropriate steps in line with government advice and reviewing the most up-to-date information available. We have implemented our Incident Management plan and our priority during this period continues to be on ensuring the safety of our people, whilst keeping our business operational to meet the needs of our customers.”

He finished his statement on a positive note: “As this report describes, we have made significant progress over the last year and I am confident that our ongoing investment plan is leading to improvements for customers whilst creating long-term sustainability and value for our business. I believe we are uniquely placed to lead the market as the specialist SME lender of choice.”