Paragon Bank posted new buy-to-let lending, which jumped 15.6% to £423.2m in the three months to the end of December from a year ago, with, “business flows and margins running above expectations”.
However, commercial loans to small firms and for motor finance, fell 7.3% to £254.2m in the period, “primarily as a result of timing differences in our structured lending business”.
Overall, the specialist lender reported new loans across the group up 11% to £677.4m in a trading statement.
Its BTL pipeline ended the quarter at £691.9m, 23.6% higher than a year ago.
Landlord annualised redemptions came in at 7.7%, compared to 6.4% over the period, “reflecting continued strong retention levels”.
The group’s net loan balances rose 1% to £15.9bn during the quarter, and were 5.5% higher than a year ago.
The business reiterated its 2025 full-year guidance, which forecasts BTL volumes ranging from £1.6bn to £1.8bn and commercial loans at between £1.2bn to £1.4bn.
Paragon Bank chief executive Nigel Terrington says: “The first quarter of our new financial year has continued to see good progress with encouraging new business flows and margins running above expectations.
“The benefits of our digitalisation programme remain evident in both demand and efficiency, and we will roll out further technology-driven changes during 2025.”
