It says mortgage advances jumped more than threefold to £71.1m, while total mortgage assets lifted 1.1% to £410.5m compared to a year ago, according to its annual report released today.

But Dudley Building Society chief executive Jeremy Wood says in his review in the annual report: “During the early days of the pandemic the board was anxious that a greater effort should be placed on maintaining services for existing rather than acquiring new members.

“As a result of that, mortgage growth has been lower than we would normally wish.”

The mutual ads in its report: “After a year of contraction, the society re-engaged with its intermediary partners and re-entered the market. The mortgage book returned to growth in the second half of the year.”

During the year the firm opened 2,767 new saving accounts, and reduced the number of mortgages in arrears from 66 to 47 in the year to the end of March.

In April, Wood announced he would step down from his role as chief executive at the 2022 Annual General Meeting on 14 July.

James Paterson has been named as Wood’s replacement, joining the society in May and taking on his new role as chief executive next month.

At the time of the spring announcement, Paterson served as the director of banking and marketing at Secure Trust Bank. Prior to that, he held senior roles at Coventry Building Society.