Nationwide profits before tax dropped from £788m in 2019 to £469m this year, according to the lender’s preliminary results.

This was on total underlying income of £3bn for this year versus £3.2bn last year.

Net residential mortgage lending also dropped, from £8.6bn in 2019 to £2.8bn in 2020. Nationwide says, however, that buy-to-let lending grew “strongly”.

The figures show that BTL net lending came in at £3.3bn in 2020 versus £1.3bn the year before.

Nationwide says that it has penciled in £101m of credit losses due to mortgage payment holidays and the broader economic factors resulting from the pandemic.

It adds that there was “pressure on margins” before Covid-19 hit the UK though, pointing towards its investment in technology, higher PPI charges, and a competitive mortgage market.

Just last week, Nationwide vowed that it would not repossess any borrower’s homes over the next 12 months as part of a packet of measures to support customers.

Nationwide chief executive Joe Garner says: “In the last month of our financial year all our lives have been overshadowed by the Coronavirus… the pandemic has shown how dependent we all are on each other, and how important it is that we work together.

“Nationwide Building Society is a mutual organisation, founded on the belief that we can achieve more by acting together than we can alone. This principle is guiding our response to the pandemic, where we are doing all we can to protect people’s homes and jobs.”

Chief financial officer Chris Rhodes adds: “In the medium-term the society will focus on maintaining its strong capital and liquidity position through the economic cycle, enabling us to continue to provide competitive products and excellent service for our members.”