The mutual attributes the success to a variety of specialist lending and an unprecedented demand caused by a return to 95% first-time buyer products mid-2020.
Its first-time buyer products lasted 48 hours before they had to be withdrawn after a 1622% increase in DIP activity, and a 560% increase in first-time buyer enquiries.
In addition, residential mortgages – home movers and remortgages – saw a 104.9% uplift in lending value as the SDLT holiday added buoyancy to the market.
Commercial lending increased in 2020, as development finance figures nearly doubled year-on-year.
The ExPat BTL range also saw an increase in completions of over 138%.
Colin Field, chief executive at Saffron Building Society, said: “What a year 2020 turned out to be! Nobody was prepared for what was to come during a pandemic, but the market remained buoyant, supported with the SDLT holiday, and it turned out to be a record year for Saffron.
“We are delighted at the substantial growth of certain specialist products such as the ExPat BTL range – which was substantially boosted by the SDLT holiday.
“Also, the rise in development finance applications which led to aJake, formidable increase in lending in that area.
“Across the board the teams have worked tirelessly to support intermediaries and members in what is an unprecedented time for everyone.
“We have invested heavily in the last year on our people and have successfully bolstered departments to handle the sheer volume of enquiries. This ensured we were able to get to completion as quickly as possible, whilst proving top class customer service too.”
