This is accountable to an increase of £182m in retail mortgage lending in 2020, taking total retail lending over £8bn for the first time.
In addition, Principality also increased provision levels by £9.1m to cover potential future losses arising from the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.
Underlying profit before tax fell to £24.1m, from £39.8m in 2019, and statutory profit before tax declined to £19.9m in 2020, down from £39.6m the year prior.
Julie-Ann Haines, chief executive of Principality Building Society, said: “As promised last year, we continued to invest previous profits back into the business to boost our technology so we could offer our members improvements to their customer service.
“Our enhanced online security has made members’ accounts more secure, and a new web chat function has been added to improve the customer experience.
“In response to customer feedback, we have also increased the range of products available to customers online.
“Our ambition is to move at pace in the next few years and we will continue to invest in the society to improve our proposition and offer greater flexibility to our members.
“We expect the economic environment to remain challenging in 2021 and beyond as the impact of the pandemic continues to be felt.
“In these difficult circumstances, I want to assure members that Principality remains a safe home for their savings, and has the strength to resist the turbulence we are all facing.
“Our strategy and long term priorities remain unchanged and, while our immediate focus remains on helping members, colleagues and communities through these uncertain times, we are committed to developing and growing our business in a safe and sustainable way.”
