The building society, which is the second largest in the UK behind Nationwide, made a pre-tax profit of £323m in 2024, down from £474m the prior year
Coventry Building Society has announced a decrease in its annual profits due to reduced mortgage costs, as it begins the process of merging with The Co-operative Bank following its acquisition earlier this year.
The building society, which is the UK’s second largest after Nationwide, reported a pre-tax profit of £323m in 2024, a drop from £474m the previous year. It attributed the decline in income to lower mortgage costs as UK interest rates were cut and savings customers shifted money into accounts with higher interest rates. This impacted the group’s net interest margin – the difference between what a bank earns from loans and pays out to savers.
However, the building society saw growth in mortgage and savings balances throughout the year, attributing this partly to competitive rates offered to members and incentives for saving. Coventry’s CEO Steve Hughes said the society managed to grow savings and mortgage balances in an “uncertain environment, with the UK economy experiencing more persistent inflation and higher interest rates than many believed to be the case at the start of the year”.
The building society finalised the £780m purchase of rival lender Co-op Bank at the beginning of 2025, creating a banking giant with millions of customers and an estimated £89bn in assets.
The Co-op Bank has been returned to a mutual structure, meaning it is owned by individual members rather than shareholders and investors like most UK banks. The full integration of the two businesses is expected to take several years, with both brands remaining on the high street during that period.
However, the ultimate goal is for Co-op Bank customers to become Coventry society members. In separate results published on Friday, Co-op Bank reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £116.2 million for 2024, slightly lower than the previous year due to lower mortgage costs and higher savings rates.