OneSavings Bank starts strong amid 'exceptionally strong' mortgage demand

OneSavings Bank grew its loan book 5% in the first quarter, a doubly good result considering the challenger bank's very strong start last year.

Net loans and advances grew £283m to £6.2bn and it reported organic origination of £599m in with margins remaining "very strong".

The FTSE 250 bank has now drawn £451m under the Bank of England's term funding scheme, up from £101m at the end of last year.

Funds drawn under the funding for lending scheme were £525m, compared to £524.6m at the end of December.

Chief executive Andy Golding said he was delighted with the performance of the business so far this year, highlighting "exceptionally strong levels of new mortgage applications", a trend that has continued into the second quarter.

"This further demonstrates the strength of our specialist capabilities, which line up directly with the continuing professionalisation of the buy-to-let market.

"We remain confident of achieving at least mid-teens net loan book growth in 2017".

Broker Numis said it believed the term funding scheme is supporting the group margin "in what we see as an increasingly competitive market".

Analysts expect credit quality to have remained excellent.