Paragon Banking Group PLC on Tuesday reported increased full-year earnings and declared a larger dividend in a year of ‘strong financial and operational performance’.

The Solihull, West Midlands-based mortgage and loan provider said pretax profit in the financial year to the end of September was up 27% to £253.8 million from £199.9 million year-on-year.

The bank said its total operating income also increased by 6.5% to £496.4 million from £466.0 million last year.

The company declared a final dividend of 27.2 pence per share, up 3.0% on 26.4 pence in financial 2023. This gives a total dividend for the financial year of 40.4 pence, up 8.0% from 37.4 pence last year.

Paragon said new lending performed towards the top end of expectations which helped its total loan portfolio grow by 5.6% to 15.7 billion from £14.9 billion in 2023. There was a ‘notable uptick’ in lending levels in the second half due to ‘strengthening confidence’ as interest rates began to fall.

The bank said its year-end pipelines are strong, which drives volumes for financial 2025. It said has confidence for the new year due to ‘accelerating momentum’ during 2024.

The company said it continues to seek internal ratings based accreditation, initially for its buy-to-let business.

Chief Executive Nigel Terrington said: ‘It has been another year of strong financial and operational performance, building on our consistent track record over the past decade, underpinned by the strength of our business model and long-term strategy...Improving customer sentiment, robust year-end pipelines, and our strategic focus on specialist markets, gives us confidence as we enter the new financial year.

‘Our savings franchise also continues to grow at pace, with retail deposits up almost 23%, outperforming the market, supporting our growth ambitions and providing strong liquidity. Paragon’s consistent focus on sustainable growth, enabled by an increasingly diversified and digitalised operating model, together with strong internal capital generation, puts us in a strong position to continue delivering superior returns to our shareholders whilst continually supporting our customers’ ambitions,’ he said.

Shares in Paragon were up 4.0% to 777.50 pence in London on Tuesday morning.

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