(RTTNews) - Specialist lending and retail savings group OSB GROUP PLC (OSB.L), on Wednesday, issued a trading update for the period from 1 January 2025 to date and reported that the Group's Q1 performance is in line with expectations, with progress supporting its full-year guidance.
OSB's Q1 originations totaled £1.1 billion, compared to £1.0 billion in Q1 2024, reflecting steady growth in lending activity. The Group's net loan book grew slightly to £25.2 billion, from £25.1 billion at the end of 2024, as it maintained pricing discipline and focused on higher-yielding specialist sub-segments, including Commercial, Asset Finance, Bridging, and Development Finance.
Retail deposits remained stable at £23.8 billion, while the TFSME balance outstanding was reduced to £810 million as of 31 March 2025 from £1.4 billion at year-end 2024. The Group has actively managed liquidity, leveraging funds from a securitization in December to repay approximately £600 million of TFSME balance.
The proportion of loans with arrears exceeding three months stood at 1.7%, unchanged from the end of 2024, in line with modelled expectations.
In addition, the company has repurchased £15.7 million worth of shares under its £100 million repurchase programme, which is scheduled for completion by 10 March 2026.
Andy Golding, CEO of OSB Group, expressed confidence in the Group's positioning and strategy, stating: "We continued to prioritise returns over growth when pricing new and retention mortgage products which led to a broadly flat net loan book compared to the end of 2024. We saw growth in originations in more complex Buy-to-Let and our higher-yielding specialist sub-segments and retail deposit pricing remained in line with our assumptions with an attractive blended front book margin."
OSB noted that it remains on track to deliver its 2025 guidance, targeting low single-digit net loan book growth, a net interest margin of about 225bps, £270 million in administrative expenses, and low-teens RoTE.
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