Coventry Building Society today became the latest mutual to declare a significant rise in savings balances in its interim results.

Savings balances in the six months to 30 June 2010 increased by £1.7 billion with net retail receipts representing 8 per cent of all UK bank and building society receipts.

The society’s profit before tax increased by 20 per cent to £43.5 million for the same period in 2009 and its core tier one capital ratio (a measure of financial strength used by the Financial Services Authority) was the highest of any building society at 26.9 per cent.

David Stewart, chief executive of Coventry Building Society said the mutual has benefitted from maintaining a strict business model in a tricky economic climate.

He explained, ‘Underlying profit before tax increased by 40 per cent to £46.5 million, during a period in which the society’s net mortgage lending was equivalent to 31 per cent of the market as a whole.

‘These excellent results maintain our record of strong performance since the onset of the credit crisis in 2007.

'We have been able to do this because Coventry’s simple business model was equipped to cope with the events of the past three years.’

The organisation’s financial strength is rated as grade A by Fitch and A3 by Moody’s.