Buy-to-let specialist lender Paragon Bank on Tuesday reported higher interim profits and a £40m share buyback as the housing market recovered from the Covid pandemic.
The company posted a 68.8% rise in profits to £96.4m and declared a 7.2p-a-share dividend for the six months to March 31. Net interest margin, the difference between savings and lending rates, rose 3 points to 2.32%.
Impairment charges fell to £6m compared to £30m in the same period in 2020 although the group maintained a cautious outlook as “uncertainties remain” about prospects for small businesses and retail customers once government Covid support schemes are unwound.
