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Secure Trust Bank PLC on Thursday reported higher first-half profit, whilst edging out of motor finance as the sector faces redress schemes. The Solihull, England-based specialist lender posted a 30% rise in pretax profit, which totalled £22.3 million in the six months that ended June 30, up from £17.1 million a year ago. Basic earnings per share climbed 30% to 87.6 pence from 67.2p. The lender boosted its interim dividend to 11.8p from 11.3p, 4.4% higher on-year. Back in July, Secure Trust said its Vehicle Finance division will stop new lending and put its existing loan book into run-off. The pivot was announced in July, after a UK court ruled last October that lenders would need to pay redress to customers who were referred to them by motor dealers. Secure Trust made a £6.4 million cost provision for potential redress owed. On Thursday, the bank said it had identified £2.2 million owed to customers, ‘where we could have supported them better due to their individual circumstances.’ The lender noted that it has paid ‘a significant proportion’ of that amount. An additional £1.0 million exceptional charge for redress was recorded in the first half, as Secure Trust continues ‘to work through more complex cases which has extended the timeline to complete the programme of work.’ The bank’s Vehicle Finance branch posted a pretax loss of £4.5 million for the six-month period, narrowed from £12.5 million on-year. In 2024, the branch lost £21.8 million, with a net lending balance of £558.3 million as of December 31. Real Estate Finance, Commercial Finance and Retail Finance have remained profitable so far this year, with the latter leading performance by contributing £26.8 million in pretax profit, up from £25.1 million in 2024. ‘We recently announced a strategic pivot away from Vehicle Finance which will enable further allocation of capital to our higher-performing specialist lending businesses,’ commented Chief Executive David McCreadie. Secure Bank noted that 284 employees ‘have been placed at risk of redundancy’, and that ‘impacted headcount will reduce in line with the run-off profile of the Vehicle Finance portfolios. This difficult decision was not taken lightly but is an important step to promote the success of the group.’ McCreadie added: ‘We have identified a number of exciting opportunities for further growth in our core businesses, the details of which will be outlined by Ian later this year.’ CEO-designate Ian Corfield officially takes over on Saturday, though McCreadie will oversee the transition until June 2026. The bank’s shares rose 10% to 1,210.00 pence on Thursday afternoon in London. Copyright 2025 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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