Unity serves businesses and organisations which, like us, seek to benefit the common good as well as deliver sustainable returns for our shareholders.
Unity has pursued these principles since its foundation in 1984 by Trade Unions and the Cooperative Bank. Our strong 2022 results were driven by them and helped by the rapid rise in Bank Rate. Our growth improves our resilience and allows us to support a better society for all.
In 2022 we increased our lending to £836.6m (2021: £723.5m); our deposits to £1,539m (2021: £1,507m); annual after-tax earnings to £22.8m (2021: £9.7m); and return on shareholders’ equity to 19.6% (2021: 9.7%). At the end of 2022 Unity’s capital base was strong by the Bank of England’s CET1 measure at a healthy 18.3%. The Unity defined benefit pension scheme remained in surplus despite the volatility in financial markets.
The economic outlook became more uncertain during 2022 and there are severe challenges for many people. High inflation and low growth present an environment not seen in a generation. The experience many of our senior people have of previous economic cycles will be highly valuable at this time. We have reaffirmed Unity’s emphasis on only ‘safe growth’ and furthering the common good, using relationship-led banking. Our financial performance and continued investment in people and systems is establishing a more resilient platform to support the Bank’s and our customers’ needs through this period of economic uncertainty.
In 2022 we continued our positive contribution to the communities we serve. The social impact metrics for the year can be found in the Highlights section in our 2022 Impact Report.
Record £27.4m (2021: £11.1m)
(2021: £723.2m)
(2021: 17.7% CET 1 ratio)
