Another record year for Unity as demand for impact-led business banking grows

Published: March 25, 2026

 

Unity Trust Bank has reported another record year of responsible lending and deposits.

Our annual results show our overall lending grew by 12% to over £1.1 billion (2024: £1 billion). This funding helps customers to improve local communities through access to frontline healthcare, quality housing, employment, support services and supporting green growth.

New lending more than doubled in 2025 to over £333 million (2024: £137 million) – an increase of 147%. A record £165 million of new lending (53.7%) went to customers delivering services in areas of high deprivation.

Unity’s deposits rose by 8% to a record £1.9 billion (2024: £1.8 billion), as more organisations seek assurance that their savings will only be used for good.

Pre-tax profit remained strong and as planned at £52.4m (2024 £65.8m) allowing for lower interest rates. This resulted in an improved CET1 capital ratio of 24.3% (2024: 24.1%).

 

It’s been another incredible year of growth at Unity. Increasing our loan book by 12% has enabled more people across the UK to access the frontline services they need. Unity has long had a ‘double bottom line’ commitment. This is to deliver positive social impact as well as sustainable returns. I’m proud to say that we deliver this year after year. Our strategy is to double the size of the bank and our impact by 2030. I’m delighted that our performance and achievements to date show we’re on the right path to achieving this goal.

Colin Fyfe, CEO at Unity

 

In 2025, the outcomes of Unity’s lending included:

• Creating or protecting 5,296 jobs.
• Safeguarding 1,625 care beds.
• Supporting 1,015 people at risk of homelessness.
• Supporting housing associations with over 1,700 social housing units.
• Providing 1,330 education spaces.

 

Unity also achieved a number of milestones in 2025.

For the first time in our 41-year history, Unity was awarded an Investment Grade credit rating from Fitch Ratings. This landmark accreditation strengthens the bank’s position as a robust social impact bank.

Unity became one of a small number of banks globally to be verified as meeting the Global Impact Investing Network’s ‘Operating Principles for Impact Management’ standards. This underscores the bank’s drive for positive change and is a benchmark for quality impact management.

Unity also became the first UK bank to invest in Local Climate Bonds. These support local councils to deliver on their Net Zero objectives. Unity committed an initial £15m towards councils’ environmental projects with more to come in 2026.

Unity’s award-winning Retrofit Transition Initiative (RTI) delivered £8.5m funding. This enabled six housing association customers to decarbonise 736 homes and 21 communal spaces.

In October 2025, Unity went one step further and replaced RTI with a £100 million Green Tariff Lending commitment. This will support all customers on their transition to Net Zero.

Unity’s values as a social impact bank are also embedded in our culture. In 2025 we received the prestigious ‘Outstanding’ Best Companies’ accreditation. This followed a survey of our 300+ strong workforce.

A record £140,500 in grants and donations was distributed to good causes throughout the year. The money was raised through staff salary sacrifice, fundraising and the bank’s match-funding. This included £50,000 for the Unity Impact Grants programme and £35,000 support for the King’s Trust partnership.

 

Colin added:

 

At the core of everything we do at Unity is our customers. They are at the fore of every decision we make. We continue to invest in our digital banking platform as well as our UK-based contact centre. The number of relationship managers who provide personal support to lending customers has increased. We have also strengthened our specialist support for sectors such as trade unions, charities and local councils. Our ambition is to be the bank of choice for all socially-minded organisations in the UK. I’m delighted that more than 11,300 values-aligned customers choose our business banking services.

Colin Fyfe, CEO at Unity

 

Related resources

Visit our Impact Hub to explore the full social, economic and environmental impact Unity delivers, or click on the link below to download our 2025 Impact Report. Explore our Impact Toolkit to understand how you can measure the impact of your organisation.