The group, which is 150 years old and has about 991,000 members, said first-time buyers had been driving demand for lending and made up almost half of all new mortgages in 2024.
But Mr Fearon said it was “critical” to ramp up house building up across the country to increase the supply of affordable homes on the market.
The building society reported a pre-tax operating profit of £137.5 million for 2024, down from the £181.5 million made the prior year.
