Standard Life Bank, the greenfield telephone and Internet bank set up by the UK life assurer five years ago, has moved into profit one year ahead of target.
The Edinburgh-based mortgage and savings bank made a profit of £4.6 million for the year to 15 November compared to a loss of £9.9 million a year earlier.
Mortgages under management grew from £7.2bn to £8.7bn and gross mortgage lending rose from £3.1bn to £3.4bn. The retail savings balance fell slightly to £4.6 billion.
The bank, which serves 420,000 customers, says mortgage arrears (three or more payments down) stood at 0.08 per cent, less than 10 per cent of the industry average.
Anne Gunther, chief executive of Standard Life Bank, says: "In 2003 Standard Life Bank moved beyond the start-up phase and we are now a mature, successful business."
She dismissed speculation that the troubled parent might sell the bank to improve its financial position, pointing to the potential for cross-sales across the group.