We present our 349th balance sheet below. During the past year deposits have been growing and the footings nearly passed the £6bn milestone at the year end. The capital and liquidity ratios remain strong, and we consistently hold over £1bn in the Bank of England.
Happy New Year. Last year was hard on all of us, but I am optimistic for this and future years. Whilst the country is burdened with debt and difficulties, there are lots of grounds for optimism.
Our entire bank community has been affected in some way by the coronavirus or by the authorities’ handling of it. The virus did not spare Tigger Hoare, a partner of the bank for nearly 50 years, who sadly died at the end of March.
My last winter letter said we aim to be ‘good bankers and good citizens’ and went on to explain our banking proposition. This letter outlines our efforts to be good citizens at the same time.
We are pleased to welcome Steven Cooper as our new chief executive. He joins from a distinguished career in Barclays (retail) bank. We thank and congratulate David Green for leaving the bank considerably stronger than he found it 16 years ago.
The balance sheet overleaf remains very strong, and reflects healthy profits in the year ending
March 2018. We continue to attract a good inflow of high quality new customers and attractive new
business (despite concerns over asset prices).
