Niche lender Private & Commercial Finance Group plc (LON:PCF) has kept its eye on the ball, even as it moves towards setting up its banking arm.
The group's primary objective is to complete full mobilisation of the bank and the project is on track for delivery this summer, chief executive officer Scott Maybury revealed in a statement released ahead of today's annual general meeting.
Meanwhile, the group reported that trading in the first five months of the current year has been in line with management expectations.
New business originations in the five months to 28 February 2017 were 11.3% ahead of the comparative period last year at £28.2mln (2016: £25.3m), while portfolio quality and performance have been maintained at the previous high levels.
The portfolio of receivables has grown to £127mln from £122mln.
The group's key profitability indicators of Return on Average Assets and Return on Equity continue to meet management targets of 2.5% and 12.5%.
Maybury praised the P&CFG team for not being distracted by the bank mobilisation process.
“The banking licence will greatly expand our addressable lending market and thereby provide a significant increase in scale, with a target portfolio of £350mln in three years and £750mln in five years, which together with our continued focus on operational success and efficiencies will ultimately deliver superior profitability," Maybury said.