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Total assets reached a record level at year end of £124.8m, a rise of 13.73% (2012: 6.10%). The growth level would have been higher were it not for measures that we took to restrict inflow of funds, necessary to ensure that the overall financial sustainability of the Society did not suffer. It is necessary to restrict liquidity to ensure that profits can be maintained, these profits being the mainsource of capital available to the Society. Despite the increase in overall lending, we ended the year with higher levels of liquid funds than our preferred level – another reason why we will continue to extend our reachto potential borrowers in 2014.

Over the course of the year, the Society has tried to maintain its rates for existing savers, while recognising that the difficulties at the Co-operative Bank have led new ethical savers to Ecology. The Society has deliberately operated with a very low margin between our saving and borrowing rates, in order to deliver value to both borrowers and savers.