A NORTH-EAST building society is going from strength to strength, despite fierce competition from banks, it was revealed yesterday.

Darlington Building Society said its mortgages were in strong demand.

The society said its commitment to looking after the local interests of members in County Durham, North Yorkshire and the Tees Valley had been rewarded.

It announced a 137 per cent increase in new lending in the first half of 2002.

Results for the six months ended June 30 2002 show the society lent £65m, £38m higher than the corresponding period in 2001.

Net of repayments, the society now lends £391m to 11,000 borrowers, a net growth of 13.3 per cent in mortgage balances outstanding.

The increase in lending was funded by an increase of members' deposits to cash mini ISAs (individual savings accounts) TOISAs (Tessa Only individual savings accounts) fixed rate bonds and regular savings accounts.

Total shares, deposits and loans, held by more than 112,000 individuals, increased to £457m from £415m.

Total assets of the society now stand at £492m, which is 9.5 per cent higher than 12 months previously.

The society's reserves increased to £33.5m.

Peter Rowley, chief executive of Darlington Building Society, said the results were "excellent".

He said: "We are delighted with these excellent results which set new records for the society.

"A combination of sustained low interest rates, the deployment of our mutual advantage in consistently making national "best buy" tables with discounted variable and fixed rate mortgages and strong demand for housing have enabled existing and new members to benefit from the superior pricing, service and local knowledge that we offer."