The lender said its focus on ease, speed and better value for customers supported its performance against a “volatile economic backdrop”. 

Its mortgage balances rose from £1.5bn to £2.1bn. 

Atom’s net interest margin stood at 2.84%, slightly down from 2.93% the year before. It said it was “conscious” of the impact of rising rates on borrowers and chose not to pass on the June base rate rise. Its standard variable rate is currently 6.99%. 

However, the bank did pass some of the base rate rises to savers, which saw its deposit balances double from £3.2bn to £6.6bn. 

It said its customer numbers also nearly doubled to 224,000, up from 123,000 in 2022. 

The bank’s net interest income rose by 62% to £76m, while its total operating costs increased from £51m to £59m. 

Cost-effective strategy

The lender adopted a “low-cost” operational model of investing in technology and providing simple products had “tangible” benefits for its customers, citing its mortgage application to offer time which was less than five days in Q4. It said this compared to the industry average of 23 days. 

Atom said this strategy exposed the “operational costs and inefficiency of the legacy banks”. 

Mark Mullen, chief executive at Atom, said: “It has been an important year for Atom. We’ve grown strongly, kept our costs tight and delivered our first annual operating profit.  

“We’ve also passed on more than 70% of the Bank of England’s base rate increases to our savers but only 70% of them to our standard variable rate mortgage borrowers. And we’ve done it while maintaining our five-star Trustpilot and app store ratings.”  

He added: “Over the course of the year, Atom has shown that banks can provide exceptional customer service and offer customers better value for money. We never allow ourselves to forget that ultimately, the customer pays for everything.   

“We believe that the lowest cost wins. Lowest cost and highest quality wins every time. If that isn’t the new banking paradigm, then it ought to be.”