THE growth of Kent Reliance Building Society has been highlighted in a new report.

KPMG, the international accounting group, paid a back-handed compliment to bosses of the Chatham-based society by suggesting that only building societies with "weak, timid or unimaginative management need fear for the immediate future".

Mike Lazenby, its controversial chief executive who has been dubbed "Maverick Mike", and his colleagues have never been accused of weakness, timidity or lacking imagination.

Mr Lazenby has courted controversy by opposing the two-way traffic scheme in Medway, withholding a business award for innovation because he claimed no finalist was innovative enough, and threatening to move the 100-year-old society to Wales.

KPMG found that Kent Reliance’s assets grew by 25 per cent last year to £1.6 billion, with group profit up by more than 47 per cent.

It also said the society, which outsources much of its operations to its EasiProcess subsidiary in Bangalore, India, had cut its cost/income ratio to 55 per cent, the fourth-best figure among the UK’s 60 building societies.

Kent Reliance had the lowest management expenses ratio of all the societies and the highest assets per staff member, more than twice as much as any other society. KPMG also found that the society’s 126,000 savers hold average balances of £8,265 each.

Gross mortgage lending grew by 40 per cent, with particular success in the social housing market of shared ownership, homes for key workers and first time buyers. It also did well in the Channel Islands where it runs two home loan businesses.

The society bucked a national trend by reporting mortgage arrears lower than the rest of the industry.

Deputy chief executive Rob Procter said the report showed that Kent Reliance stood out as the most innovative and successful building society in the county.

"Our focus on sensible mortgage lending, consistently attractive savings rates and close control of costs has been recognised by these exceptional results," he said.

Simon Walker, a partner in KPMG’s Financial Services Advisory practice, added: "Cost pressures continue, but societies are finding imaginative ways to respond to these pressures and, through diversification, to broaden their income base.

"Only those with weak, timid or unimaginative management need fear the immediate future."