The Skipton Building Society has had its long term local and foreign currency bank deposit ratings upgraded to Baa1 from Baa2 by credit rating agency Moody’s.

The outlook on these ratings has also been changed from positive to stable.

Moody’s has also affirmed Skipton’s Prime 2 short term local and foreign currency deposit ratings.

In their assessment, Moody’s notes improvements in the Society’s asset quality of the mortgage and savings division. The global credit ratings agency references Skipton’s strong capitalisation and conservative funding position. It also highlights the Society is maintaining adequate profitability despite industry pressures on the net interest margin.

David Cutter (pictured), Skipton’s group chief executive, said: “This ratings upgrade is very pleasing as we continue to build on the strong performance seen in recent years.

“While continuing to satisfy our ratings agencies, in the last 12 months we’ve grown our customer base, further strengthened our capital position and delivered excellent customer service.

“Today’s news is testament to a great deal of hard work paying off for the benefit of our members.”