Further loan growth keeps the Group on track for its loanbook and RoAE targets 1Q25 on track – Secure Trust Bank has published its 1Q25 trading update this morning with net lending up 10.5% yoy and up 3.2% qoq to £3,725.4m, driven by strong pipeline conversions within Business Finance from 4Q24. Deposits for the quarter were up 15.4% yoy and up 3.9% qoq to £3,372.8m to support loanbook growth, whilst the Group had repaid a further £98m of TFSME ahead of maturity and another £30m since the end of the quarter, meaning 74% of TFSME funding drawn has now been repaid. The Group has also completed the sale of £25.5m of defaulted Vehicle Finance loans in early April, which is seen as the first of several initiatives that should allow operational resources to be deployed more effectively to manage early-stage arrears and defaults. Secure Trust Bank remains on track to deliver the £8m annualised cost savings from Project Fusion by the end of this year. Maintain Buy rating – Overall an encouraging update from Secure Trust Bank this morning, with further lending growth showing that the Group remains on track to reach its £4bn loanbook target. The debt sale comes as an additional positive, as we would expect the Group’s effective deployment of funds to support its trajectory towards its 14-16% RoAE target. We leave our forecasts unchanged given the in-line nature of the update, and reiterate our Buy rating in the meantime.