Owen Jarvis, Chief Executive of the UK Cohousing Network explains how cohousing creates environments that help tackle loneliness, strengthen social connections and build community resilience. 

New research finds that building societies are not only more resilient than banks but also help strengthen the stability of the wider UK financial system. The findings support a proportionate approach to regulation that recognises the different risk profiles of societies of different sizes.

The latest commentary on the UK economy, mortgage and savings markets.

This full-day event in London provides BSA members with expert briefings on current key risk areas in financial crime to help them review and focus their own organisations' policy and practice. Sessions will provide practical updates on the financial crime issues most relevant to building societies and credit unions. Drawing on expert insight, sector experience and practical examples, the programme will help attendees consider how current developments may affect their controls, governance, and engagement with law enforcement, regulators and industry partners. The event will also be an excellent opportunity for attendees to network with fellow MLROs and financial crime prevention professionals across the building society and credit union sector, share approaches to common challenges, and identify lessons that can be taken back into their own organisations. Detailed programme content and speakers will be updated here as and when confirmed. (Registration closes at 17:00 on Monday, 7 December 2026) Cancellation policy "Very enjoyable; plenty of food for thought from the presentations and discussions, and an excellent networking opportunity." "A really value adding event and some really good key speakers." "I thought the event was very engaging and useful. Each session was just right, length wise and the networking opportunities were so useful." (Delegate feedback from our 2025 event)

Nick Levy, Parner, Financial Services, IBM Consulting, explains how, as UK consumers increasingly default to conversational AI for everyday guidance, building societies can use AI agents to elevate human empathy rather than replace it.

A free webinar hosted by BSA Associate, SBS   The UK's branch network has been fundamentally reshaped. More than 6,700 bank and building society branches have closed since 2015, representing around 68% of the total network. Yet consumer demand for in-person support has not disappeared. It has evolved. Digital channels now dominate routine transactions, reshaping how customers engage with their bank or building society. But buying a first home, opening a savings account for a child's future, planning for retirement: these are the moments that still call for a human conversation. SBS research found that 85% of consumers would use an in-person service if their bank or building society made it more accessible. The appetite is there. The question is how to meet it. The challenge for UK banks and building societies is not whether branches still matter, it is whether they can reinvent them. Traditional, fixed locations are only one part of the answer. The modern branch is defined by flexibility: the ability to connect customers and members with knowledgeable colleagues wherever they need them, through community-based hubs, shared spaces, or pop‑up locations. Branches shift from being a legacy cost to manage to a strategic capability to deploy. This webinar brings together senior voices from across the industry to examine what a modern branch model looks like in practice, and what it takes to make it a reality. The key takeaways: The state of UK branch networks: what the data really tells us Why trusted conversations with knowledgeable colleagues still matter at life's most important financial moments What a modern branch model looks like beyond bricks and mortar How to balance digital convenience with flexible, accessible in-person services Enabling branch transformation without unsustainable costs Speakers: Ben Verdin, Head of Product & Strategy, UK Lending, SBS  Julia Brook, Chief Customer Officer, Marsden Building Society Joseph Thompson, Economist, Building Societies Association