Building Societies Association
Feature
BSA Annual Lecture – Now is the time to "Beat the Banks"
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Contact: Rachel Le Brocq Date: 31 Oct 2008 |
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Speaking at the BSA Annual Lecture, Paul Lewis, freelance financial journalist, said now was the time for mutuals to “beat the banks”.
He noted that the way to beat them was not to join them. Looking at the demutualised institutions, Lewis observed that, on average, they had survived for just 8.76 years since they demutualised.
He challenged building societies to act on mortgages to offer simple honest products. The reduction in the number of mortgages on offer, he said, was a good thing – but the 3,000 still on offer are “ too much for a human mind to comprehend”.
He concluded by saying societies should scrap arrangement fees on mortgages and sell them as “no interest in advance… a return to Quaker banking.”
Paul Lewis’ full speech can be viewed on the BSA website here
