Building Societies Association
Two Parliamentary Committees sought the views of the building society sector in December. The BSA’s Director-General, Adrian Coles, appeared before the Scottish Affairs Committee on its inquiry into banking in Scotland, as well as the Financial Services Bill Public Bill Committee.
Speaking in front of the Scottish Affairs Committee, Mr Coles told MPs how societies feel angered by the unfair nature of competition from nationalised and part-nationalised banks. This followed on from Stephen Hester, RBS Chief Executive, informing the Committee that RBS “has outperformed most of its competitors in improving its performance in savings.”
At the Financial Services Bill Public Bill Committee the subject of living wills for financial institutions was discussed. Mr Coles argued that most building societies are straightforward institutions and therefore should not be required to produce a living will – he said: “I very much hope that we don’t end up as a result of this Bill with yet another onerous requirement put on small institutions, which results in them having to undertake work from which they will not benefit, but which they will have to spend considerable resource on doing.”
The full transcripts of the sessions can be viewed via the links below -
