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News in digestible form
Welcome to the May edition of our e-newsletter, BSA Newsbite. A monthly online update, Newsbite gives you the latest news, views and stats from the building society sector.
This update will soon be complemented by the Summer edition of Society Matters, due to be published in June which will focus on lost accounts. To request a copy click here
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BSA Annual Conference round-up
"Whatever the scenario, building societies are very well placed to succeed" - that was the key message from the outgoing Chairman of the Building Societies Association, Iain Cornish, in his closing address to the BSA Annual Conference in Manchester.
Reviewing his year in office, Mr. Cornish said that societies had entered the year in good shape as well capitalised, highly liquid and prudent businesses. Highlighting more than £1bn worth of benefits that societies give to members each year, Mr. Cornish spoke of the record savings figures achieved by societies in 2007 and into 2008 and noted that every society had continued to lend.
John Goodfellow, Chief Executive of the Skipton Building Society, took over the reigns as Chairman for 2008/09. He echoed Mr. Cornish’s optimistic theme, commenting that "the turmoil in the financial services market and the impact of the credit crunch provide an ideal opportunity for the building society movement. The fairness of mutuality and the inherent strengths of our business models position us as the providers best placed to weather this storm."
Other speakers at the Conference included Hector Sants, Chief Executive of the FSA, who said that "building societies add a welcome element of diversity within the financial services sector....we certainly encourage diversity as a way of adding strength and stability to the system and to encourage beneficial competition."
Read the full article
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Building society FOS complaints remain low
Complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) about building societies have remained at the low level of just 4% of all new complaints in 2007-08. The review for the year shows that 59% of complaints were about banks, 14% life insurance and investment product-providers, 11% general insurers, 4% IFAs, 4% building societies, and 8% others.
Across the board, the FOS reported the number of mortgage and banking disputes more than triple, and insurance disputes double - while complaints about mortgage endowments fell by 70%. The FOS handled a record 794,648 consumer enquiries and 123,089 new complaints - a 30% annual increase fuelled largely by consumer dissatisfaction with the level of unauthorised-overdraft charges.
Commenting of the building society figures, Adrian Coles, Director-General of the BSA said:
"Building societies strive to offer the best customer service possible to their members and the figures from the FOS show how well the sector does at treating their members fairly. Given that societies account for nearly 20% of both the mortgage and savings market, a 4% figure regarding complaints is very encouraging."
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BSA welcomes new Associate
Rosling King have joined the Association as an Associate.
Rosling King specialise in all core areas of commercial law including property, employment and banking; and provide effective and innovative solutions to meet their clients’ needs. They are part of an international network of over 150 associated law firms and each of their teams has access to this entire network.
To find out more about them check out their website www.roslingking.com
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Date for the diary: BSA Annual Lecture, 16 October 2008, London
Paul Lewis, presenter of BBC Radio 4's Money Box, will be guest speaker at this year's lecture. Paul has been a freelance financial journalist since 1987. He writes extensively on money and is a regular guest on BBC Breakfast and BBC News. He won the Headline Money Broadcast Journalist of the Year award in 2004 and 2005 and the global business consultancy, Aon named him Consumer Pension and Investment Journalist of the Year in 2006.
To receive an invitation to the lecture, please contact Christie Sharp.
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And finally ...
If Newsbite has been forwarded to you by a colleague and you would like to get your own copy direct, or if you would like to unsubscribe just e-mail the Media Centre.
For feedback, opinions and information, contact Newsbite’s editor rachel.wylie@bsa.org.uk.
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