Complaints about building societies remain low

Consumer complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) about building societies remained low at just 2% of all new complaints in 2009/10, the same as the previous year. The review for the year shows that 61% of complaints were about banks, up slightly from 59% last year, 11% about general insurers, 8% life insurance and investment product-providers, 4% mortgage intermediaries, 2% IFAs and 2% building societies.

The FOS had a higher than expected number of complaints in 2009/10. 163,012 new cases – 9% more than forecast and 28% higher than the previous year’s record number. The figure is the highest number of new cases the FOS has received during any year in their ten-year history. Complaints about PPI and current accounts drove this increase.

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Coalition government commits to promoting mutuals

The final coalition agreement, published on 20 May by the new Government, confirms their commitment to promote mutuals, stating, we want the banking system to serve business, not the other way round. We will bring forward detailed proposals to foster diversity in financial services, promote mutuals and create a more competitive banking industry. Both parties mentioned encouraging mutuals and co-operatives in their manifestos.

Commenting on the statement Brian Morris, BSA Head of Savings Policy, said:

"The coalition Government has recognised the value that mutuals play in financial services and the wider economy and this is welcome. A diverse financial services sector is good for consumers. Mutuals bring competition, democracy and a real alternative to the PLC banks. We look forward to the detail of the coalition's plans."

The coalition document can be viewed here

Farewell to HIPs, but what now for homebuyer reform?

It came as little surprise when the coalition Government announced it was scrapping HIPs with immediate effect - both the Liberal Democrat and Conservative manifestos had confirmed their intention to do just this.

HIPs gained little support from the industry and they didn’t deliver the full benefits that were originally envisaged. Back in 2006, in a survey of building society chief executives, 84% said they expected the introduction of HIPs to have a negative effect on the housing market. The BSA then called for them to be made voluntary.

But consumers remain dissatisfied with the home buying process – on several fronts. The BSA is working with a wide range of stakeholders including lawyers, estate agents, surveyors and consumer bodies to consider how the industry can improve the process for the benefit of consumers, including delivery of the right information, to the right person at the right time.

The BSA will be publishing a summary of industry thoughts on the future of home buying reform shortly following a cross-industry thought leadership breakfast hosted and chaired by the BSA in April.

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The Internet - An under-utilised sales channel

Teachers Building Society wanted to enhance their online marketing performance, and chose Appius to develop a cost-effective, user-friendly website solution with content management capability to increase the volume of targeted web traffic and drive an improvement in new business conversions.

Appius completed a total website build, user tested with teaching professionals, identifying 15 key recommendations to develop objective and successful user journeys on the site.

Appius implemented paid and natural search campaigns and a full email marketing strategy, using incentivised viral data capture campaigns to increase customer awareness and retention.

The result for Teachers Building Society was a new website delivered on time and to budget, with an easy-to-use content management system with full training.

Since the launch, web traffic to the website increased 23%, with volumes continuing to rise following targeted eMarketing. Email marketing tripled traffic during key sales periods, with paid search adverts receiving over 12 million views by the target audience in six months, strengthening Teachers' brand in their niche online community.

Paid search traffic contributing 4,000 targeted visitors directly generated over 100 business leads, while internet leads, online D.I.P. applications and general enquires trebled year on year.

Based on figures in the BSA Yearbook, we estimate that online channels provided on average 2.5% of sales leads, yet Teachers Building Society's online marketing has contributed 9% of sales leads, showing the potential of this underused sales channel, and just how profitable it can be.

Find out more about Appius here

Five Ideas for Financial Services