Whitecap Consulting, in collaboration with the Building Societies Association (BSA) and a group of key stakeholders, has published the Building Societies Report 2025, providing a comprehensive analysis of the strategic landscape facing the building society sector as it looks ahead to 2030 and beyond.

Update report into the challenges facing first-time buyers

A new policy paper outlining proposals to modernise the UK’s audit regime.

Removing the barriers to secure economic, societal and environmental benefits

The BSA Yearbook is the official handbook of the Building Societies Association, with member and associate listings and all of the latest statistics from the UK's mortgage industry.

BSA Guidance to Building Societies on the UK Corporate Governance Code.

The mutual and co-operative sector stands ready to work with the Government to identify and provide co-operative and mutual solutions to the current challenges facing the UK. 

A research report from the Personal Finance Research Centre (PFRC), University of Bristol

This report sets out recent findings which show that audit fees have risen significantly above inflationary levels for the building society sector, with a disproportionate burden being carried by smaller building societies, and that auditor competition and choice is lacking for the majority of building societies. 

Age-old problems, modern solutions: A roadmap for change

The Building Societies Association commissioned economics consultancy Frontier Economics to look into the effects of the introduction of Open Finance.

How co-operatives and mutuals are helping tackle the big challenges

This report surveys a range of approaches to delivering financial education across building societies and BSA member credit unions.

This report draws on a survey by YouGov of over 2,000 employees. It looks at why employers might want to help their employees by offering a workplace savings scheme, and how this could work.

A review of the strategic landscape for building societies

This report discusses how a greater variety of business ownership models can better meet society’s needs, how ownership determines who gets the value created by the business, how culture is shaped, purpose is delivered, and the business environment that is needed to support the growth in different types of firm.

A report written by Toynbee Hall with support from the Building Societies Association

A 15-minute programme produced by ITN Productions, exploring how ‘community’ helps to guide building societies’ business, and the intrinsic role societies play in their own communities.

Authored by Bob Pannell and Dick Jenkins, commissioned by the BSA, this report aims to share practice and ideas that are already helping more young people get onto the housing ladder on a sustainable basis.

As part of our continuing strategic theme on promoting excellence in governance, the BSA has published a series of articles, Perspectives on governance in building societies, intended to inform and stimulate debate in the sector.

Survey results: Organisational culture in building societies.

Lengthening the Ladder: The future of mortgage borrowing in older age

Following on from the BSA's 2015 Lending into Retirement interim report, this report is funded by the BSA, carried out by the ILC and supported by the CML.

The BSA commissioned a specialist governance consultancy, Independent Audit Ltd (IAL), to conduct a survey of building society chairmen to provide insight to the corporate culture and the role of boards in building societies. Read the report here.
 

The report explores the addition of MMC, particularly offsite construction, into the mainstream repertoire of the UK housing industry: housebuilders, mortgage lenders, surveyors and general insurers.

This comprehensive study by MyBnk demonstrates the expertise and energy that many building societies are already applying through various financial education initiatives, and reveals a strong appetite to do more.

The BSA's interim report, Lending into Retirement has been published.

Building societies outperform banks across a number of financial indicators, according to a new report by Cass Business School, City University London.

This is the fifth edition of this report from the BSA, and it seeks to investigate current practices in member engagement at building societies and to share innovations and ideas that have been successful.

An independent report by Odgers Berndtson has reviewed governance in building societies. 

A discussion document on how the housing market can be improved.

Research commissioned by the BSA has found that the degree of diversity had declined prior to the financial crisis of 2007-08.  However, it also found that far from improving since 2010, the degree of diversity had actually deteriorated slightly. 

'Building Society - Mutuals' role in local economic & community development' issued by the BSA, takes a look at the economic impact building societies and mutuals have in their local communities.

This publication summarises new research that measures changes in corporate diversity in retail financial services markets.

The BSA has published research looking at what the mortgage market will look like in 2020.

These results show that  mutuals are more trusted, offer better value for money, treat their customers more fairly and are better at handling complaints than banks.

The report examines the help available to those struggling to meet mortgage payments and recent schemes introduced by the Government and industry.

This report  reveals a strong case for converting failed banks into mutual organisations. In light of the report, the BSA urges the Government to consider seriously returning Northern Rock bank to the mutual sector.

This research, undertaken by the University of Huddersfield, is concerned with understanding how building societies non-executive directors are coping with the greater demands on them in light of the financial crisis.

A research report by The Oxford Centre for Mutual and Employee-Owned Business, Kellog College, Oxford, calling for the Government to promote mutuals in order to aid economic stability in the financial system

Based on a survey of societies conducted earlier this year, the BSA has written a report entitled Building societies at the heart of their communities which explores societies' charitable activities.

Representatives from the legal and conveyancing professions, estate agents, surveyors and consumer bodies explore how the home buying process can be improved for consumers.

This report is based on a survey of chief executives of BSA members conducted in March 2010.

This is the fourth edition of this report from the BSA, and it seeks to investigate current practices in member engagement at building societies and to share innovations and ideas that have been successful.

The BSA's research into mortgage arrears. The research is based on a survey of mortgage borrowers that have been in arrears in 2007-2009, the results of which are combined with the results of a survey of building societies.

The BSA commissioned research to examine what causes people in seemingly similar situations to come to different savings decision.