Mark Bogard, Chief Executive of the Family Building Society has been elected as the new Chair of the Building Societies Association.  He takes up this role with immediate effect. 

Mark held the post of Deputy Chair since May 2019 and succeeds Mike Regnier, Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Building Society.  At the same time, Rob Pheasey, Chief Executive of the Marsden Building Society has been elected Deputy Chair of the BSA.

The term of office for the BSA Chair and Deputy Chair is two years and neither position is remunerated.  

Commenting on his election, Mark Bogard said: “I’m excited to be taking on the role of BSA Chair during what will certainly continue to be an interesting period of challenges and opportunities.

“Whilst fantastic progress is being made with the vaccination programme, and the roadmap for easing Covid-19 restrictions is still on track, the process of rebuilding and restructuring the economy will take much longer. With 25 million savers and borrowers, building societies have a key role to play in helping people make the most of their money, particularly the younger generations, who have often been hit hardest. 

“The pandemic has demonstrated very clearly the need for people to save for a rainy day, even at very low interest rates. It has reinforced the importance of local communities, family and social purpose to the UK public. This provides a natural environment for building societies and credit unions which have had a strong sense of these since their inception. The mutual business model, which brings long-term thinking together with a customer-first approach, keeps social purpose at its heart, something that is resonating strongly with members and many young people too.

“The pandemic has changed the way we live and work currently and customer expectations of digital combined, for some, with the high street must be delivered. It will be fascinating to see how things evolve as the current restrictions are eased.. Building societies’ ability to be nimble and serve the parts of the mortgage market that need bespoke solutions, is a great opportunity for the sector, and provides a valuable service for homebuyers and a sound home for depositors. In a land of elephants, we can be ballerinas.”

Ends

Contacts

Hilary McVitty, BSA Head of External Affairs Tel: 07741 984 042 hilary.mcvitty@bsa.org.uk

Tanya Jackson, External Affairs Tel: 07881 501098 tanya.jackson@bsa.org.uk

Notes to Editors

• The roles of Chair and Deputy Chair of the BSA are voluntary and unpaid
• Photographs of Mark Bogard and Rob Pheasey are available from the BSA Press Office.
• The Building Societies Association (BSA) represents all 43 UK building societies, as well as 6 credit unions.
• Building societies have total assets of over £435 billion and, together with their subsidiaries, hold residential mortgages over £338 billion, 23% of the total outstanding in the UK. They hold over £297 billion of retail deposits, accounting for 17% of all such deposits in the UK.
•  Building societies account for 37% of all cash ISA balances.
• Building societies employ approximately 42,500 full and part-time staff and operate through approximately 1,380 branches and have over 25 million members.

About Mark Bogard

Mark joined the Board of National Counties Building Society in 2012 as Chief Executive. He has over 20 years' experience in financial services focused on helping people make the most of their money.  In July 2014, Family Building Society was launched as the trading name of National Counties.

Prior to joining National Counties, he ran Barclays' retail funds business and then built up Moneyextra, an aggregator website focused on mortgages and savings that was sold to Bristol & West Plc. The business was then merged with Chase de Vere and Willis National, two leading IFAs, and Mark was appointed as Managing Director.

From 2004 until 2012, Mark was UK Chief Executive of IFG Group plc, responsible for James Hay, a leading SIPP provider, and Saunderson House. He has an MA from Cambridge University and completed his articles with Slaughter and May before joining Schroders to work in corporate finance and then for the Group on strategy. In January 2013 he was appointed as a Non-executive Director of Mortgage Broker, Alexander Hall, where he is now Chairman.

About Rob Pheasey

Rob has worked in financial services for over three decades, holding senior positions including Operations Director at the Marsden Building Society before being appointed Chief Executive in 2011. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Information Technology. With a breadth of business knowledge, he is a well-rounded advocate for the mutual sector which he feels passionately about.

At work, Rob has a strong customer and financial focus, leading the Society in its strategy of growing for scale, underpinning the continued investment in its people, branch distribution & community engagement and digital transformation.

Rob was a former Chair of the Northern Association of Building Societies and outside the sector, he serves as Chair of the Pendle Education Trust and, until February 2021, was a Non-Executive Director at Nelson & Colne College Group.

Away from the Society, Rob enjoys the outdoors and indulges his passion for gundogs, the latest edition, Max a 14 month Labrador, showing real promise in the field, and also with the occasional appearance on video calls.