The PRA has today published CP 11/25 which proposes the retirement of the Building Societies Sourcebook SS20/15.

The BSA supports the PRA consulting on this important topic, which levels the playing field between building societies and challenger banks.

This was announced in the speech by Charlotte Gerken today (8 May 2025) at the Building Societies Conference.

Commenting on the announcement, Ruth Doubleday, Head of Prudential Risk at the Building Societies Association (BSA) said:

“It’s rare and challenging for the regulators to remove existing regulation, even when it is outdated, and in the case of the sourcebook, badly calibrated, anti-competitive and has various unintended consequences. Today’s announcement is therefore a major landmark, which we applaud.

“It’s not so much de-regulation, but recognition that the world has changed and risk management has moved on. It also acknowledges the strength and resilience of the building society sector.

“For too long building societies have been seriously constrained by the fixed rate lending limits in the sourcebook, despite almost all consumers valuing the certainty of payments, with more than 95% choosing a fixed rate mortgage. Other lenders have no such limits. The removal of the sourcebook will enable building societies to increase their lending and help more people to own their own home.”

Ends

Press contacts

Tanya Jackson, tanya.jackson@bsa.org.uk  Tel: 07881 501098
Katie Wise, katie.wise@bsa.org.uk  Tel: 020 7520 5904

Notes

Link to Consultation Paper - CP11/25 – Discontinuing SS20/15: Supervising building societies’ treasury and lending activities | Bank of England

The Building Societies Association (BSA) represents all 42 UK building societies, including both mutual-owned banks, as well as 7 of the largest credit unions. Building societies have total assets of almost £525 billion and together with their subsidiaries, hold residential mortgages of over £395 billion, 24% of the total outstanding in the UK. They also hold £399 billion of retail deposits, accounting for 19% of all such deposits in the UK. Building societies account for 40% of all cash ISA balances. 

With all of their headquarters outside London, building societies employ around 52,300 full and part-time staff.  In addition to digital services, they operate through approximately 1,300 branches, holding a 30% share of branches across the UK.