Dunfermline seeks to quell speculation as bailout talks continue

The chief executive of the troubled Dunfermline Building Society (DBS), has today released a statement on the society’s website. The statement clearly aimed at calming speculation about the future of DBS and avoid a Northern Rock style run on the society says:
As everyone is aware, economic conditions over the last year or so have been [...]

Stroud & Swindon results highlight inequity of FSCS levy

Not the most catchy headline, I admit. However the annual results of the Stroud & Swindon Building Society highlight the impact that the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) levy will have on smaller mutual societies. The levy was introduced to boost the scheme’s funding after the collapse of the Icelandic banks.
Stroud & Swindon announced an [...]

Speculation grows on future of Dunfermline Building Society

Speculation is mounting in the Scottish press and in political circles about the future of the Dunfermline Building Society. The society, Scotland’s largest, is, according to The Scotsman, expected to reveal a loss of £29m over the last 12 months, mainly due to impaired commercial lending. This compared to a £2m profit the previous year. [...]

Social Fund – Government Response

Back in January we reported that a row had erupted over plans by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) to sub-contract social fund and crisis loans to the third sector. While this plan would provide a potentially substantial boost to the Credit Union movement in the UK, there was widespread condemnation that the DWP [...]

John Mann MP Urges Nationalisation & Re-mutualisation

In an interview today with Saturday PM on BBC Radio 4, the Labour MP and senior member of the highly influential Treasury Select Committee, John Mann, has called on Lloyds Banking Group to be nationalised and re-structured.
Mr. Mann said that in the light of the losses (£10Bn) incurred by HBOS, now part of LloydsTSB and [...]

Britannia Chief Exec supports re-mutualisation

Today BBC2’s ‘Working Lunch’ programme featured an interview with Neville Richardson the chief executive of the Britannia Building Society. Mr Richardson discussed a number of issues including the merger plans with The Co-operative Financial Services.
The interview was split into two segments, the second of which concentrated on the current recession and the role the financial [...]

Co-op & Britannia to Merge

The Co-operative Financial Services (CFS), the company that consists of The Co-operative Bank, Co-operative Insurance Society & Smile, has today announced that it will merge with the Britannia Building Society creating what has been dubbed as a ‘Super Mutual’. The combined bank will have £70bn in assets and a Tier 1 capital ratio of 9.8%. [...]

Gov’t Announcement Due on Equitable Life Compensation

HM Treasury is expected to make a long awaited announcement on whether savers in Equitable Life, the collapsed life insurer and pension firm, will be compensated for their losses. Those who have suffered most are the societies pension customers who have seen the value of their investments or the payments from annuities slashed since the [...]

Welsh Credit Unions See Demand Surge

Credit Unions in Wales are reporting a surge in membership and requests for loans in the wake of the credit crunch. Wales recently became the first part of the UK to have universal access to a credit union for everyone living there.  The credit unions attribute the surge of interest in their services on the [...]

European Central Bank under pressure

The European Central Bank (ECB) is today under mounting pressure to reduce interest rates in the euro-zone. Rates in the United States and United Kingdom have fallen sharply in recent months but the ECB has been slow to follow. The growing disparity in rates has caused the Euro to gain in value against other world [...]