What building societies are there

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Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. A building society is a type of financial institution that provides banking and other financial services to its members.

Building societies resemble credit unions in the U. These societies offer mortgages and demand-deposit accounts. Insurance companies are often major supporters.

Groups of co-op savers in the building trades first introduced the term "building society" in 19th-century England. These institutions are now major competitors of banks in the U. Building societies can also be found in other countries, such as Australia, Ireland, and Jamaica. Building societies are different from banks. The latter are generally listed on stock exchanges and accountable to stockholders.

Building societies are cooperative groups, completely owned by their members, each of whom has a vote. Building societies in the U. But to whom? Unfortunately, until later in more later , there is no UK bank that operates on this principle. Unlike normal high-street banks, mutuals redistribute their profits to members — members being the savers and borrowers. Even better, building societies are prohibited by law from engaging in commodities or foreign exchange trading.

The building society has over one million members. The first debit card to be released by a building society was achieved by the nationwide building society, and it was also the first building society to launch the UK's first internet banking service The second largest building society in the world. It is one of the major mutual building societies, one of few. Because of this, the Yorkshire building society continues to answer only to its members unlike other building societies that answer to shareholders.

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It is the voice for all 43 UK building societies as well as 6 credit unions. Together these organisations serve around 25 million customers up and down the length of the UK. The BSA's objective is to champion and support its Members: To push for the best outcomes from new and changing regulation and legislation to ensure that building societies thrive as an essential part of a diverse financial services sector - serving their savers, borrowers and communities.

We also speak out on issues that are relevant to building societies and their members borrowers and savers.