A building society is a financial institution owned by its members as a mutual organization. Building societies offer banking and related financial services, especially savings and mortgage lending. Building societies exist in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand, and used to exist in Ireland and several Commonwealth countries. They are similar to credit unions in organisation, though few enforce a common bond. However, rather than promoting thrift and offering unsecured and business loans, the purpose of a building society is to provide home mortgages to members. Borrowers and depositors are society members, setting policy and appointing directors on a one-member, one-vote basis. Building societies often provide other retail banking services, such as current accounts, credit cards and personal loans. The term "building society" first arose in the 19th century in Great Britain from cooperative savings groups.
Halifax is a British banking brand operating as a trading division of Bank of Scotland, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group.
Nationwide Building Society is a British mutual financial institution, the seventh largest cooperative financial institution and the largest building society in the world with over 15 million members. Its headquarters are in Swindon, England.
The Leek & Moorlands Building Society was founded in Leek in 1856. It expanded steadily as a regional society until the late 1950s when it began a major expansion drive, partly through branch openings but also some 55 acquisitions. The most substantial of these were the NALGO Building Society in 1960; the Westbourne Park in 1965 ; and the Eastern Counties Building Society in 1974. The Society’s name was changed to the Britannia Building Society the following year.
The Portman Building Society was a mutual building society in the United Kingdom, providing mortgages and savings accounts to consumers and offering loans to commercial enterprises. Its head office was in Bournemouth and its administration centre in Wolverhampton. Portman merged with the Nationwide Building Society in August 2007, at which time it was the third largest building society in the UK and the largest regional building society in the south of England, with 154 branches and assets exceeding £15 billion.
Leeds Building Society is a building society based in Leeds, England. It serves approximately 719,000 customers across the United Kingdom, who together hold £9.9 billion in savings balances and is the fifth largest building society in the UK.
Chelsea Building Society is a trading name of Yorkshire Building Society based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Chelsea merged with the Yorkshire in 2010, at which point Chelsea was the fourth largest building society in the United Kingdom, with assets in excess of £13 billion and 35 branches, mainly in the southern areas of England, particularly in London.
The Nationwide Group Staff Union (NGSU) is an independent trade union in the United Kingdom. It has a membership of over 12,000 and represents workers within the Nationwide Building Society and its associated companies.
Norwich & Peterborough Building Society is a trading name of Yorkshire Building Society based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Formed by the merger of the Norwich and Peterborough building societies in 1986, at the time of merger with YBS, it was the ninth largest building society in the United Kingdom, with assets in excess of £4.9 billion.
The Cheshire Building Society was a building society based in Macclesfield, Cheshire, England. It was the 11th largest building society in the United Kingdom based on total assets of £5 billion on 31 December 2007, prior to merging with the Nationwide Building Society, and was a member of the Building Societies Association. The Cheshire was acquired by Nationwide on 15 December 2008, which was as a result of its approach to the Nationwide in September 2008 regarding a possible merger due to its financial position.
The City of Derry Building Society was a UK building society based in Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland known until 2001 as the Londonderry Provident Building Society. It was a member of the Building Societies Association.
Universal Building Society was a UK building society with headquarters in Newcastle upon Tyne that operated between 1863 and 2006. It was merged with the Newcastle Building Society in 2006.
UCB Home Loans Corporation Ltd is a specialist mortgage lender of Nationwide Building Society, working primarily through regulated intermediaries. UCBHL operated out of a single location in Sutton with over 300 employees, relocating to Bournemouth and merging with the Portman Building Society's The Mortgage Works in 2007 following Nationwide's merger with the Portman.
LSL Property Services is the parent company of e.surv Chartered Surveyors, Your Move and Reeds Rains, and forms the second-largest estate agent chain in the United Kingdom.
The Mortgage Works (UK) plc is a specialist Buy to Let mortgage lender of Nationwide Building Society, working primarily through regulated intermediaries and based in Bournemouth, Dorset, England. They specialise in buy to let mortgage finance.
Staffordshire Building Society was a UK building society, which merged with the Portman Building Society in 2003, which then merged with the Nationwide Building Society in 2007.
St. Pancras Building Society was a UK building society, which merged with the Portman Building Society in 1993. The Portman then merged with the Nationwide Building Society in 2007.
Graham John Beale and former Chief executive of the Nationwide Building Society.
The Ramsbury Building Society was formed in 1846 but remained a very local society until the 1950s. It began to expand through agencies, and then in the 1960s opened some twenty branches in Wiltshire and neighbouring areas. Mergers in the 1980s led to name changes, first to the West of England Building Society and then the Regency and West of England Building Society. The Society merged with the Portman Building Society in 1990.
