Covers a range of topics relating to mortgages and the wider housing market.
Covers issues relating to savings accounts and payments.
Covers developments in conduct of business regulation
Covers issues relating to the corporate governance and constitution of building societies.
People related matters such as talent development, apprenticeships and diversity.
Internal and external accounting assurance and matters relating to tax.
The regulation and supervision of firms to ensure their safety and soundness under the remit of the Prudential Regulation Authority.
A new legal aid scheme to support borrowers at risk of repossession (member only content).
A wide range of statistics relating to the UK mortgage and housing markets.
Research, analysis and guidance about our members and the issues that affect them.
Retail savings data including net receipts and deposits, ISAs and interest rates.
Operational and financial information about building societies. Includes AGM & financial results and remuneration details.
Submission and publication deadlines for BSA data and reports.
Mortgage approvals pick up & further cut to Bank Rate expected this year.
News and views on topical issues from the BSA and guests.
View our latest press releases and comment here.
The BSA's quarterly magazine covers whats happening in the world of building societies, credit unions and the wider financial services sector.
A quarterly survey that assesses consumer sentiment regarding the UK property market.
View biographies and download photos of the BSA's key spokespeople
BSA speeches from events and seminars
View the latest webinars, training and other events open to members, associates and other stakeholders
View our latest BSA Annual Conference and comment here.
View our latest Past events & summaries and comment here.
Learn how to promote your event to the BSA's membership.
Treasury management training for credit unions (28th November 2024)
Find factsheets on mortgages, savings and the building society sector.
Track building societies that no longer exists and get a link to its successor's website.
Find mortgage instructions and specific requirements setting out individual building society policies.
The UK Savings Week campaign aims to get people engaged in saving.
Toolkits to develop Workplace Savings are available here.
Here you can find our publications, responses to consultation documents, mortgage instructions, statistics and sector job vacancies.
Find out more about the BSA and the sector.
Contact details for each of our 49 members.
Our Associate members include a wide range of companies from insurers, banks, accountants, solicitors, and other business suppliers to BSA members.
The National Credit Union Forum (NCUF) is the Credit Union Committee of the BSA.
View biographies and download photos of our key spokespeople
Vacancies for senior management, executive and other positions at the BSA and its member organisations
Find out the wide range of benefits of joining the BSA as an associate member.
The Building Societies Association is the voice of the UK's building societies.
Guest blog by Rodney E. Hood, member of the Board of the U.S. National Credit Union Administration. This article was first published in Society Matters magazine.
Guest blog by Rodney E. Hood, member of the Board of the U.S. National Credit Union Administration. This article was first published in Society Matters magazine.
American economist Robert Shiller has argued that finance should serve a social purpose “as the steward of society’s assets and an advocate of its deepest goals.”
Recent turmoil in the banking sector suggests that some of our colleagues in the financial services industry have lost sight of that sense of social purpose.
The question is, how do we restore the sense of stewardship and trust that is so essential to a soundly functioning financial system? This is where smaller financial services institutions – including credit unions, building societies, and other cooperative finance entities – have a distinct advantage. In a time of declining trust in so many of our society’s institutions, these entities enjoy consumer loyalty thanks to a strong commitment to serving their members and their communities.
Unfortunately, the larger trend in the financial industry is toward consolidation, a trend that threatens smaller institutions like credit unions and building societies. While larger financial institutions have advantages in terms of scale and efficiency, they risk becoming less focused on the needs of the people and communities they’re supposed to serve.
Yet remarkably, many smaller financial institutions still manage to swim against this foreboding tide and flourish. What’s their secret? The answer lies in service, trust, and stewardship.
A report published last year by the Filene Research Institute, a US-based think tank that focuses on the cooperative finance industry, explored how small credit unions are thriving in today’s marketplace. That report, titled “The Puzzle-Solving Approach That Enables Small Credit Unions to thrive”, reveals that successful small cooperative finance institutions focus primarily not on growth, but on service to their members. Growth is still important, but not as an end in itself – it follows as “an outcome of member-focused strategy.”
“In short, when credit unions serve their members better, they also grow faster,” the Filene report’s authors emphasize. “Thriving small credit unions are clear about who comprises their market and what their target members’ needs are. We find that these organizations think deeply and clearly about what matters in the specific market they serve, and then tailor a focused set of offerings to meet those needs.
How can we create conditions to help these small institutions to continue to thrive? First, from a policymaking standpoint, regulators and lawmakers should focus on forging a regulatory framework that empowers small institutions to prosper and to protect their position within the financial services ecosystem.
Second, credit unions and building societies should experiment with innovations to heighten their competitive advantages in a crowded marketplace. I urge credit unions to explore financial technology to improve their ability to serve their members.
Finally, I encourage the industry to seek out and nurture partnerships with other credit unions and building societies, working together to share ideas and strengthen the cooperative finance system as a whole.
When it comes to financial services, bigger is not necessarily better. We should encourage a diverse financial services ecosystem that offers consumers a wide range of options to meet their financial needs, while also focusing on the broader needs of the communities they serve and society at large. Credit unions, building societies, and other smaller financial service providers, with their focus on service and stewardship, play an important role in that ecosystem, and deserve our support.
Rodney E. Hood is a member of the Board of the U.S. National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), and served as Board chairman from 2019-2021. This text is an abridged and edited version of Mr. Hood’s speech to BSA in Liverpool on May 4, 2023. A full version of his remarks is available at the NCUA website.
This webinar will cover a summary of the Employment Rights Bill, with a focus on the proposed changes that will affect Building Societies in particula...
The BSA strongly supports the principle of charging a fee to CMCs.
Our response to FCA GC23-2