Securing customers interests through mutual ownership

The changing market for building societies Building societies have a long history of caring for their members. They encourage them to save and help them to buy homes by lending them money at affordable rates of interest over long periods of time. Until the 1980s the various operators in financial services concentrated on their own areas of expertise. Customers wanting banking services went to a bank; for insurance services they contacted an insurance company and for a mortgage they approached a building society. However, in…