Yorkshire Building Society

Yorkshire Building Society

Type	Building Society (Mutual)
Founded	1864
Headquarters	Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Key people	Iain Cornish, Chief Executive
Industry	Banking and Financial Services
Products	Savings, mortgages, investments, loans, credit cards, insurance
Net income	£8.8 million GBP (December 2008), 77.6% on 2007
Total assets	£23.0 billion GBP (December 2008), 12.4% on 2007
Employees	2,513 (2008)
Website	www.ybs.co.uk

The Yorkshire Building Society is the second largest building society in the UK,^[1] with its headquarters in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Assets now exceed £20 billion.

In 1864 the Huddersfield Equitable Permanent Benefit Building Society was founded in Huddersfield, and expansion through a series of agreed mergers, predominantly with the Bradford Permanent Building Society in 1975, has seen it evolve into the national building society that it is today. The current name came into use in 1982, following the merger of the Huddersfield & Bradford Building Society and the West Yorkshire Building Society. The Yorkshire took over the Sussex-based Haywards Heath Building Society in 1992 in an effort to develop a southern based branch network. In 2001 the Yorkshire took over the Gainsborough Building Society. In December 2008 the Yorkshire merged with the Barnsley Building Society who had become a victim of the Icelandic banking crisis. After learning lessons from previous mergers, and with the Barnsley being a larger organisation with a well-established brand, the Yorkshire decided to keep the Barnsley brand in order to keep existing customers and use it as another route to market their products. The Yorkshire also has its own Guernsey-based operation specialising in shares and offshore accounts, and a mortgage subsidiary company Accord.

Despite changes in the industry in recent years, the Yorkshire remains as one of the major mutual building societies in Britain - a review in 1995 confirmed that their mutual status was important to them, so that they remain answerable to their members, rather than outside shareholders.

The Yorkshire currently provides financial services both directly and through a 131-strong branch network and associated agencies across the UK. It is a member of the Building Societies Association.

The branch in Coventry

Merger with Chelsea

On 1 December 2009 Yorkshire noted that they were in advanced merger talks with Chelsea Building Society.^[2] The following day they announced that they are to merge.^[3]

References

1. ^ AssetsApr2008.xls
2. ^ "The Chelsea and Yorkshire building societies may merge". BBC News. 2009-12-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8388309.stm. Retrieved 2009-12-01. 
3. ^ "Yorkshire and Chelsea building societies agree merger". BBC News. 2009-12-01. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8390203.stm. Retrieved 2009-12-01. 

External links

• Yorkshire Building Society
• Building Societies Association
• KPMG Building Societies Database 2008

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