Building societies enjoy an increase in deposits

 

June 27, 2008

According to recent reports many building societies are enjoying a huge increase in business following the chaos at Northern Rock in September, when many customers withdrew a combined total of over £2 billion amidst fears that the bank was on the verge of collapse. The fears came after consumers found out that the bank, which was the fifth largest mortgage lender in the nation, had taken an emergency loan from the Bank of England.

However, as Northern Rock continues to lick its wounds following the crisis many other building societies are raking in the profits, as savers flock to look for alternatives after withdrawing their cash from Northern Rock. Reports claim that net receipts for building societies rocketed by over 180% in September when the crisis occurred, taking the total amount of money deposited in building societies to around £2.8 million.

These findings came shortly after a survey that indicated consumers in the UK had lost faith in banking by a huge degree recently, and this is a situation that is thought to have been fuelled by various factors such as the Northern Rock situation and the ongoing row over bank charges. The survey results showed that consumer confidence in building societies was slightly higher, and the level of deposits made at building societies in September seems to back this up.

One official stated that building societies were seen as less likely to run into the same sorts of problems as Northern Rock because of their more stringent lending criteria. He stated: ‘Building societies have always undertaken less fiscal lending but over the past year, as economic conditions have worsened, they have tightened their lending practices.’

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