26
Mar
Building societies 'in strong shape'
Lending remains healthy at building societies despite the credit
crunch, the Building Societies Association has said this
week.
Such firms are not "struggling" in the mortgage sector, PR and
policy manager Neil Johnson said, even if in some cases lending may
have been restricted.
And services were limited in some cases because bigger mortgage
lenders left the arena, something that meant building societies
were inundated and had to maintain "service levels", he
observed.
Moreover, Mr Johnson remarked, people should not worry because such
institutions are funded in a different way to most banks.
"Building societies are largely funded by retail deposits rather
than wholesale markets. So the problems in the wholesale markets
haven't affected them in the same way that they've affected banks,"
he commented.
As more consumers start to save, he added, the stature of building
societies is starting to grow.
In March the BBC said that a number of building societies had
limited the number of mortgage products they offer.