FINANCE
PICTURES : CHRIS BOOTH
Banking on teamwork to make a difference
Pride - CEO Andrew Craddock says he couldn ’ t be prouder of the team at Darlington Building Society .
Darlington Building Society has posted strong results after rising to the unprecedented challenges of the pandemic . Chief executive Andrew Craddock talks to PETER BARRON
D uring a career spanning 36 years in banking , Andrew Craddock has come through challenging times before – not least the global financial crash of 2008 . But Darlington Building Society ’ s chief executive doesn ’ t hesitate in describing the past year as the toughest of all .
“ With the financial crisis 13 years ago , we knew the impact it was having . It was a mess , but we could see how to get out of it . This time , it ’ s the huge uncertainty that ’ s made it so hard for people in different ways .”
Then , just a minute into the interview , Andrew interjects with questions of his own : “ How ’ s it affected you ? Are all your family OK ?”
It ’ s typical of the man , underlining why his own staff recently voted for him , without his knowledge , as Inspirational Leader of the Year in the society ’ s annual awards , in recognition of the care he showed staff , members and the local community throughout the pandemic .
From the beginning of the first lockdown , staff were given a raft of reassurances : the society would not use the government ’ s job retention furlough scheme , there would be no redundancies for the year ahead , and everyone would be kept on full pay , irrespective of whether they were able to work full-time .
The staff responded by going the extra mile for members : making calls to check on those who were isolated , keeping branches open , albeit on reduced hours , and maintaining services . Indeed , there was only one day when a branch had to close due to a positive test , at Northallerton .
And , in the darkest days of the pandemic , the society reinforced its support of local communities by extending its annual pledge to donate five per cent of profits to good causes until 2025 .
On all fronts – staff , members , and community – it has been an exemplary performance , now capped by robust financial results that Andrew describes as “ a testament to the way the staff pulled together in unprecedented circumstances ”.
Total assets rose from £ 666m to £ 705m , propelling Darlington Building Society into the UK ’ s top 20 biggest building societies . Pre-tax profits fell from £ 1.77m in 2019 to £ 0.73m but remained
72 | Tees Business