FINANCE
Helping hands - chief customer officer Darren Ditchburn ( left ) and chief executive Andrew Craddock say Darlington Building Society is committed to supporting its members .
Building on a proud history
WORDS : MICHAEL MCGEARY PICTURES : CHRIS BOOTH
How Darlington Building Society went the extra mile for its 80,000 members during lockdown
Adapting to an ever-changing world is part of
what ’ s made Darlington Building Society a 165- year success story .
So while the country was reeling from the coronavirus outbreak , the Darlington-based mutual quietly and efficiently got on with what it ’ s always done – helping people across the Tees Valley and beyond save for their futures and buy their own homes .
“ We ’ re very proud of the way we kept the business running ,” said chief executive officer Andrew Craddock . “ We haven ’ t made anyone redundant or cut pay , we didn ’ t use the furlough scheme and we ’ re still recruiting .
“ We were determined to continue supporting our members , many of whom are elderly and rely on cash rather than cards and online payments , so we kept the branch network open throughout , reducing hours and putting in additional measures to protect our staff and members .
“ We gave mortgage payment holidays to more than 850 people to help see them through the crisis and we ’ ve committed to no repossession proceedings until next May .
“ And we ’ ve also continued supporting the wider community through initiatives such as investing £ 20,000 in The Bread and Butter Thing , which has helped supply Darlington people with fresh food throughout the crisis .”
This three-pronged commitment to staff , its members and the local community has underpinned the Darlington ’ s philosophy ever since 1856 .
The society exists for two reasons – to help people save for the future and to enable them to buy their own homes .
Around 70,000 members hold a wide range of savings accounts at its nine branches , which are all located within the TS and DL postcodes . A further 10,000 have mortgages , which are available nationwide direct to customers or through brokers .
“ We take savers ’ deposits , paying them a competitive rate of interest and keeping their money safe ,” said chief customer officer Darren Ditchburn .
“ We then lend to people looking to buy their own homes and make a return on those loans . Profits are either reinvested into the business or into our local community through various initiatives including our Five Per Cent Pledge to reinvest five per cent of our net profit into our local community each year .
“ We ’ ve also helped in other ways by sharing our branch space with local charities , through staff volunteering in the community or supporting various organisations and charities .” It ’ s this “ sharing ” ethos that sets building societies apart from their competitors , says Andrew .
“ Everyone who saves or borrows £ 100 with us becomes a member when they open their account ,” he explains . “ Members are invited to our annual general meeting where they can vote in directors and have a say in how we run the business .
“ Mutuals have a far higher trust rating than banks . Because we don ’ t have shareholders who we would have to pay dividends to , we can invest back into the business and look after our members and provide better interest rates . That ’ s still highly valued .”
As well as keeping its branches open during lockdown , the
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