The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 14: Winter 2019 | Page 20

FINANCE A home for your savings. Savings for your home by Kevin Gray, Chief Executive of Bath Building Society Kevin Gray, Chief Executive of Bath Building Society “We are determined to promote a culture of saving and to do our utmost to help people into homes that they own themselves” My colleagues argue that the above phrase neatly describes the services that Building Societies provide to their members. It is true that people place their hard-earned money in Bath Building Society’s safe keeping because it’s more secure than just sticking it in the teapot or under the mattress. It’s a matter of fact that no-one has ever lost money by saving with any Building Society. However, the appropriateness of the above slogan as a mutual sector mantra is limited by the fact that people also save with banks and they also save for many different reasons other than just for purchasing homes. At Bath Building Society, we use the strapline ‘We’re different because you are’. This recognises the fact that different people have different requirements for savings and mortgages and that we have to offer a different service from our competitors as a result. We have to be more creative in the design of our products, we have to be more flexible in our decision making and we have to offer our customers a personal rather than ‘call centre’ type service. The Society has moved on to develop a social purpose statement that focusses on as to why we are here as a business and we use this to drive our strategic thinking. We believe that we primarily exist to change lives by both promoting saving and by making people’s dreams of home ownership come true. Delivering on this statement is the difficult part but we’re on the case! The Society is proud to be sponsoring financial education seminars to sixth formers in Bath state schools and it intends to expand its future involvement in this area. The benefits of saving from an early age are clear to see. Start them young and it’ll give them a habit of a lifetime. To encourage saving for the very young, the Society will be offering an enhanced rate of interest on its children’s account. To encourage the 18-35 age group to save, it is launching a new regular savings account with a very competitive interest rate. The Society will allow more local young adults to take advantage of generous government assistance by offering its own Lifetime ISA. Our overall aim is to encourage early saving towards getting deposits together for future home purchases. Bath Building Society does provide a home for people’s savings and some of those people are indeed saving for a mortgage deposit. We are determined to promote a culture of saving and to do our utmost to help people into homes that they own themselves. If you are interested in knowing more about what we can offer you, your friends or your family members, why not call us on 01225 423271. Buy to Let Mortgage from a different sort of mortgage lender There was once a man who really wanted to boost his property portfolio... And after having a chat with us, we were able to help him do just that. His story was quite a familar one, but even if it hadn’t been, we would have listened. Everybody has their own story and we always like there to be a ‘happily-ever-after’, so get in touch and we’ll help you with the next chapter of your life. It’s your life. It’s your story. It’s our pleasure. To find out more, call one of our mortgage experts on 01225 475737. www.bathbuildingsociety.co.uk Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up the repayments on your mortgage. Telephone calls may be recorded to help the Society to maintain high standards of service delivery. Bath Investment & Building Society is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority, Registration Number 206026 Ad 210x122_OUT.indd 6 20 6803-Mortgage www.tbebathandsomerset.co.uk 15/03/2019 12:36