The Business Exchange Bath & Somerset Issue 17: Autumn 2020 | Page 13

Business as usual..
but not as we know it!
by Kevin Gray, Chief Executive of Bath Building Society
At Bath Building Society (BBS), my team has
just reviewed the Society’s half year results.
“Applications for
mortgages have been
running at record
levels and our net
lending for the first six
months is double what
was achieved in the
whole of 2019.”
In many respects it has been ‘business as usual’.
Applications for mortgages have been running at
record levels and our net lending for the first six
months of 2020 is double what we achieved over
the whole of 2019. All this has resulted in our
profitability being ahead of budget. Not half bad
bearing in mind the huge economic turmoil that
has been created by the lockdown. Although I am
naturally delighted that the Society is continuing
to deliver the solid financial success that it is
renowned for, things are definitely not ‘usual’.
Some major changes have already taken
place. The familiar social distancing features for
retail businesses also apply to our branches i.e.
limiting numbers, hand sanitisation, face masks
and staff behind protective plastic screens etc.
Similarly, our telephone contact centre remains
fully operational but our staff now work from
the comfort of their own homes. Like many
businesses, we have found that home working
has been a major success and we have changed
our policy to permit more home working in the
future. This will undoubtedly change our Head
Office requirements.
Some changes are not so obvious. Over the
lockdown, our customers naturally wished to
avoid leaving the safety of their homes to get cash
preferring instead to use a reliable and secure
means of transferring money from their savings
accounts with BBS to their current accounts with
their banks. A medium-term trend for customers
to subscribe to our online system, Bath Online,
has been supercharged by the lockdown. Many
parents and grandparents have also become very
familiar with online technologies such as Zoom,
Skype, Teams etc in order to keep in contact with
their loved ones. This may have removed some
of the mystique of using online systems and may
have encouraged a permanent shift away from
traditional cash and cheque transactions towards
favouring online money transfers and card
transactions. Only time will tell.
Someone once said that change in business
is the only constant. However, there are some
things that do not change. BBS will remain a
mutual business that is owned by its customers
and it will continue to put those customers at the
heart of everything that it does.
@BathBuildingSoc
Different mortgages from a different sort of mortgage lender
We listen to your story
You’re unique. We know that. We also know that when it comes to mortgages, everyone has their own
unique set of circumstances and their own unique stories. Whoever you are, we’ll listen to yours.
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
THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2020 13