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It may be only my employment ‘ silver anniversary ’ but the last quarter of a century working at BBS has been more of a golden period for me . I have had the honour of serving as a Board Director for 21 years with the last five being as Chief Executive . Through good and bad economic times , it has been a privilege to serve our Members and to work with so many quite fantastic people . I ’ ve frankly loved every minute of what has been a really fulfilling period in my professional life .
I am reliably informed that The Business Exchange ( TBE ) is also celebrating its 10th birthday this year . I send my congratulations to everyone involved in keeping your magnificent publication going over the last 10 years . I took the chance to reflect back to where BBS was at when TBE was born
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in 2013 . The financial industry was still very much in a recovery phase after the disastrous financial crash of the noughties . Increased regulation was forcing all financial institutions to ‘ up their game ’. The rules around mortgage lending had been tightened to include , for the first time , a borrower affordability test which aimed to ensure that
“ the Society ' s balance sheet is almost 40 % bigger than it was back in 2013 ”
monthly mortgage payments would remain affordable even if interest rates rose . With CPI inflation being at 2.7 % and the Bank of England ( BOE ) base interest rate being at
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0.5 %, a common perception seemed to exist amongst the government , the media and the public that an era of super low interest rates and cheap finance was here for ever . Those of us who have been in financial services for a long time knew better however .
Flash forward to 2023 ! The BOE is now very much in a ‘ no gain without the pain ’ mindset and hence base rate has just increased to 5.25 % in response to stubbornly high CPI inflation of 7.9 %. The cost of all types of finance is significantly higher than it was 10 years ago and business and household finances are under pressure . The one saving grace is that increases in mortgage arrears have so far been quite low , probably partly due to the loan affordability rules that operated over the last decade . For once , this was a good piece of regulation .
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BBS ’ s strategy targets steady asset growth over rapid expansion and contraction and the Society ’ s balance sheet is almost 40 % bigger than it was back in 2013 .
BBS will celebrate its 120th anniversary next year which will give my colleagues another moment to reflect on where we have come from and where we are going . Although the Society has changed beyond all recognition since its early days , the purpose that continues to drive it forward has not changed at all since 1904 . It continues to focus on bettering the lives of its Members .
If you think that BBS can help your future , then please call us on 01225 423271 .
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