At each AGM, members have the opportunity to put questions to the Board of Directors. Each question is shown below, along with a response from our Board.
Q: Why isn't there 1 branch open on Saturday mornings? I obviously don't know the customer demographic, but I would think that it is fairly elderly given the limited IT/online proposition offered. The retired customers are available during the day but anyone working full time has no opportunity to open an account or speak to a Mortgage Adviser face to face. The current open hours are not customer centric and haven’t been since pre-covid times.
A: We continue to monitor customer feedback on opening hours which continues to inform that opening hours Mon-Fri are appropriate in supporting members. We do recognise that customer behaviour and requirements brought by our customer service will continue to change, the introduction of digital self service alongside existing branch face to face will be the key challenge moving forward. We maintain that ensuring we have a high street presence in a primary requirement, with customers adapting their usage patterns to when the services are available.
Q: In the marketing literature, Roger's model, when applied to consumer product progression, begins with 'innovators' and concludes with 'laggards' - 'Tail-End Charlie's'. I'm a 'Tail-End Charlie', and the story of my life is that every time that I find a decent product it's just at the point where it's about to be withdrawn from the market. Last year I found the Marsden Branch Regular Saver, and now in that form it's gone.
As an insignificant 'drone' among the 99%, having an account that enables me to save a small amount is ideal. In regard to money I'm like 'Winnie the Pooh' with the honey jar, so having an account where I could place some of my 'pocket-money', and that I could not access for a whole year was a god-send. And sadly, it's no more. And so some of my pocket-money is now going monthly to 'The Darly' (Darlington Building Society).
Given the importance of retail funding to the Society, and given that H.M Treasury is reviewing the balance between cash and equity ISAs, may I enquire the reasons for withdrawing the old Branch Regular Saver account? And do you have any plans to bring it back?
A: The challenge in deploying a regular saver are the operational overheads in administering the account and the maturity process following completion of the 12 month savings period.
We considered deploying it as part of the new tax year, but concerns on savings account volumes meant we attached a lower priory to this savings product.
We are committed to supporting financial inclusion and promoting a regular savings habit. Our focus in the coming year is workplace savings, supporting deductions from salary. A form of regular saver, but with a different distribution.
Q: Some years ago we bought the former head office of the former Colne Building Society. The price that we paid was never disclosed, but word 'on the street' is that we got it 'for a song' - and all without help from Kirstie and Phil, seemingly - which just goes to prove that we're smarter than the average bear, and certainly smarter than we look.
As best I can judge, the occupancy rate of the building is around 95%, and it's clearly way too big for current usage. I am wondering, therefore, whether the Board has any plans to make better use of the asset.
A: We have been having the same debate as a Board. We commissioned architects and quantity surveyors to cost a programme of refurbishment on the main building and annex. The intention to consider plans to relocate the PO from Nelson to Colne. Restrictions on space and the increase we are seeing to our colleague numbers meant this wasn’t feasible, and as our colleague numbers continues to grow, space remains at a premium despite the flexibility brought by hybrid working.
Our intention is to relocate to alternative premises in Colne and release the property for sale. This change in no way diminishes our commitment to branch operations in Colne.
Q: The acid test (a phrase that I believe will make Mr Neal Walker 'feel at home') of prudent lending is the rate of arears, and I was delighted to read of the low level at the Marsden. May I ask, how does the rate of arrears at Marsden compare (lower, higher, about the same) to the average for all building societies? And how does it compare to societies of a similar size?
A: The performance of the Society loan portfolio remains strong, driven by our control over lending policy and criteria and manual underwriting approach. Comparing the Society to stats released by UK Finance for the mortgage industry, Society arrears are approx. one-third of the industry average. Further information is available in the R&A 2024:
Q: If HM Treasury introduce limits on Cash ISAs, what impact would the move have on the sustainability of the retail funding model of the Society?
A: Tax-free savings represent 97% of overall funding balance movement year on year. They provide a means for customers to save, with no tax to pay on the interest earned, to the current limit of £20k PA.
There has been much speculation that the allowance would reduce to £4k, in the belief that savers would choose to invest in the stocks & shares (equity) ISAs.
Our view is that a reduction in the limit would not see a switch to equity investment, and that savers would utilise the revised ISAs limit, with other funds held in standard savings accounts with tax to pay with interest earned over the £1k personal savings allowance.
Q: I may have missed it, but I didn’t see any mention of diversity philosophy and practice in the material. The Board has a reasonable male/female split but otherwise very similar backgrounds. What is the approach of the Society?
A: At Marsden, we foster a culture that focuses on equality, inclusion, and diversity. We have a 55% female Senior Management Team (comprising of our Board, Executive Committee and Senior Leadership Team) and are members of the Women in Finance Charter.
Our ethos and the way we operate is supported by our People Policies, with an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Policy summarising our overarching stance, enhanced occupational entitlements offered through our Family Friendly Policies to support colleagues as they navigate family life, and a recently introduced Transgender, Intersex and Non-binary Inclusion Policy to proactively confirm the support and assistance available to any colleagues who may identify in this way. We are keen to support our colleagues with additional training and in the last 6 months have welcomed external speakers to provide training and information in relation to menopause and men’s mental health.
Specifically in relation to our Board, it’s important to us to have diversity of thought and supportive challenge, and we are fortunate to have appointed members who have extensive experience that’s best suited to enable us to achieve our overarching aims. When making any appointment to the Society, including at Board level, we are focused on ensuring our colleagues have the right skills mix to enable them to succeed, implementing recruitment processes that are inclusive and attract a wide range of applicants from diverse backgrounds.
Q: I’m sure it’s been asked before, but have you considered producing an app for members to access their account details? All my other financial accounts have apps and it is much easier to access your account.
A: Plans for an app form part of our digital roadmap. The new savings self-service platform has a mobile companion app with a planned rollout in 2026.
Q: Am I correct in thinking one can no longer request/receive a printed statement in branch, of assets/savings invested in MBS. If correct, why?
A: Statements can be requested in branch. Fulfilment is supported by back-office functions and can be posted or emailed to our members.
Q: I understand Nationwide BS have taken over Santander, thereby presuming they are offering full banking facilities. May I ask if the MBS has any similar plans for the future?
A: We have no plans to offer current account services. We are evaluating the installation of banking kiosks in our branches to support current and new members who have lost their high street banks.
Q: Is the community funding allocated to the various districts in which the MBS has branches or is it allocated on the need/justification of the application.
A: Funding through our Charitable Foundation is available to applicants throughout Lancashire who match at least one of the priorities we set for funding each year. Priority is given to those based in our branch operating areas, providing the strength of the application is in line with other applications.
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