Building Societies Association
The Building Societies Association represents all 44 building societies and 4 credit unions with a total membership of over 21 million UK consumers.
A strong financial services sector for people and business
People need a strong, healthy and diverse financial services landscape if they are to fulfil their ambitions, whether this is to own or rent a good quality home or be financially resilient in the face of unexpected events. Building societies exist to help in these areas, but we see people struggling to achieve their ambitions.
To help people achieve their goals we are calling on the parties to make three commitments.
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Build a diverse and resilient economy by moving away from the UK fixation on shareholder owned businesses. A diverse financial sector, including mutuals, delivers resilience in times of crisis and improves competition and choice for consumers all the time. Ensuring that the Treasury recognises mutuality as one legitimate route to privatise public assets would help make this happen.
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Tackle housing affordability by building more homes across all tenures; recognising shared ownership as a secure and affordable tenure in its own right; and accepting that there will be an increasingly intergenerational approach to home ownership for ordinary people by removing existing tax penalties & policy.
- Encourage a savings culture to strengthen household resilience, by delivering simple, consistent policies that give savers the confidence to save and continue to invest in financial education for children, young people and adults.
You can find out more about the BSA's key asks here
