New Chair elected at Building Societies Association
Mark Bogard, Chief Executive of the Family Building Society has been elected as the new Chair of the Building Societies Association. He takes up this role with immediate effect.
Mark held the post of Deputy Chair since May 2019 and succeeds Mike Regnier, Chief Executive of the Yorkshire Building Society. At the same time, Rob Pheasey, Chief Executive of the Marsden Building Society has been elected Deputy Chair of the BSA.
The term of office for the BSA Chair and Deputy Chair is two years and neither position is remunerated.
Commenting on his election, Mark Bogard said: “I’m excited to be taking on the role of BSA Chair during what will certainly continue to be an interesting period of challenges and opportunities.
“Whilst fantastic progress is being made with the vaccination programme, and the roadmap for easing Covid-19 restrictions is still on track, the process of rebuilding and restructuring the economy will take much longer. With 25 million savers and borrowers, building societies have a key role to play in helping people make the most of their money, particularly the younger generations, who have often been hit hardest.
“The pandemic has demonstrated very clearly the need for people to save for a rainy day, even at very low interest rates. It has reinforced the importance of local communities, family and social purpose to the UK public. This provides a natural environment for building societies and credit unions which have had a strong sense of these since their inception. The mutual business model, which brings long-term thinking together with a customer-first approach, keeps social purpose at its heart, something that is resonating strongly with members and many young people too.
“The pandemic has changed the way we live and work currently and customer expectations of digital combined, for some, with the high street must be delivered. It will be fascinating to see how things evolve as the current restrictions are eased. Building societies’ ability to be nimble and serve the parts of the mortgage market that need bespoke solutions, is a great opportunity for the sector, and provides a valuable service for homebuyers and a sound home for depositors. In a land of elephants, we can be ballerinas.”
