Norwich and Peterborough Building Society
| File:Npbslogo.gif | |
| Company type | Building Society (Mutual) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Banking and Financial Services |
| Founded | 1860 (Incorporated 1896) |
| Headquarters | Peterborough Business Park, Lynch Wood, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire PE2 6WZ |
Key people | Keith Bedell-Pearce, Chairman Matthew Bullock FCIB, Chief Executive |
| Products | Retail Banking, Savings and Investments, Mortgages, Surveying, General Insurance Broking, Share Dealing and Independent Financial Advice |
| Revenue | 3,671 million GBP |
Number of employees | 1,000 (approx.) |
| Website | http://www.npbs.co.uk/ |
Norwich and Peterborough Building Society is the fourteenth largest building society in the United Kingdom, with assets in excess of £3.6bn.[1] It was formed by the merger of the Norwich and Peterborough Building Societies in 1986.
The Society has over 55 branch offices mainly located in East Anglia, Northamptonshire and Lincolnshire, but there is also a branch in Gibraltar which opened in 1990. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second opened the Head Office on a green field business park at Lynch Wood, Peterborough in 1988.
The Society employs around 1,000 staff, of whom 400 are based at the Head Office in Peterborough.
Services
The Society's principal purpose is making of loans which are secured on residential property and are funded substantially by its members.[2] However, for its size, the Society offers a wide range of financial services and advice to its 470,000 customers. Cheques are cleared through the Co-operative Bank Plc and a VISA branded credit card is issued on behalf of the Society by Bank of Scotland Plc. Share dealing services are offered to members by Pershing Securities Limited.
The Society also operates via a telephone call centre based in Peterborough and through a fully transactional website.
The Society has three established affinity accounts with Norwich City FC, Peterborough United FC and Lincoln City FC. In 2006, it was endorsed by the Football League as its preferred provider of these accounts to Championship and lower league clubs. Each year the Society pays a bonus of up to 1.25% to the club, calculated on the average total balance held in all of their supporters' accounts. There are now 27 clubs participating online.
The Society only offers mortgage facilities for properties in England, Wales, Gibraltar or situated in defined geographical areas of the Costa del Sol and the Costa Blanca, Spain.[3]
Norwich and Peterborough Building Society is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.[4] It is a member of the Building Societies Association, the Council of Mortgage Lenders and the LINK Interchange Network Ltd. The Society also subscribes to the Banking Code.
Conversion
The Society conducts regular dialogues through members’ meetings and other events. It is clear from these that members have a high level of trust in the Society and wish it to continue as a mutual. This stance has been confirmed by the Board.[5]
In order to help maintain normal business activities for the benefit of all members without the disruption caused by speculative activity, new customers opening savings accounts that provide membership of the Society are required to enter into an agreement to assign to the Charities Aid Foundation any windfall benefits to which they may become entitled in the future as an investing member.
Subsidiaries
The Norwich and Peterborough Group includes the following trading companies, which are wholly owned by the Society:
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- Norwich and Peterborough Insurance Brokers Ltd.[6]
- Hockleys Professional Limited[7] — incorporating:
- Hockleys Surveyors
- Norwich and Peterborough Estate Agents, Gibraltar
History
The Norwich Building Society was founded in 1852 under the imposing title of Norwich and District Provident Permanent Benefit Building and Freehold Land Society.
Shortly after, in 1860, the Peterborough Provincial Benefit Building Society was established by railway workers at the Corn Exchange, Peterborough and in 1896 it registered under the Building Societies Act 1874.[8] The fast growth of the railways had not only created large numbers of workers, it had also led to a shortage of housing in the Peterborough area. The new Society enabled its members to build their own homes in the city. Although originally limited to railwaymen, the Society soon opened its membership to others in the area. In 1962 its name was changed to Peterborough Building Society. The Society absorbed the Kings Lynn Building Society in 1967, the Stamford Building Society in 1980 and the Argyle Building Society in 1985.
The Norwich and Peterborough Building Society was formed by the merger of the two societies in 1986. At that time the Peterborough's assets were £280m and the Norwich's were £176m.
References
- ^ Building Societies' Assets Building Societies Association, January 2007
- ^ Memorandum of the Norwich and Peterborough Building Society (3) Memorandum of Powers and Rules Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, April 1988
- ^ The Society is licensed in Gibraltar under the Financial Services Ordinance, Licence No. FSC00472A. Oficina de Representacion en Espana de Norwich and Peterborough Building Society, Calla Mauricio Moro Poreto No.2, 6A, 29006 Malaga SHZ 23A
- ^ Entered in the Register under No. 150965
- ^ Cook, Jacqueline; Deakin, Simon and Hughes, Alan Mutuality and Corporate Governance: the Evolution of UK Building Societies Following Deregulation (Working Paper No.205) ESRC Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge, June 2001
- ^ Registered in England and Wales No. 699978. NPIB is authorised and regulated by the FSA and entered in the Register under No. 16669
- ^ Registered in England and Wales No. 2360274
- ^ Registry of Friendly Societies No. 437B
