Building society's redundancy pledge

No merger and no more redundancies – that was the message from West Bromwich Building Society as it celebrated its 160th anniversary.

In a speech to invited guests gathered at the building society's headquarters in the town's High Street yesterday, chief executive Robert Sharpe, said that the West Bromwich is performing well and revealed that the society is planning to expand as soon as markets recover. It has been able to attract 90,000 new customers during the last 12 months.

He also insisted that independence is a key part of plans for the future.

He said: "Customers come to the West Brom because we offer a safe and secure home for their savings.

"In the past year alone, we have attracted over 90,000 new members and over £1billion in new net retail savings.

"This is some achievement at a time when the banking system and indeed the global economy has been hit by an unprecedented whirlwind.

"The West Brom, like the rest of the sector, has had to withstand this turbulence but we have done so by playing to our strengths as a traditional regionally-based building society which puts the interests of our members above everything else.

"It is this outlook that will keep the West Brom a confident and independent building society as we head towards our next 160 years."

Mr Sharpe, a former chief executive of the Portman Building Society was associated with four takeovers by the company, including the controversial merger with Staffordshire Building Society in 2003.

His appointment in October last year prompted speculation a merger or takeover could be on the cards, yet he has insisted the opposite is true.

He also confirmed that the building society, which shed 152 jobs in December has no redundancy programme.

"There will be no merger with anybody. In fact there are great opportunities to expand into areas such as Birmingham," he said.

"We are already seeing green shoots within the housing market."