22 April 2009
Saffron Building Society holds successful AGM
Saffron Building Society, the regional mutual serving the East Anglia, held its Annual General Meeting on Tuesday 21st April at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford.
The AGM serves as a forum for Members to put their questions to Saffron's Board, as well as exercising their right to elect Directors to the board and appoint the Society's auditors.
Chief Executive Andy Golding said: "The AGM reinforces our founding principle - that our members are at the heart of everything we do - and reiterates that we have a duty to safeguard their interests. During times of financial uncertainty, a Building Society's AGM is more important than ever".
Following reports of ratings agencies downgrading some larger building societies and the recent collapse of Dunfermline, members sought reassurance that Saffron was not exposed to destabilising risks.
Andy said:
"We anticipated that members would want to know the measures of Saffron's stability; and Saffron in is the enviable position of being able to provide figures which speak for themselves. We remain profitable, our retail deposits are £100m higher than our mortgage lending, mortgage arrears have reduced from last year, and we use very little wholesale funding. We've taken these figures and stress-tested them thoroughly, so that we can be confident that Saffron will hold firm into the future.
"We send a copy of our Annual Report and Accounts to all members, and will always answer our members' questions - the AGM gives us a valuable opportunity to do this face-to-face."
In addition to voting and question and answer session, members were encouraged to participate in Saffron's annual survey; the results of which were shared at the AGM.
96% of respondents said that they trusted the Society to treat them fairly; levels of services also scored highly across the Society (averaging at 91% across all channels) and 94% of respondents were impressed by the level of knowledge shown by Saffron staff. Members were encouraged to include comments, and many came forward with their ideas and experiences.
Andy said:
"I am extremely proud to run a mutual with members who take an active interest in their Society. The insight and feedback that they provide really does help to shape what we do next"
Saffron's engagement with its membership will continue throughout the year, and will include a Members' Conference in June.
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