Calling existing Cheshire members

ReportInvestor · 12 March 2006 at 11:39AM

Your society is in the news.

Poor results including a loss (although management says performance is improving).
£10m commercial property fraud

.
Portman BS came courting to try to take them over last year.
Boss Colin Whittle got an extra £322 payoff last year as "payment for failure" :mad: .

Your money is safe

.

The Building Societies Association rightly points to the £170m reserves backing the society, but Cheshire's future is not so clear.

Cheshire fighting for survival? - IA link to stories and comment

Portman to pay Lambeth members £400+ windfalls - MSE link

So it's probably best to sit tight and await developments.

You might even get a small windfall

.

But if Cheshire decides to remain independent, keep a close eye on your interest rates.

Edna_Bucket_2 · 12 March 2006 at 9:17PM

ReportInvestor wrote:

Your society is in the news.

Poor results including a loss (although management says performance is improving).
£10m commercial property fraud .

Yeah, and so the Board get pay rises...what a surprise...

ReportInvestor · 13 March 2006 at 7:25AM

No surprise there, Edna.

Here is the full Financial Mail article - now available online:

Survival fight for the Cheshire

Innys · 13 March 2006 at 2:06PM

I, like a lot of people went for the Cheshire's 8% £550/month fixed rate saver last year. I wonder if we'll get a share of the cash if (when) Portman buy them out???

Here's hoping!!!

ReportInvestor · 13 March 2006 at 7:57PM

I think MSE members will benefit

.

Unless the Cheshire board tries to protect its own bloated salaries

by either:

a) going it alone and paying Cheshire members !!!!!! rates for a decade.
b) merging with the Derbyshire to preserve several board jobs, which would improve returns slightly but pay no windfall / a tiny windfall to members

The Cheshire board has a fiduciary responsibility to get the best deal for its members.

Which involves them enquiring what Britannia/Portman/Yorkshire/Coventry/Chelsea/Skipton are prepared to offer.

And then taking the best bid to Nationwide to see if they want to beat it

.

rangers_fc · 13 March 2006 at 11:42PM

Who is set to gain from the Cheshire Windfall assuming there is one. Will existing account holders be eligible for any windfall? What if I opened a account tommorow would that make me eligible?

tee_pee_2 · 13 March 2006 at 11:47PM

Mt mort is with them can't imagine I wold get owt

ReportInvestor · 14 March 2006 at 8:26AM

tee_pee wrote:

Mt mort is with them can't imagine I wold get owt

I can, tee pee.

Mortgage holders have tended to get x2 the basic minimum windfall when building societies have been taken over by other BSs e.g. when Portman took over Staffordshire. So you could be in there

.

rangers_fc wrote:

Who is set to gain from the Cheshire Windfall assuming there is one. Will existing account holders be eligible for any windfall? What if I opened a account tommorow would that make me eligible?

It's entirely up to the board. But if they were merging, they would want to win a vote.

So I would say that existing account holders & mortgage holders on 31/12/05 would have to be eligible. They have a vote at any SGM/EGM and it would be inequitable to exclude any of them.

Account holders between 31/12/05 and the announcement of their current problems - it's anyone's guess - but bear in mind they don't have a vote until 1/1/07.

Accounts being opened between now and the announcement of any future merger/takeover? Maybe, but I wouldn't be too confident. Is it worth the hassle for a possible ?£40? - ?£80? windfall after tax? Your call.

Ironically the Cheshire boss is trying to stop an outflow of funds following the commercial property £10 fraud, in order to keep Cheshire independent. So she can't be seen to discourage new account holders / carpetbaggers :rotfl: .

But directors might not want to reward such "Johnny come latelies" with a windfall merger. After all - they wouldn't want their own position as supreme carpetbaggers challenged

. [See the first post about Whittle's £322K payout for quiting before he did even more damage to Cheshire.]

ReportInvestor · 17 March 2006 at 11:13PM

Portman goes aggressive.

I hear that in their AGM communication with members this year they said that they had made an offer to Cheshire that was rejected.

I have never before heard of such an explicit recognition of an unsuccessful bid within the mutual confraternity.

I doubt that the 2005 offer for Cheshire will be Portman's last.

ReportInvestor · 31 March 2006 at 11:55AM

The Independent

Cheshire will be writing to members to explain why they have turned down a £650 per member offer from Portman BS.

This offer would have

a) made members better off
b) given them greater security and product range
c) allowed them to remain members of a mutual

It really is a no-brainer.

Except that the Cheshire board would probably have to lose their jobs

.

ReportInvestor · 1 April 2006 at 4:15PM

If you want to ask the Chief Executive what on earth she & her board are up to, then here is the contact e-mail address

askthechiefexecutive@thecheshire.co.uk

The Cheshire promises to reply within two days.

Calling existing Cheshire members

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