Lambeth BS windfall for members

ReportInvestor

Lambeth BS is going to announce a takeover by the Portman, paying a windfall for society members and improving the efficiency of both mutual societies :j for everyone's benefit.

See this link for more details

Rumours of similar activity in the sector are doing the rounds.

Stop press - £400 minimum windfalls announced on Monday

fazz

Darn it! Just closed an account with them!!

ReportInvestor

Bad luck .

Times - What's the cost of continued carpetbagging?

You weren't the EH writing to this Saturday's Times, were you, fazz

Although the Mail on Sunday mentions "four figure windfalls" I somehow doubt that will be for everyone.

ffacoffipawb

fazz wrote:

Darn it! Just closed an account with them!!

Me too.

Wibble (added as message too short to post)

ReportInvestor

Why did you both close your accounts?

Poor interest rates? Needed the money? Given up on the idea of windfalls? Other?

Speculator

Probably because a batch of fixed rate bonds reached maturity at the end of January.

Speculator

£400+

A merger bonus will be paid to qualifying borrowers and savers of Lambeth Building Society. Each eligible member of Lambeth is expected to receive a taxable merger bonus of at least £400, although details are yet to be finalised

It is expected that eligible savers and borrowers of Lambeth will receive full details of the proposed merger towards the end of April together with details of the merger bonus arrangements. Bonus payments to eligible savers will be based on the lower of account balances at the close of business on 31 January 2006 and a future date which will be disclosed in the merger booklet. A minimum savings balance as at 31 January 2006 of £100 will be one of the requirements. Details of the merger bonus for eligible borrowers will be disclosed in the merger booklet, but a minimum mortgage balance at 31 January 2006 of £100 will be one of the requirements. Payment of the merger bonuses is dependent upon the approval of the merger by Lambeth’s members and confirmation of the merger by the FSA.

http://www.londonstockexchange.com/LSECWS/IFSPages/MarketNewsPopup.aspx?id=1172711&source=RNS

Thanks to Dr Who @ https://www.themoneybag.com for above link.

see also http://www.themoneybag.com/vb/showthread.php?t=37140

Speculator

more info here...

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/saving-and-banking/article.html?in_article_id=407416&in_page_id=7

ReportInvestor

Large building society pays members of smaller BS £400 with no need to demutualise - AND they get better interest rates & can continue to support mutuality :beer: .

That raises a few questions for MSE members of other small / medium sized societies.

ReportInvestor

Portman and Lambeth to merge - Links to various press reports

iii

BBC

ADVFN

Reuters

This is Money

".....Chief executive Robert Sharpe said: 'Whilst there is no doubt that small and medium-sized building societies are able to trade profitably, we all operate in an increasingly challenging market environment.'

Chris Radford, chief executive of Lambeth, said customers would benefit from a wider branch network and better products and services....."

Guardian

"No real change" says the BSA as it accepts the reality of sector consolidation

".....Robert Sharpe, the chief executive of the Portman who will head up the new, enlarged society, said members would benefit from economies of scale, which would allow the society to offer more competitive products .

"Whilst there is no doubt that small and medium-sized building societies are able to trade profitably, we all operate in an increasingly challenging market environment," he said. "Members of both societies can, in our view, only benefit from this merger. The enlarged society's economies of scale and wider distribution will generate tangible benefits in terms of products and pricing."

Mr Sharpe said there would be no compulsory redundancies within the branch network and that the Portman would offer jobs to all Lambeth's head office staff.

Portman merged with Staffordshire building society in 2003 to create a society with over 2,300 staff and 1.8 million members. Mr Sharpe has said he is interested in further mergers, and is willing to listen to approaches from other societies.

The merger, which is expected to be effective on September 30, will follow a merger between the Mercantile and Leeds building societies and take the number of societies in the UK down to 61.

A spokeswoman for the Building Societies Association (BSA) said consolidation was not seen as a bad thing for the sector.

"Everything is still in the sector: all the assets and all the members are still held by building societies so the sector remains the same," she said.

The Independent

Lambeth members get £400 windfall in Portman takeover

"....Mortgage borrowers are likely to be offered a flat-rate windfall, though many will benefit from the fact Portman offers marginally cheaper interest rates on comparable products...."

"....The deal is the latest in a series of rationalisations in the building society sector. There are now about 60 societies in the UK, down from more than 150 in the 1980s. In addition to a series of demutulisations, with conversions of companies such as Halifax, Alliance & Leicester and Northern Rock to banking status, smaller societies have merged in the face of rising cost pressures.

Mr Sharpe said: "What we've seen quite clearly from previous mergers is that the money spent on functions such as marketing, IT, accounts and treasury can be taken out in savings. If the savings and mortgage markets remain as competitive as they have been, some of the smaller societies will find the costs of regulation and operation more and more difficult......"

cheggers

Nice one a decent windfall at last, sadly I am not with Lambeth. I'm with the Portman, fingers crossed someone comes in to take them over!!!

I've got most of the top 15 largest building societies, lets hope some of these merge or go plc in the next few years.