CarpetBagging- The best accounts to open at each Building Society

baby_boomer

Is it honestly worth the trouble when the value of the societies as businesses will have plummeted due to the credit crunch?

After all, if anyone wants a mortgage business it's pretty cheap to pick one up - just look at the mortgage banks which are being looked at (Alliance & Leicester, HBoS) and those which can't even tempt a buyer (B&B and NRock).

And any deals done within the building society sector will use the credit crunch and current housing market conditions to pay a pittance on any merger.

Is the game really worth the candle?

All that time wasted and form filling and keeping up to date with interest rates to make sure you don't lose interest year on year?

bristolleedsfan

baby_boomer wrote: »

Is the game really worth the candle?

quote]


I guess some "light" will be shed on that when Catholic BS merger terms get announced.

If they pay a minimum bonus of 100.00 then the carprtbaggers will have done well on that one IMO.

baby_boomer

bristolleedsfan wrote: »

I guess some "light" will be shed on that when Catholic BS merger terms get announced.

If they pay a minimum bonus of 100.00 then the carprtbaggers will have done well on that one IMO.

Agreed.

Chelsea BS will claim to keep open the valuable Catholic BS HQ in Westminster so that they don't have to shell out the proceeds of the property to Catholic members or Catholic charities.

Then they'll sell it off a couple of years down the line .

Edale

From the Telegraph today:
Nationwide, one of Britain's biggest mortgage lenders, is in advanced talks to merge with the Derbyshire Building Society in a move expected to kick-start consolidation of the £350bn industry, The Sunday Telegraph has learned.

sss555s

I have had a flexaccount and e-savings account with Nationwide for some years.

Would it matter what account i put some money in and how much should i put in to benefit from any future take over?

Speculator

You won't receive any windfall payments by having money in a Nationwide account unless Nationwide gets taken over by a Bank and you have not signed away your windfall to charity.

seven-day-weekend

I and/or my husband have already benefited from Midshires, AA, Bradford and Bingley, and then Staffordshire/Portman/Nationwide. All quite accidental!

My husband still has an account with West Bromwich. Anything likely here, does anyone know? (and he has had the account long enough to not have to assign to charity).

sss555s

Speculator wrote: »

You won't receive any windfall payments by having money in a Nationwide account unless Nationwide gets taken over by a Bank and you have not signed away your windfall to charity.

Yes i know. Also i've had the account longer than the 5 year clause i think it was at the time.

I have had a flexaccount and e-savings account with Nationwide for some years.

Would it matter what account i put some money in and how much should i put in to benefit from any future take over?

Anyone?

alanq

Reuters reports that Nationwide has confirmed talks with Derbyshire and Cheshire Building Societies. http://uk.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUKL747744120080907

There may be short term handouts for members of those societies but I think it would be bad news for savers. Nationwide paid less on accounts than the Portman did. In my experience the quality of Nationwide's customer service has plummeted since trying to digest the Portman. So I dread to think what will happen with further mergers. Anyone with savings totalling > £35k in all these societies would have to look elsewhere if they want to be sure that their money is protected under the FSCS.

Oblivion

alanq wrote: »

Anyone with savings totalling > £35k in all these societies would have to look elsewhere if they want to be sure that their money is protected under FSCS.

It would be nice to think that will put pressure on the government to get the promised increase in the guarantee implemented, but I'm not holding my breath.

Dave.