Swansea Building Society

The Swansea Building Society,, is an independent mutual building society based in Swansea, Wales. It is a member of the Building Societies Association. The Society was founded on 6th February 1923 by local estate agent John Oliver Watkins and a group of local business men as a mutual organisation to allow purchases of new homes in the aftermath of the First World War. Today it is one of only three remaining building societies based in Wales and the only building society or bank with its headquarters in Wales west of Cardiff. The Society celebrates its centenary this year and remains resolutely independent and true to the mutual principles under which it was first established. As with other building societies, it is owned by its Members and not by external shareholders, so it makes operational decisions with its members always in mind. It has no external borrowings or Government subsidies, being entirely funded by its Members and thus with no external hedging as a risk. Its savers and borrowers are all on variable mortgages (no fixed mortgages) and all Members (old and new) have the same terms and conditions for the products they use - so the operating model is extremely simple and robust. The Society is closely rooted in its communities and only accepts Saver Members who either live in Wales or have a connection to Wales. At 31 December 2022, the Society's total assets were £529.8m, reflecting 27,000 saver accounts and 2,400 mortgage accounts. The chief executive is Alun Williams. Alun, who lives in Swansea, is an active member of local business life and is now the longest serving CEO of any building society in the UK. Swansea Building Society benefited from the Icelandic financial crisis in 2009, as local savers looked to invest in a safer institution. This provided a new impetus and the Society has since continued to grow by opening three branches in Carmarthen, Cowbridge and Mumbles in recent years, but in 2021 it established a new additional presence in Abergavenny to extend its geographic reach and provide a base upon which to establish an additional branch. All its branches provide full bi-lingual services for members. In 2019, it relocated its main branch to Portland Street in Swansea city centre, retaining and refurbishing its previous premises that host its Head Office functions. These have now been further extended to provide more space whilst also improving significantly its energy efficiency and processing facilities.