Mambu has sponsored a new report published by Whitecap Consulting in partnership with the Building Societies Association (BSA) that highlights strong sources of differentiation for the building society sector.
The report finds that building societies continue to leverage mutuality, regionality and technology to create customer value and differentiation in the UK Financial Services market; however the degree to which societies utilise each of these assets varies across the sector.
- There are different strategies and areas of commercial focus available to societies, and selection and focus are critical to success.
- Mutuality can become a point of difference with greater relevance to customers, possibly with a modernised focus on social purpose.
- Meaningful community engagement is core to regional success, customer engagement and branch-based savings.
- Societies will need to continue to invest for a digitally enabled future, to support customer engagement, distribution and operating efficiency.
The research for the report involved a quantitative data analysis of all 43 building societies, interviews with 33 building society CEOs, and an online survey which received a total of 134 respondents.
Some of the research findings:
- 93% of building societies who responded say mutuality affects their decision making.
- 66% of building societies who responded consider mutuality is about culture, values and social purpose.
- 71% of building societies who responded consider the branch network to be a critical part of regionality.
- 90% of building societies who responded believe community involvement is a commitment to regionality.
- 67% of building societies who responded identify digital transformation as the primary challenge over the next 5 years.
- 65% of all stakeholders surveyed believe Open Banking to be an opportunity for the sector.