SIZE ISN'T EVERYTHING

This week has been all about contrasts in scale.The magnitude of the losses declared by RBS and by the Lloyds Group is almost too huge to digest. These banks have competed for the title of Biggest Loss Makers in UK corporate history and the press has been full of tales of corporate largesse and individual greed. Meanwhile back on planet- mutual, I had the privilege of attending the AGM of our local competitor The Stafford Railway Building Society whose results for 2008 demonstrate that, by sticking to the business that you know about, you can achieve profits, growth and efficiency even in a turbulent market. Stafford Railway is less than half the asset size of The Hanley and has only one branch (in Stafford) but I have more admiration for their business acumen and customer focus than I could ever muster for the banking giants of the financial services sector. Maybe now the hackneyed image of a local building society as a crusty relic of a more benign era, will be shed once and for all. Surviving and thriving in a contemporary market is about how good you are not how big you are. Both the Stafford Railway and The Hanley will I'm sure work hard to continue proving that point.

WHY BLOG NOW?

An odd time to post your first blog, you may think. And understandably so.At a time when the financial services industry is emblazoned across newspaper headlines and as lead story in numerous TV broadcasts (and for all the wrong reasons) why would any CEO choose to break cover and encourage 2 way communication!!?? Well aside from the obvious kudos of being able to tell my children that I've joined the 21st century information super-highway from the sliproad of traditional communications methods, I genuinely believe that small, local, mutual building societies like The Hanley, can be beneficiaries of the changing public mood. Virtues such as trust, reliability, solidity and security are now high on the customers wish list. I can recall plenty of occasions in recent years where commentators viewed small building societies as crusty and dull, more akin to a Hovis advert than a contemporary financial services business. But not any more.We have plenty to offer.In truth we always did. I intend to use my blog to comment on how we will thrive in the emerging new landscape.