BRITANNIA MEMBERS SAY "YES"

With a resoundingly positive member-vote at their AGM this week in favour of the merger with Cooperative Financial Services (CFS) our near-neighbours the Britannia open a new chapter in their history as they become a £70billion "super-mutual " with 9 million customers and over 12,000 staff. The Britannia /CFS merger has been a topic of much discussion amongst my business contacts and our staff here at The Hanley. The main question asked is;how will the merger impact The Hanley? My answer is simple; I fully understand the logic of the merger and the synergies between those 2 businesses, but we are a local building society with a fiercely proud intention of carving an even stronger niche as our competitors grow larger. The combined Britannia/CFS will be 200 times the asset-size of The Hanley and so it would be foolish for us to just mimic what they're offering. We will focus on our north Staffs roots and on our ability to offer genuinely tailored,personal service to each of our customers.....no call centres,no hierarchy , just a local,mutual building society working hard to earn and deserve the trust of all our customers old and new. As I said, simple really.....