Building societies, unlike banks, are not listed on the stock market and thus, don't have external shareholders. Instead, the shareholders and decision makers of building societies are the investing members. Building societies offer many traditional banking products and financial services such as mortgage lending, savings, and current accounts. In September 2022, the value of mortgages outstanding by building societies amounted to approximately 367 billion British pounds.
Mortgage lending by building societies in the United Kingdom (UK)
After a year of lower lending activity due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, in March 2021, the monthly value of residential mortgage lending by building societies in the UK reached
record high levels. The fluctuation in lending can also be seen in the
number of mortgage loan approvals.
Mortgage lending in the UK
The UK is one of the biggest
residential mortgage markets in Europe, worth almost 1.7 trillion euros. Building societies rank among the
largest mortgage lenders by market share together with the leading UK banks. In 2019, the largest building society and second largest lender in the UK was Nationwide BS.