Catholic and Chelsea Building Societies to merge

According to a recent announcement, the directors of Chelsea Building Society and the Catholic Building Society have agreed in principle that the two societies should merge.

Whilst full details have yet to be released, it is understood that the Catholic would transfer its engagements to Chelsea on a date which has yet to be set. Discussions between the two mutual building societies are continuing with further details of the new merger promised in due course.

Trevor Harrison, Chairman at the Chelsea, said it was looking forward to finalising the terms of the transaction with the Catholic and to welcoming the Catholic's members into the Chelsea family.

Clare Whittaker, chairman at the Catholic, echoed these feelings when she said,

"The Catholic and Chelsea have much in common and share common values around mutuality and people.

For some time, commentators have mooted the likelihood of mergers between the smaller mutual building societies. For many it is not just a case of building size in a difficult market, but more often the added attraction of being able to benefit from economies of scale, especially in those areas most effected by regulation. For some smaller societies, there is also the added benefit of being able to take advantage of more established and wider channels of distribution.

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