The merger of the Yorkshire and Chelsea building societies was finalised today creating the second largest mutual after Nationwide.
The enlarged society will be known as Yorkshire Building Society, with the Chelsea Building Society name retained and operated as a separate and distinct brand within the Yorkshire Group.
The mutual has assets of GBP 36 billion, 178 branches and 2.8 million members.
The enlarged Yorkshire will keep all Chelsea and Yorkshire branches with no job losses announced.
Iain Cornish, who is chief executive of the enlarged Yorkshire Building Society said: “This is an exciting day in our societies’ histories, heralding the beginning of a new chapter. Our focus now is on successfully integrating the two organisations, which we anticipate will take between 12 and 18 months.
“I am also pleased to report that in the period 1 January to 28 February 2010, the combined performance of the two societies has delivered a pre-tax profit, while our lending increased by over 200 per cent compared to the same period last year. This performance is ahead of our expectations and as the benefits of the merger are realised our ability to deliver value to members will continue to increase.”
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