Leeds BS chairman to step down

Friday 6th July 2012

Robin Smith is to retire as chairman of Leeds Building Society and will be succeeded by Robin Ashton, a former chief executive of Provident Financial.

Smith will step down at the AGM shortly after his 70th birthday next March.

He joined the board in 1998 and will have been chairman for six years.

He said: “Despite the onset of the global economic problems, which started just after I had taken over as chairman in 2007, Leeds Building Society has grown its business, achieved good levels of profitability and increased capital and reserves to record levels.

“We have continued to provide a safe home for our members’ savings and helped thousands of people, many of them first-time-buyers, to purchase their own homes.

“This has been possible because we have a strong and sustainable business model that delivers security and value to our members, and a very talented senior management team and dedicated staff who serve those members.

“I have been privileged to serve the society as its chairman during the exceptional challenges of the last few years.”

Robin Ashton, 54, joined the Leeds board in April 2011. He qualified as a chartered accountant with Coopers & Lybrand in Leeds and has spent his career in retail financial services.