Halifax also lambasts societies over the fact that a number of them still insist borrowers take out their own, often overpriced, insurance as a condition of taking a home loan deal. Its research has sparked renewed debate about whether building societies really do offer a better deal than banks. Meanwhile only two of the top six mini cash Isas listed are from building societies.
Banks also score much more highly on personal loans and credit cards.
However, the societies wipe the floor with banks when it comes to savings accounts with notice periods and discounted variable rate mortgages. And Nationwide , the biggest society, has been having some well-publicised problems trying to convince people of the merits of its new mortgage pricing strategy. However, building societies still insist they can offer a better deal because, unlike banks, they don't have shareholders to satisfy. It also highlights research from January into maturing Tessa account payouts which showed that 11 of the top 15 providers were building societies. In addition the BSA points out that banks are closing more branches than they open while building societies are doing the opposite - an independent study showed that between 1995 and 1998 the main mortgage banks opened 105 branches but closed 282, while building societies opened 242 branches but closed only 227.