City of Derry Building Society to Disappear

It isn't that long ago that Londonderry had three independent building societies; the Oakleaf Building Society; the City of Derry Building Society and the Londonderry Provident Building Society.

 

The ,"Oakleaf," was the first to disappear. It was 1980 when it was taken over by the Anglia Building Society. On 1st September 1987 the Nationwide Building Society amalgamated with the Anglia Building Society which then became known as the Nationwide Anglia Building Society. The original City of Derry Building Society was taken over by the Nationwide Anglia on 30th September 1987. That left the Londonderry Provident Building Society as the sole local building society. It changed its name to the City of Derry Building Society on 1st January 2001.

 

The directors of this minnow of the financial world, (£42.6m), have now announced that the Society is to merge with the much larger Progressive Building Society. In view of the respective sizes of the two entities it might be more accurate to talk about a takeover rather than a merger. The members of the City of Derry Building will have to vote for the subsuming of their Society in the Belfast based Progressive, but presumably the necessary hari-kari vote will be passed.

 

It is interesting and perhaps a little ironical to note that in the Accounts and Reports of the City of Derry Building Society for the year ending 31st December 2012 it is stated that the Directors, "are fully committed to the Society's future as an independent mutual building society owned by its members." Clearly ten months is a long time in the financial world!

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