The announced merger between the Staffordshire Building Society and the Portman Building Society will apparently create the largest building society merger in 8 years.
Whilst the societies are merging, the Portman brand will be retained, with the exception of Staffordshire. In this area the Staffordshire Building Society will keep its name.
Apparently, Portman has given a 3-year undertaking of no redundancies for staff and for business to carry on as usual.
Our View
It is too early to tell what the implications of the merger will be. However, these two societies each have a strong brand and their own business strategies. By combining the two, this could mean new and innovative products for consumers. It could also mean cost effectiveness too.
Our concern is that only a 3-year promise has been made by Portman to effectively leave the Staffordshire business unchanged. What happens after this time will remain to be seen but we are sure it will all depend on the business argument.