Derbyshire Building Society is set to take over the Clay Cross Building Society, subject to member approval of the deal. Under the deal, the Clay Cross will lose its name, with the combined entity continuing under the Derbyshire banner.
Derbyshire is the tenth-largest UK building society with assets of £3.7bn. The Clay Cross is placed 65th with assets of £22m.
Peter Richardson, chief executive of the Derbyshire, said: ‘The Derbyshire is the natural home for members of Clay Cross seeking the support and benefits of belonging to a society that can offer a wide product range, greater access to products, competitive rates and excellent customer service.’
Mike McDermott, chief executive of the Clay Cross, added: ‘We have faced ever increasing challenges in a fiercely competitive market ‘ one where organisations are working with ever lower cost bases and with increasingly sophisticated distribution channels. We now recognise, however, that to maintain future efficiency, the needs of the society and our members are best served by finding a partner which shares our commitment to high quality customer service.’
It is not expected there will be any redundancies following the merger and the sole Clay Cross branch, situated in Eyre Street, Clay Cross will remain open. It will be used as the Derbyshire branch in the town, with the Derbyshire’s own Market Street branch being closed.
Sue Anderson, head of external affairs at the Council of Mortgage Lenders, commented: ‘Clearly, there has been lots of merger activity with this being the third announced in recent weeks [Paragon and Britannic Money, Portman and Staffordshire being the other two]. There are pressures on lenders with regulation, Basel and a competitive market. We will have to wait and see what happens in terms of other mergers.’
