She has been deputy chair at the BSA since 2023 and succeeds Rob Pheasey, chief executive of Marsden Building Society.
Haines has been Principality Building Society’s CEO for around five years and has been with the firm for over 18 years.
She has worked in various roles at the mutual, including chief customer officer, director of IT and e-channels and head of strategy and e-channels.
Before that, Haines was a member of the UK Prime Minister’s Business Council in 2024 and was also chairperson of UK Finance Cymru Mortgage Committee between 2015 and 2020.
Haines said she was delighted to take on the role and was “very much looking forward to continuing the great work carried out by Rob Pheasey over the past two years”.
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She continued: “This is such a special time to be in this role, as our sector celebrates its 250th anniversary and the wonderful heritage on which our member organisations were founded. Today, our purpose and vision continue to be the same as it was in 1775 – customer-owned organisations, set up by communities, to support the people in those communities.
“It’s also an exciting time, as we have a new UK government commitment to double the size of the mutual and co-operative sector. This recognition that our business model is different and delivers real, tangible benefits to consumers and members presents a unique opportunity for the BSA to be at the heart of a growing and thriving economy right across England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland.”
Haines said the mutual and co-operative sector was “already punching well above our weight”, as the 9,500-plus businesses in the sector generate around £35bn in gross value added (GVA) to the economy, which is equal to 1.5% of total GVA.
This is in spite of the sector only accounting for 0.2% of all businesses.
“But we are not complacent, [we] want to be an increasingly important part of a properly diverse financial services sector.
“As BSA chair, I’m looking forward to playing my part in ensuring our voices and messages are heard, by engaging with MPs, MSPs, MSs and MLAs. Ensuring building societies and credit unions are a key part of a properly diverse UK financial services sector, delivering value, choice and social improvement for our members today, and tomorrow,” Haines said.
