1 May 2008: The 157th Annual General Meeting of the Stroud & Swindon Building Society took place at the Chase Hotel, Brockworth, Gloucestershire on Thursday 24th April 2008. Laurence James, Chairman, was able to report on another successful year for the Society despite the negative impact of the Northern Rock crisis and the credit crunch on the industry in general.

Highlights included:-

Laurence James said, ”Our financial results continue to show strong but sensible profits aligned to consistent growth with assets increasing by 12.6% and pre tax profit of £8.0 million. The real demonstration of efficiency and good value has however been the continued low management expense ratio of 0.71%, one of the best in the industry, and a further reduction in our net interest margin from 0.98% to 0.83%.The latter is real evidence of our ability to pass on operational efficiencies to our members.”

“The credit crunch, as it has been labelled, has fundamentally changed the dynamic of the financial markets in the UK and we are seeing banks, building societies and other financial institutions having to adapt their operations to accommodate the demands of the current market. What we must remember is that banks not wanting to lend to each other are exacerbating the problems and as a result there is a shortage in what is generically known as wholesale funds.”

“We are not overly exposed to the vagaries of the wholesale markets and we maintain a high level of liquidity within the business. We have not experienced difficulty raising funds when we have needed them and our prudent business model and strong financial base offers protection against the unknowns thrown up by a volatile financial market. Our mortgage asset is high quality and through our own cautious approach to lending we are not exposed by the recent declines in house prices. The credit crunch has had an effect on our business but we have the resources to work through these troubled times in a positive and determined manner.”

There were strong votes in favour of all resolutions. All directors were elected with majorities of at least 93%. The Cotswold Care Hospice will be the beneficiary of a cheque for £2,658 resulting from a donation by the Society for every vote received.
Laurence James finished the meeting by paying tribute to the long and distinguished service given by Michael Bramall, a former chairman of the Society and Baroness Rennie Fritchie who retired from the Board after the meeting.

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:

David Hill
Chief Executive
Stroud & Swindon
01453 768406

David Greenleaf
Corporate Communications Manager
Stroud & Swindon
01453 768244

Lee Blackwell / Suman Katyal / Karen Butcher
The Wriglesworth Consultancy
020 7427 1400

Notes to Editors:
Stroud & Swindon is the 15th largest building society in the UK with assets in excess of £3.2 billion.  The Society operates through a dedicated team of intermediary business development managers, with a branch network of 22 offices and 20 agencies in the South West, complemented by a Gloucestershire based Customer Contact Centre and website.