Your Building Society, our promise ...

These are the promises that we have made to our members and are committed to upholding across Saffron Building Society.

Membership is ownership, talk to us and we'll listen.

Banks are owned by their shareholders; investors who require dividends and the growth of shareholder value. Building Societies, on the other hand, are mutuals - meaning that they are owned only by their customers (members). Members are entitled to vote on key governance issues. Also, all voting members receive a yearly summary of our annual report and accounts so that they can track the progress of their building society.

A truly customer-centric model, Saffron works every day to support members and protect their best interests. As such, if you have any comments, suggestions or feedback, we want to hear from you! We want members to talk to us - so much so that, in addition to our AGM, we also invite members to join us for informal discussions and feedback sessions on other occasions throughout the year.

Safe and secure but definitely not boring.

As stated under the first promise, Saffron isn't driven by the need to make a profit - rather it exists in order to deliver good service and good value to its members. With no pressure to please shareholders, Saffron's focus is instead on sustainability. We fund our mortgages entirely from our retail deposits. We lend responsibly (reflected by our impressively low arrears). We operate a simple business model which does not rely on the complexity of the money markets.

However, though our business model represents a conservative, risk-averse approach, you will find that Saffron is far from dull! We regularly launch new products, some of which represent innovative approaches to savings and mortgages. We like to create a buzz so that everyone knows what we're up to. Our staff get stuck in to all sorts of unusual activities, and you can be sure the photos will be on display for all to see afterwards! We are also very proud to be sector leaders in the use of social media.

We hope that this removes some of the 'stuffiness' traditionally associated with financial services. See for yourself and search for Saffron BS on Facebook or follow @SaffronBS on Twitter.

No gimmicks, no jargon, no silly rules.

The rules and regulations around financial services are very important to Saffron. They protect our members and our business, and we pride ourselves on providing you with all the information that you require to make well-informed financial decisions.

However, we also know that the jargon used by financial services can be extremely confusing, and that wading through small print regulations and definitions can be a drag - so much so that we know some people don't bother! That worries us, so we are moving towards making things clearer and more accessible.

Rather than lots of small print on our letters, we are now producing 'Plain Speaking Large Print' which explains our terms in clear language - in a font size that you can actually read! We also don't set silly rules to catch you out. For example, we no longer offer accounts that carry a short-term rate bonus, because we want you to be able to keep track of the interest rate you're receiving on your accounts. If we can make it clearer or more straightforward, we will.

Doing good stuff in your community now and in the future.

We really believe in 'giving something back', and as many of our branches have strong charitable connections in their towns and outlying communities, we're spoilt for choice as to how we can make a difference.

2010 sees the launch of our 'Local Charity of the Year' scheme, where members voted in their local branches to select a charity for Saffron to support. Branches have been grouped together in geographical 'clusters' to support the selected charities, and are now stuck in to fundraising, volunteering and advocacy for these much-loved local causes.

Our staff are brilliant and we'll prove it.

We pride ourselves on our first-class staff. You will come in to contact with friendly, helpful people, and we're pleased that this attitude is reflected in all of our staff throughout the organisation - from our IT Support to Human Resources.

We also invest in our staff, offering ongoing training and development at all levels of the business to help our greatest assets reach their full potential. We are also proud to have been awarded the Investors in People quality mark again in 2009, recognising our dedication to staff and reaffirming that Saffron really is a great place to work.

This dedication really does pay off for Saffron. Our members frequently cite our staff as the reason that they keep coming back to Saffron Building Society.

1. Home
2. Mortgages
3. Savings
4. Financial Planning
5. Insurance
6. Travel Money
7. Wills
8. Members