About The Cumberland

The Past

Over 1,000 people came together on 16th April 1850 to form the Cumberland Co-operative Land and Benefit Building Society in Carlisle.

At the time, the main objective was to provide a means whereby the ‘industrious classes’ could acquire property. Throughout our entire history, we have operated using the same business model.

Over a century passed before the now Cumberland Building Society opened its next branch, in Preston. Since then many branches have opened in other parts of Cumbria, Scotland, Northumbria and Lancashire:

The Present

We aim to be the natural choice for mortgages, current accounts and savings in our operating area, while continuing to be an independent mutual building society.

To achieve this aim, we offer competitive products with excellent customer service through our branches, online and by phone.

The Future

Our long term strategy of putting our members first and developing direct relationships with them has been consistent for many years and will continue to be at the forefront of our future.

As a mutual organisation, The Cumberland is owned by and run for the benefit of our members. We are not a public limited company (plc) owned by shareholders who may have no other connection with the company.

By simply opening a savings account or by taking out a mortgage with us you become a member of our Society – and not just a customer to us.

We aim to be the natural choice for financial services for people who live in the communities we serve. To help us to achieve this we put members’ interests first in everything we do, from providing a wide range of great products to improving service and value.

The benefits of being a member include:

• Receiving great value by having no shareholders to satisfy, you get great value products and services.
• We do not quote savings rates which include conditional short-term bonuses to attract new savers and provide some of the best long-term rates in the country.
• Receiving better service by making you our priority, with our efforts focusing on your needs. If we get it wrong, we will do everything we can to put it right.
• Our wide branch network, 7 day local customer service team and online services make it easy for you to contact us at your convenience.

The Cumberland takes its social and ethical responsibilities seriously. As we do not invest our member’s money in stocks and shares, many of the issues normally associated with ethical investment do not apply to us.

We recognise that we have an impact on the environment arising from our activities, including the use of energy, the purchase and disposal of materials and equipment and pollution arising from its motor vehicles.

Our Environmental Policy is designed to manage and reduce our environmental impacts through ongoing energy conservation, recycling and waste reduction.

The key elements that are being undertaken to achieve this are:

• Ongoing monitoring of energy consumption
• Use of recycled paper in Head Office and all Branches
• Recycling of Paper, Plastics, Cardboard, IT and Electrical Equipment
• Ongoing monitoring of waste consumption
• Staff awareness of energy conservation, recycling and waste reduction
• Reduce the emissions from company cars and business travel wherever possible

We have also been designated a Fair Trade organisation.

The Cumberland is a mutual organisation, and as such we do not need to maximise profit for external shareholders and the Society is run in the best long-term interest of its members. We encourage members to take an active role in the Society and we have one of the highest voting figures at our AGM of any UK building society.

It is a key principle of the Society that our products and services are clear, straightforward and accessible. We recognise our duties in terms of responsible lending and financial inclusion and are committed to treating our customers fairly.

As an independent regional building society, we believe we have a responsibility to support our local communities. In the last financial year, we donated more than £100,000 to support local community, educational and charitable initiatives. We also believe our branches are important to the local community and have designated several of our smaller branches as ‘community branches’. These offer a range of free services to the local community including photocopying, faxing, ticket sales for local events and a recycling collection point.

Our staff are encouraged to be active in the local community and recent collective activity has included fund-raising by participating in the Great Cumbrian Run, Midnight Walks and the Race for Life. In addition, all staff are offered a day’s paid leave each year to support their preferred charity or community project.

Cumberland Building Society supports the principles of good corporate governance and, where relevant to the building society, complies with the UK Corporate Governance Code issued by the Financial Reporting Council.

Click here to view a detailed Directors’ Report on Corporate Governance in the Annual Report & Accounts.

The Board

The principal functions of the Board are the development and monitoring of strategy, the review of business and financial performance, and to ensure that effective systems and controls are in place for risk management.

The Board meets every month and in addition, a policy review meeting is held at least annually.

The Board has established committees to consider specific areas in more detail than would be possible within Board Meetings.

Each of the Board sub-committees has Board approved Terms of Reference:

• Audit
• Board Risk
• Remuneration
• Nomination

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING – 3 JULY 2018

The votes cast for and against the following four resolutions were as follows:

With respect to the resolutions for the election and re-election of directors, the votes cast for and against the candidates were as follows:

A vote withheld is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of the votes for and against the resolution.

Mrs Arnold, Mr Moore, Mr Gunn, Mr Hebdon, Mr Hooper, Mr Hulme, Mr Johnston and Mr Kidd were all duly elected.

The Society will be donating £8,225.50 in respect of its pledge for votes at this year’s Annual General Meeting, to Mind and Support in Mind Scotland for use within our branch operating area.

Cumberland Building Society is committed to the values and standards expressed in the Bank of England's UK Money Markets Code.

Click here to view our Statement of Commitment.

The Group is committed to ensuring that there is no modern slavery or human trafficking in its supply chains or in any part of its business.

All employees have a responsibility to be alert to risks in the business and the supply chain with regards slavery and human trafficking. Staff should report any concerns to their line manager and management are expected to act upon them.

The Group is a regional business, and does not operate outside Great Britain.

Wherever possible, the Group builds long standing relationships with local suppliers and key third parties.

All key third parties have been assessed and due to the nature of the work they undertake,the fact that they are predominately located in Great Britain, and the Group’s knowledge of their business, it is believed that the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking is low and no further action is required

This statement is made in relation to the Modern Slavery Act 2015.

Chris McDonald, Operations and HR Director - April 2018

Click here to view our 2017 Gender Pay Gap Report.