A busy period for Yorkshire Building Society has seen it merge with Norwich & Peterborough and also complete its acquisition of Egg's mortgages, savings, and brand.
The merger with Norwich was approved by members at a special general meeting summoned in late August. The deal with Egg sees Yorkshire absorb a £2.1 billion savings book and £400 mortgage book into their swelling portfolio.
Consumers once proud of their autonomy from big institutions are set to be disappointed. Yorkshire's aggressive buying trend has seen the acquisition of the Barnsley, Chelsea and Norwich Building Societies in recent years, alongside the deal for the Egg brand, which makes Yorkshire the second largest building society in the UK.
What does this mean for savers and mortgage holders? The immediate news is promising for transferring consumers, who stand to gain immediately from Yorkshire's economies of scale. Egg borrowers who have been paying Egg's standard variable rate of 5.29% or their Pi variable rate of 6% have been automatically transferred to Yorkshire's standard variable rate of 4.99%.
Iain Cornish, chief executive of Yorkshire Building Society, said: "The acquisition of the Egg mortgage and savings book adds further scale to our business and strengthens the long term position of the Society. Combining Yorkshire and Egg product capabilities will lead to further innovation and a more extensive product offering to our current and future members, enabling us to be even better placed to compete in the UK retail financial services market."
Certainly, Egg savers may be interested in upping their current 0.60% instant access rates to something more substantial. The Yorkshire Building Society's best instant access savings account, the internet saver, offers a much improved 2.1%. This still pales in comparison to the current leading instant access account by Nationwide, the MySaver, at 3.12%.
Clearly, though, Yorkshire are now keen to make an impression on the marketplace. The Yorkshire Group - Chelsea, Barnsley, and Yorkshire BS - are offering impressive deals on short term bonds. A one-year bond can offer a gross return of 3.41% through Barnsley, while an 18 month bond, offered by Yorkshire, will return 3.5%.
Are you a Norwich or Egg customer? Are you happy that your products are being transferred to new ownership? Are you set to benefit from the merger / acquisition?
Could outsiders benefit from the Yorkshire Group's impressive rates? Why not compare savings and mortgage tables at Which4U to see if there are better deals for you? Clearly a buoyant Yorkshire are ready to compete with some of the best deals on the market.
Keith McDonald
Which4U Editor