Swansea Building Society appoints new chair

Swansea Building Society, which last year posted record profits alongside the biggest growth in mortgages and saving balances, has revealed its new chair. Stephen Maddock is replacing Ieuan Griffiths who is standing down after six years as chair and nine on the board.

Mr Griffiths has been instrumental in helping guide the society through a period of sustained growth, while Mr Maddock brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise in finance and governance. He first joined the society’s board in May 2016.

He began his career at the Swansea office of accountancy firm Deloitte Haskins & Sells, before joining Coopers & Lybrand, now PwC, after qualifying. Before retiring he was director of financial shared services for Tata Steel Europe.

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Outgoing chair Mr Griffiths, said: "It has been a privilege to serve as chair for the past six years. In fact, I’d have loved to have stayed longer but nine years is the maximum allowed on the board, so it was time for me to step down. I’d like to thank my colleagues for all that they have done during my tenure, not only do they bring expertise, but they contribute – unstintingly – with their time. I’d especially like to thank chief executive, Alun Williams. Our working relationship has been uncannily good, and there is a culture in the society that is very caring, which, I believe, underpins its success.

“I am immensely proud of all that we have achieved together during my time on the board, and I have every confidence in Stephen’s ability to help lead the Society into its next chapter.”

Mr Maddock said:“I am honoured to take on the role of Chair at Swansea Building Society. In the six years of Ieuan’s chair, the society has changed and grown significantly. I now look forward to working closely with the board, management team, and staff to build upon the strong foundation laid by my predecessor and help drive the Society forward.”

“On behalf of my colleagues, Board, and the Society’s members, we would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Ieuan for his invaluable contributions and commitment to the Society.”

In its last financial year to December end 2023, the mutual achieved double digit growth in its total assets, mortgages, savings and capital, despite a difficult economic environment.

oTtal assets grew by 15% driven by mortgages and savings growth of 16% and 15% respectively. Total assets increased by £77.2m to £607m, savings balances by £72.6m to £565.5m, while mortgage balances grew by £66.9m to £477.8m. The society’s mortgage growth was driven by gross mortgage completions of £120.1m, another record, beating the previous highest set in 2021.

Its pre-tax profit of £6.2m, exceeded the previous record of £5.4m achieved in 2022. Its strong financial performance allowed it to increase capital reserves to £39.8m.

The Swansea headquartered building society, which operates four branches, remains one of the few financial institutions in the UK that receives no wholesale funding or support from the Bank of England in the form of cheap funding. Its balance sheet is funded entirely by customer savings balances and its own capital reserves built up from retained profits over many years.