Building societies need mortgage help, says CML

Date:Thursday 24th June 2010
Author: Susanna Kavka

The government needs to do more to help building societies return to their former strength, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML).

CML director general Michael Coogan commented following the release of the Treasury discussion paper "Building society capital and related issues" and stated that more government assistance was needed for the institutions.

He explained that while his organisation agreed that the sector faces challenges, extra assistance would be beneficial.

"We believe more needs to be done to ensure the long-term contribution of a thriving mutual sector to future competitiveness and growth in the UK retail markets," Mr Coogan explained.

He added that the new government could help by looking at the "regulatory burden" that is on societies and investigate the issue of funding.

The issues surrounding the mortgage market have recently been highlighted by John Charcol, which stated that uncertainty over the economic and political sectors was slowing the market.