ALMOST eight out of 10 staff employed by Britannia Building Society have given their full backing to the planned merger with Co-operative Financial Services.

The 150-year-old mutual – which employs 4,700 staff across the country – has revealed the figures following anonymous surveys.

They are aimed at getting an understanding of how staff feel about the proposed merger with the Manchester-based Co-operative Financial Services (CFS).

Britannia commissioned the Pulse surveys, which were sent to 1,000 workers.

They were aimed at gathering views and to enable a quick response to be issued, to enable Britannia to "have its finger on the pulse."

A Britannia spokesman said there had been a "fantastic response" and in the most recent survey, the society had seen a nine per cent increase in the number of people giving the move their full support, to 79 per cent, compared with the last study. The number of staff who say they have a clear understanding of the reasons for the merger has also increased, by eight per cent to 92 per cent.

The spokesman added: "What's more, people have said that they don't think the merger will be bad for employees, but some people are not certain what it will mean for them until roles and locations have been defined.

"They also understand that these questions cannot be addressed immediately."

Neville Richardson, Britannia's chief executive, who will lead the new organisation if the merger is approved at the society's annual meeting on April 29, has welcomed the result.

He said: "The Pulse surveys are just one measure we introduced to enable our people to give their open and honest feedback about how they were feeling and to allow us to tailor our communications to address their concerns."

Britannia and the CFS boards have recommended the merger to create a new super-mutual, as an ethical alternative to shareholder-owned banks.

They say the combined business will be the most diversified customer-owned business in UK financial services, strongly capitalised and with scale and strength in product, distribution and service.

They claim it will create a strong strategic and cultural fit between the two organisations, with expected efficiency and revenue benefits of £60 million a year by year three. Customers will continue to share profits and have a say in running the business