400,000 members support Britannia merger with Co-op
Savers and borrowers approved the deal with Co-operative Financial Services (CFS) following a month-long vote.
Their backing paves the way for an institution which will have £70 billion of assets, nine million customers, more than 12,000 employees and 300-plus branches.
Britannia chief executive Neville Richardson today thanked the 450,000 members who voted, and paid tribute to employees who have endured a month of uncertainty.
Yesterday's vote revealed 88 per cent of saving members and 86 per cent of borrowing members had approved the merger.
That dwarfed the 75 per cent of savers and 50 per cent of borrowers required by financial regulations.
Mr Richardson said: "We had 450,000 voting, which is about 100,000 more than at last year's annual general meeting. Any other building society would be desperate to have that level of member involvement."
Mr Richardson accepts the proposals, which will involve some job losses, initially caused concerns for some employees.
He said: "It's been a combination of things for them. With any change, and this is a major one, there is a feeling of some sadness and some uncertainty, and there is also real excitement. They realise we are doing something positive at a time when the industry is on the back foot.
"What our people are telling us is that it's exciting to be part of something good. The key thing is that this has all been about preserving the things people really love about Britannia; about being mutual, about sharing profits and about the branch network.
"Our people are going to be part of something great."
Mr Richardson will become chief executive of the new organisation which will, for the time being, continue to trade under both the Britannia and Co-operative banners.
It is possible that branches of both institutions close to each other could be merged.
But Britannia has ruled out compulsory redundancies among branch network staff. Compulsory redundancies among other employees, including the 2,000 at its Leek head office, will be "kept to a minimum" over a three-year integration process.
The merger has already been agreed by CFS and, subject to approval by the Financial Services Authority, the new body will be created on August 1.
CFS non-executive chairman Bob Burlton, who will chair the new board, said: "This merger offers a unique opportunity to create a new force in British financial services. It will have the scale to offer customers a full range of products and services that are ethical, mutual and co-operative."
Is the merger good for savers and borrowers?
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