Speaking at the BSA's annual lunch on Thursday, Cornish said that service standards in societies are higher than that of their competitors, while they consistently offer the most competitive and transparent mortgage and savings products over the long term.
Referring to independent research undertaken on behalf of the BSA, he noted: "Building society savers and borrowers are significantly more satisfied with the services which they receive from building societies, than are customers of banks. The whole building society model is more transparent, simpler, more prudent and more trusted and we simply do not have the same motivation as banks to take massive risk positions in pursuit of profits for shareholders."
Earlier this year, moneyfacts.co.uk found that building societies account for 70 per cent of the top 250 mortgages available today across the whole market. Cornish gave reassurance that societies are not compromising on financial safety to achieve these highs.
