The merits of mutuality - highlights from the Tipton's AGM

Members gathered this week for the 124th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Tipton & Coseley Building Society.

Held at our Tipton branch, the AGM is where members can learn more about the Society’s strategy, performance and achievements. Members are able to vote on key decisions affecting their Society, share views and opinions with us and ask the Board any questions.

The meeting began with presentations from Jeremy Cross, Chair of the Board, and Adam Evetts, Chief Executive Officer, looking back at the last 12 months.

Jeremy highlighted the Society’s strong financial performance, including a second successive year of record mortgage lending, and total savings balances exceeding £0.5bn, also a Society record.

He spoke of strong competition in the mortgage and savings markets and the continued need for investment in our processes and people, but reassured members of the Society’s financial resilience and clear strategic direction.

Jeremy introduced members to the Society’s newly defined purpose and vision statements, which determine how we work and guide our decision making. 

Our purpose is to help our customers achieve their most important financial goals, while our vision is to have a positive impact on everyone we interact with. This includes our customers, alongside colleagues and the communities where we operate.

The AGM provided a perfect backdrop for discussing the merits of mutuality and how being a member of a building society is different to the relationships customers have with other financial institutions. 

Our members benefit from competitive savings rates, personalised service and a more pragmatic approach to lending that takes account of their individual needs.

We’re part of a sector with a rich and diverse history spanning 250 years, something all building societies are collectively celebrating during 2025, Jeremy added. 

Addressing members, Adam talked about planned improvements to our mortgage systems to increase lending capacity and make the application journey and underwriting process more streamlined.

He explained how the savings rates paid to Society members in 2024 were, on average, 1.45% higher than the market average, contributing to an influx of savers and almost 3,500 new savings accounts being opened.

The giving Society

Mutuality in action is often best illustrated through our interactions with community groups and charitable organisations. 

At the AGM, we were proud to share with members examples of our charitable donations, fundraising activities and voluntary work, all of which are done to help those facing difficulties or experiencing hardship.

The Society made combined donations of £58,000 in 2024 to causes such as Midlands Air Ambulance Charity, Black Country Foodbank, Acorns Children’s Hospice and Balls to Cancer. 

We spent around 160 hours volunteering in our communities, supporting projects like street feeds delivered by the Midland Langar Seva Society.

We also celebrated 25 years of the Tipton & Coseley Charitable Foundation. In this time, the scheme has issued £278,874 in community grants to 171 different charities.

Having your say 

Members are encouraged to use their vote for the AGM, whether online, in a branch, through the post, or at the meeting itself.

For every vote cast, we agree to donate 15p to the Tipton & Coseley Charitable Foundation. This year, we’ve managed to raise just over £300 and we thank members for their involvement.

To see how members voted on each of the resolutions, visit the AGM results page on our website. All resolutions in the 124th AGM were passed.