1864


Huddersfield Equitable Permanent Benefit Building Society is established by three gentlemen who meet each morning from 5am to 8am in a single room in Huddersfield. Early directors of the Society include a dentist, a shoemaker and a plumber.

At the end of the first year there were six borrowers and assets of £4,044 13s 5d.

Huddersfield emblem

1866


West Yorkshire Building Society is established at the Royal Hotel in Dewsbury with only two staff.

1871


Two 'luxury' items are purchased for the Society's offices - an umbrella and a rug.
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1885

Bradford Self Help Permanent Building Society is established in St. George's Hall Coffee Tavern.

At the end of the first year there were 43 members and assets of £185,000.

Passbook from 1885

1885-89


During its first four years of business the Bradford Permanent opens for just an hour and a half, once a week.
 

1893


By this date, the Society's office was fitted with the electric light.
 

1915


The first lady employees join the Society.
 

1923


The number of staff employed by the West Yorkshire Building Society has doubled to four.
 

1930


The modernised offices of the Bradford Permanent open at Queen Anne Chambers - complete with rubber covered floors and ultraviolet ray glass.
 

1975


The Huddersfield and Bradford Building Societies merge in the largest marriage of two societies to date.
 

1982


The Huddersfield & Bradford and West Yorkshire Building Societies merge - the Yorkshire Building Society is born!
 
old ybs logo

1992


Yorkshire Building Society merges with the Haywards Heath Building Society.
 

1998


The Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation established as an independent registered charity.
 

2001


Yorkshire Building Society is the third largest mutual in Britain with assets of over £11 billion.
 

2003


Yorkshire Building Society launched its intermediary-only lending subsidiary Accord Mortgages.
 
old accord logo

2008


Assets now in excess of £23 billion with 2 million members.

The Yorkshire merges with Barnsley Building Society (with 60,000 members and assets £368m) on 31 December.

barnsley logo

2010


The Yorkshire merges with Chelsea Building Society on 1 April 2010. Our combined assets are now of over £30bn, 2.8m members and a network of 178 branches.

chelsea logo

2011


The Yorkshire acquires Egg mortgage and savings book, and the Egg brand, on 31 October 2011.

The Yorkshire merges with the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society on 1 November 2011.

N&P logo

2012


At the end of the year, our assets had grown to approximately £33 billion with 3.5m members.

2014


Happy 150th Birthday YBS!

2014


My Voice, our member online research community went live - giving members the opportunity to feedback on a variety of topics that really matter.

2015


Colleagues and Marie Curie nurses brewed up a new Guinness World Records title in aid of Marie Curie, when a total of 667 Society colleagues took part in the largest cream tea party in multiple venues.

2016


Money Minds, our financial education programme for 5-19 year olds was launched. Delivered by colleagues, its designed to promote learning and discussion with young people.

2016


The Barnsley Building Society brand is retired and the Chelsea Building Society brand becomes online and telephone only. Most branches under these brands are rebranded to Yorkshire Building Society.

new ybs logo

2017


The Norwich & Peterborough Building Society is retired, making Yorkshire Building Society our sole high street brand and delivering greater efficiency and improved value to our three million customers, including access to a larger national high street network in more than 240 towns and cities.

New N&P logo

2017


Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation said thanks a million to its members who have contributed their own money to the more than £4 million donated to help charities and good causes around the UK.

2018


We signed the Women in Finance Charter and made a commitment to improve gender diversity.

2019


Career Minds, a new volunteering programme was launched that enables our colleagues to use their skills to help 14-16 year olds prepare for the world of work.

2020


Our Savings App was launched.

Member benefits

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