The Human Side of an Economic Downturn

There's been a lot of negative coverage of banks in the last year or so, and we are all familiar with the sight of bankers leaving their offices in Canary Wharf or on Wall Street, with the contents of their desks in a cardboard box. I would guess that for many of you, the sight of "rich bankers" losing their jobs has not been one that you have over-sympathised with, however there is a consequence for the smaller business, such as Saffron. We are a regional building society, and have been largely shielded from the direct effects of the world wide slow down, however we can't shield ourselves forever and we have had to bow to the inevitable.

With the financial services industry as it is: interest rates at an all time low and the cost of bailing out the Icelandic banks and Bradford & Bingley to be paid for, we were forced into taking some action to manage our costs and to my great regret, a small number of roles and individuals, have been placed at risk of redundancy, pending the completion of a formal consultation process. The New Year has seen a number of companies in different industries announce similar moves, however that doesn't make this news any easier to take for the individuals concerned.

Such decisions are never easy, however as CEO and as a member of the Board, I have to stand up and be accountable for them. The Board's primary role is to look after our members and customers and in order to do this we must fit our cost base to the opportunity presented by a given market. So it is not surprising that like many firms we are taking action to cut our cloth accordingly.



That said, we will do all we can to minimise the impact on our people - but this doesn't stop us feeling for those affected and the thousands like them across the UK.