In a rapidly evolving regulatory landscape, Newbury Building Society continues to demonstrate its commitment to putting customers first. After winning the Consumer Duty Leadership Award, we sat down with Chris from NBS to discuss how the organization has seamlessly implemented the Consumer Duty, making customer-centricity not just a goal, but the foundation of their entire operation. Here’s what he had to say about their journey.

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Newbury Building Society

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Thanks for joining us today. Congratulations on winning the Consumer Duty Leadership Award in Retail Banking. Newbury Building Society has a reputation for consumer-centricity even prior to the implementation of the Consumer Duty. Could we start with you elaborating more on that?

Chris: Sure. At Newbury Building Society, customer service is more than just a department—it's the core of our entire operation. Being owned by our members, our business model is built around the needs of our customers. From the CEO down, we prioritise the customer's interests in every decision we make. This approach is fundamental to our success and it's something we take very seriously. We prioritise exceptional customer service, and always aim to exceed expectations.

We're proud to hold a distinction-level ServiceMark accreditation from the Institute of Customer Service. This recognition reflects our commitment to exceptional service standards. In our latest customer survey, we achieved a remarkable satisfaction score of 90.5 out of 100. Additionally, our Net Promoter Score (NPS) is 71.4, which is considered excellent. Recently, we were honoured with the Treating Customers Fairly Award at the British Bank Awards, a significant accolade because it's entirely voted for by customers themselves.

Returning back to the Consumer Duty, this initiative has provided us with an excellent framework to further enhance our customer service standards and outcomes as it aligns perfectly with our values and commitment to putting customers first. Through CD, we've been able to refine our practices further to ensure we're delivering the best possible service to our customers. And, of course, we continue to strive to be better every day, constantly seeking new ways to improve and adapt to our customers' evolving needs.

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Interviewer: With that in mind, can you describe your approach to implementing the Consumer Duty and what makes it innovative?

Chris: Certainly. At Newbury Building Society, we've woven the three cross-cutting rules into all our workstreams to ensure that every employee not only understands these rules but actively applies them in their daily tasks. When it comes to our products, services, price, and value, we've established a robust fair value assessment process. This includes adjusting fees where necessary to ensure fairness for consumers and brokers. In some cases, this has seen us acting where appropriate to guarantee they're getting the best products that truly meet their needs.

With regards to consumer understanding and support, we are currently overhauling our communication strategies, reviewing over 300 communications for clarity and consistency. We've mapped all customer journeys to identify potential harm and refined our vulnerable customers programme to align with the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) 21 vulnerable customer types.

One particularly innovative initiative worth mentioning is our outcomes testing. While we already collect data and use it to assess whether KPIs align with customer outcomes, we've decided to take this a step further. Instead of just analysing internal data, we have gone directly to our customers. We engaged them with 20 comprehensive questions that cover all aspects of their experience under Consumer Duty guidelines, including whether they felt they received fair value and were treated appropriately regarding their vulnerabilities.

As part of ongoing commitment to deliver ever positive customer outcomes, we’ve already delivered several improvements, such as free valuation fees on shared ownership products and better pricing for higher loan-to-value mortgage products. We have also introduced more proactive contact strategies to support our customers, for example to help them avoid savings interest penalties.

Interviewer: That’s a fantastic initiative. How do these efforts reflect the level of Consumer Duty being embedded within your firm?

Chris: Well, the Consumer Duty has always been a regular agenda item at Board, Executive, and Operational meetings. Our Consumer Duty Board Champion actively reviews our response, and we frequently consult industry experts for support. We have established a cross-functional Consumer Duty working group that meets regularly to drive progress.

Importantly, we decided from the start that Consumer Duty should be driven by first-line, led by our Director of Customer Service, rather than a second-line risk team. This was a conscious decision to ensure those accountable for customer outcomes are also accountable for embedding the Consumer Duty.

All Society teams have participated in tailored Consumer Duty presentations. We have also partnered with online employee knowledge provider, Clever Nelly to provide comprehensive online training for all employees. So far, all employees have completed two training modules, already achieving  an initial 82% pass rate, which also continues to increase. We also maintain a dedicated intranet page with employee video interviews and blogs to ensure comprehensive awareness.

Interviewer: What would you say is the biggest challenge thus far with regards to implementing the Consumer Duty?

Chris: Our biggest challenge has been around understanding and addressing vulnerability. It's a complex area because vulnerability can manifest in so many different ways. The key challenge is ascertaining what vulnerability looks like for different customers, which necessitates more targeted outcomes testing, especially for those who are considered vulnerable. We also have to figure out how to personalise our communications to better understand their specific needs and then respond accordingly. This takes a substantial effort to get right.

Nonetheless, we are committed to getting it right. We've made significant strides in our vulnerable customers programme by enhancing both our procedures and the design considerations for our products. For example, we’ve improved the customer journey for registering a death, which is a particularly sensitive process. We’ve also implemented better support signposting customers to the help they need. These steps are part of our broader strategy to ensure that we are not only meeting but exceeding the needs of our most vulnerable customers.

Interviewer: What are your plans for further developing your Consumer Duty approach over the next two years?

Chris: Firstly, we have established a clear quarterly plan across eight workstreams related to Consumer Duty. We've brought together a team of cross-functional leaders who have committed to these plans, and we aim to review our progress every two months.

Secondly, we are committed to regularly updating our Consumer Duty dashboard with comprehensive metrics that genuinely reflect good customer outcomes. This dashboard will serve as a vital tool for monitoring and ensuring that we are meeting our Consumer Duty obligations effectively.

Thirdly, we are continuing to develop our fair value assessment process for our products. This means we will add value to the process and continue to adjust fees, charges, and rates where necessary to ensure that they align with our commitment to providing fair value to customers.

Fourth, we plan to expand our integrated outcome testing approach. This expansion will prioritise customer journeys, allowing us to better understand and enhance the customer experience at every touchpoint.

Finally, we are focused on making next-level improvements to our continuous improvement and business change processes. This includes prioritising investments in technology and process enhancements based on customer needs, ensuring that our operations are not just efficient but also customer-centric

Interviewer: That sounds really exciting, and I wish you all the best for those plans. To end off, what achievement would you say Newbury is most proud of related to the Consumer Duty?

Chris: What we are proud of is the continued focus we've maintained over the past 12-months and our commitment to continuing this in the future. We are not treating this as a one-time initiative. Consumer Duty is fully embedded in our business—we are a Consumer Duty-focused organisation.

For us, implementing Consumer Duty is about better demonstrating that we are meeting customer outcomes. It's more than just customer satisfaction. It's about: (1) designing products and services that meet our customers' needs, providing fair value, and helping customers achieve their financial objectives; (2) communicating in a way that ensures customers can make effective, timely, and well-informed decisions, while also taking responsibility for those decisions; (3) supporting our customers in realising the benefits of the products and services they purchase and acting in their interests without unreasonable barriers; and (4) ensuring that customers with vulnerabilities are treated fairly and receive equally positive outcomes.

In essence, the Consumer Duty truly helps us embrace our 165-year-old consumer-centric culture. It has added new strength, depth, and clarity to our values, amplifying what we stand for to a new level. That's how it feels, and that is what we are proud of.

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