Building Societies in the UK are similar to banks in that they can provide a wide range of financial services, including (but not limited to) personal banking, loans, savings accounts and so on, however government legislation states that 75% of a building society's total business must be devoted to residential mortgage loans and related products, such as home equity loans.
Building Societies are also mutual institutions rather than commercial enterprises, which means that most of the people who have a savings account or a mortgage with the building society are members of the society and therefore have certain tights to vote and receive information about the society and its financial dealings.
Each building society also has a board of directors who run the society and are responsible for setting the society's strategy. As building societies do not have external shareholders, they usually have lower operating costs and can offer lower rates on mortgages and loans and better interest rates on savings and current accounts than banks.
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