How to put forward a resolution at a building society AGM

If you save with or borrow from a building society, you are a member, not just a customer. That gives you a say in how the organisation is run, including the right to attend the annual general meeting, ask questions and vote on decisions¹. Members with full rights can also propose motions, provided the correct procedures are followed³.

The rule that matters most is the deadline. Any resolution must be submitted to the society before the end of its financial year for discussion at the following AGM¹. The AGM itself must be held within four months of the end of that financial year, so a resolution sent in on time is usually heard within months rather than a year¹.

Building societies operate on the principle of one member, one vote, regardless of the size of your savings account or mortgage loan¹. That applies to resolutions and elections as much as to anything else on the agenda.

What a members' resolution at a building society AGM is

A building society is a mutual institution offering savings and mortgage accounts and, often, a wide range of other financial services¹. Because it has no outside shareholders to answer to, the members are the people it answers to. Members will usually have the chance to attend annual general meetings, ask questions and vote on decisions⁴.

You become a member when you open a savings account, or take out a mortgage with a building society⁵. From that point you have rights to receive information and to voice your opinions on the way your building society is run². Those rights include voting on decisions about how the society is run and asking questions at the AGM⁶.

A members' resolution is a proposal put to the AGM for members to consider. It is the formal route by which members, rather than the board, put something on the agenda. The distinction matters: only the board can put forward a binding resolution to transfer the society's business to a company¹. Members can propose motions, but the conversion decision itself sits with the board.

Members are entitled to a range of information that makes this possible. That includes a copy of the society's rules and memorandum on request, a copy of the annual summary financial statement on the society's business, which is sent to members before the AGM and also when an account is first opened, a copy of the detailed annual report and accounts, and notice of the AGM¹.

Who can put forward a resolution

Not every member has the same rights, and the difference turns on how much you hold with the society and how old you are.

Members with full rights can propose motions or stand for election themselves, providing the correct procedures are followed³. Members with restricted rights cannot. Saving members with less than £100 in their account, borrowing members with a mortgage of less than £100, and members under the age of 18 have restricted rights, allowing them only to receive information on request¹. In practice that means they cannot vote, nominate directors or speak at AGMs¹.

Voting eligibility for the wider membership is subject to there being a minimum savings balance or mortgage debt in the account of £100, being over the age of 18, and being a member throughout the period between the end of the financial year and at the date of the AGM¹. If you open an account shortly before a year end, or your balance dips below the threshold, you may not be able to vote at the meeting that follows.

There is a separate point about who is a member at all. Depositors with a bank are not members of it, and building society depositors who are not shareholders need not be notified of the annual general meeting as they are not entitled to attend that meeting or vote on matters under consideration³. In a building society the position is different: opening a savings account or taking out a mortgage makes you a member⁵.

If you are both a saver and a borrower with a society, you will still normally have just one vote, except when asked to vote on a conversion or merger, when two separate votes are given¹.

Resolution deadline: before the end of the society's financial year

The deadline is the single most important thing to get right. Any resolution must be submitted to the society before the end of the financial year for discussion at the following AGM¹. There is no separate window after the year end: the year end is the cut-off.

That makes the practical question: when does your society's financial year end? It varies. The majority of societies have a financial year ending in December, and usually hold their AGMs in the following April¹. Others run to a different calendar. Newbury Building Society's financial year end is 31 October, and its annual statement is sent in November each year to tie in with it⁷. Mansfield Building Society provides mortgage statements annually at its year end of 31 December⁸. One member account sets its year end at 30 September, with the AGM able to be held anytime within six months of it⁹.

The AGM timing follows from the year end. The AGM must be held within four months of the end of the society's financial year¹. Monmouthshire Building Society, for example, holds its AGM in August each year¹⁰.

Check your own society's rules, which you are entitled to a copy of on request, rather than assuming it follows the December pattern¹.

How to submit a resolution to your building society

The mechanics are set by each society's rules, and the rules are the document to work from. Members are entitled to a copy of the society's rules and memorandum on request¹, and that is where the procedure for proposing a motion will be set out.

In outline, the steps are:

1. Check your society's rules for the procedure for proposing a motion, and request a copy if you do not have one¹.
2. Confirm your own eligibility: a minimum savings balance or mortgage debt of £100, over 18, and membership throughout the period between the year end and the AGM¹.
3. Confirm the society's financial year end, so you know your deadline¹.
4. Submit the resolution to the society before that year end¹.
5. If you cannot attend the AGM, appoint a proxy to attend and vote on your behalf¹.

On that last point, your society will probably send you a proxy form on which to indicate your wishes and how your vote can be used¹. That is useful if the meeting falls on a working day or you would rather not attend in person.

If you want to force a meeting rather than put an item on an existing agenda, the threshold is higher. A request to the board to hold a special general meeting usually requires the backing of 500 or more members, who have been members for two years or more¹. Dependent on each society's rules, each of the members requesting the meeting may also be required to pay a deposit of £25¹.

What happens to your resolution at the following AGM

A resolution submitted before the end of the financial year is for discussion at the following AGM¹. Because the AGM must be held within four months of the year end, the wait is normally short¹.

At the meeting, members vote. Building societies operate on the principle of one member, one vote¹, so the size of your savings or mortgage does not weight your vote. If you are both a saver and a borrower you will still normally have just one vote, except when asked to vote on a conversion or merger, when two separate votes are given¹.

Most societies now also hold an advisory vote on the directors' remuneration report, which gives details of how much directors earn and how their remuneration is determined, at the AGM, although this is not required by law¹. That is a separate item from any resolution a member proposes.

Membership rights extend beyond the AGM itself. Coventry Building Society describes membership as giving members rights like voting on decisions about how the society is run and asking questions at the AGM⁶. Skipton Building Society says eligible members can vote at its AGM and could become part of its Member Panel¹¹. Principality Building Society says its members can take an active role by voting and attending the AGM¹². The wider point is that members have a say in how the organisation is run, including charity partnerships and decisions about running the society⁴.

If your resolution is not accepted or not put to the meeting, the society's complaints route is the next step. Banks and building societies are required by law to have a written complaints process which tells customers how to make a complaint¹³. The bank or building society must investigate your complaint and give you a clear answer within eight weeks¹³.

Where to get help with members' rights

Start with the society. It has to tell you how to complain, and it has to answer within eight weeks¹³. Individual societies publish their own routes: Bath Building Society says it has an internal complaints procedure detailing how complaints are dealt with, and that unresolved complaints may be referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service¹⁴. The Loughborough Building Society says that if a complaint is not resolved within eight weeks it will write explaining the reasons for the further delay and indicate when a final response is expected¹⁵. Family Building Society says it will send a written acknowledgment within 5 working days if it cannot resolve a complaint sooner¹⁶.

If the society's final answer does not settle things, the Financial Ombudsman Service is the next step. You must give your bank or building society at least eight weeks to sort the problem out, unless they send you a letter of deadlock earlier¹⁷. The Progressive Building Society sets this out plainly: if it cannot resolve the complaint to your satisfaction, you have the right to refer your complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service¹⁸. Yorkshire Building Society makes the same point in its mortgage terms¹⁹.

There is also free, impartial help outside the society. Citizens Advice covers complaints about banks and building societies and can point you to the right process¹³. If your issue is about how the society is run rather than a product, the society's own rules and the annual report and accounts are the documents to read, and you are entitled to both¹.

For a wider look at how mutuals are structured and what happens when they merge or change name, see Building society mergers and name changes. If your complaint stalls and you want help drafting it, Writing an effective complaint letter or email sets out the structure, and Free consumer advice when a dispute with a firm stalls covers where to go next.