It was 170 years ago when 20 local citizens gathered together to form the West Bromwich Permanent Benefit Building Society.

They were clear in what they wanted to achieve: members were to be helped to acquire property ‘by the fruits of their own honest industry and frugality’, while others should have a facility for the ‘safe deposit of money in large and small sums’.

Fast forward to the modern day, and our purpose is largely unchanged. The environment in which we operate bears little resemblance to those early formative years, but we still provide funding for people to purchase their own home and reward savers through the payment of interest on money they are able to invest.

To help celebrate this milestone anniversary, the Society arranged for local historian and broadcaster Professor Carl Chinn to attend a members’ event at our West Bromwich head office and tell the fascinating story behind our foundation. 

This week we are also starting a series of monthly prize draws, with members invited to enter for the chance to win £1,000.

The prize draws run from May until October 2019, with a separate £1,000 prize given away each month. They are free to enter for West Brom customers aged 16 and over and each monthly winner will be chosen at random from all qualifying entries received.

Enter online, or by filling out a form in any of the West Brom’s 36 branches.

We are immensely proud of our history, community roots and mutual values that enable us to support our members’ financial wellbeing. Remaining true to these values and objectives has been pivotal to our success over the last 170 years and will continue to guide us long into the future.

Happy anniversary West Brom building society!

To find out more about the history of the West Brom, check out the article in the About us section of our website.

If you’re a West Brom customer, you can enter our monthly prize draw online.