MORTGAGE STRATEGY, UK
17 MAY 2006

Mike Lazenby, Chief Executive of Kent Reliance, has warned that unless societies start to change the way they operate a lot of them will not be around in ten years time.

Speaking at the Building Societies Association's conference in Manchester Lazenby says societies should not be so quick to dismiss outsourcing.

He says: “There is nothing wrong with societies operating their back office work from the same building as each other, it can save costs and be more efficient. In ten years time I don’t think a lot of us will be here unless we start to do things differently.”

Lazenby says he was disappointed last year when he approached the BSA and offered to show societies around his offices in India and was only taken up on the offer by one society.

Speaking in defence of his decision to outsource the majority of the business to India, thus resulting in the loss of UK jobs.

He says “Our role as a society is not here specifically to employ locals, that’s not what societies were born for.”

He adds that as long as what a society does is legal, practical and falls within regulation it is perfectly rational to outsource.

The society which relaunched its website today, also outsourced the design of its website to India, which he says cost them a twentieth of the cost it would have done in the UK.

Lazenby, who had a live satellite link to India during his presentation, praised Indian workers as being more efficient, passionate and cost effective.