Newcastle Building Society becomes first UK business to receive international accreditation for mutual value measurement

Newcastle Building Society has become the first UK organisation to receive Mutual Value Measurement Accreditation, recognising its ongoing commitment to create value and better serve its members and their communities.

Mutual Value Measurement (MVM) is the mark of a good mutual. The MVM Framework was developed in Australia by The Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals, working with researchers at Monash University in Melbourne to assist co-operatives and mutuals with a consistent approach to understand, measure and report their positive impact on members, the economy, and their communities.

Since then, eight leading co-operatives and mutuals in Australia have achieved MVM Accreditation, which makes Newcastle Building Society not only the first UK organisation to adopt the framework but the first outside of Australia.

Andrew Haigh, chief executive officer at Newcastle Building Society said: “As a mutual, member-owned organisation, our purpose is to 'connect our communities with a better financial future’.  For us, delivering our purpose and creating value for our customers and communities is about much more than just the consistently good rates we aim to offer through our savings and mortgage products.

“Our member-ownership gives us a different outlook to most shareholder businesses.

"Our commitment to high streets and growing our network of branches and community spaces; our support for first time buyers looking to get on the property ladder; our strategic skills and employability partnerships; our financial education programmes; the provision of face-to-face financial advice through our subsidiary Newcastle Financial Advisers and our commitment to local charities and community groups are just some of the many examples of how we aim to add value through a mutual mindset.

The academic analysis behind the MVM framework identified six dimensions to the key value that cooperatives and mutuals generate: Commerciality, Shaping Markets, Member Relationships, Community Relationships, Ecosytem and Reciprocity, and Mutual Mindset. Organisations in Australia with MVM Accreditation include CivicRisk Mutual, G&C Mutual Bank, and Futurity Investment Group.

Andrew added: “MVM Accreditation is a helpful step for Newcastle Building Society, as we better understand our impact and demonstrate value to our present and future members and customers. Importantly, we’re also using insight from our application of the framework to help us focus our strategic planning, engage further with all stakeholders, and ensure even greater relevance for our members and the communities we serve.”