| 'Mutual' non-profit-making institutions set up to lend money to their members for house purchase. Building societies are 'mutual' because they are owned by their members, who are entitled to their profits and benefits. The Building Societies Act 1986 enabled building societies to provide a much wider range of services to their members, including unsecured personal loans, insurance policies, house-selling and pensions. This was designed to put them on a level playing field with banks. In recent years some of the UK's largest building societies have demutualised and effectively turned themselves into profit-making banks, with their profits being distributed to shareholders rather than their customers. Building societies are regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). Their trade association is the Building Societies Association.
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