Customers may be concerned by the turbulence in the money markets and the statement made by the Northern Rock bank that it has called on the Bank of England to help with its funding requirements.

Why are we different?

The majority of our lending is supported by money saved with us by members. This is not the case with Northern Rock, who borrow significant funds from the wholesale money market, which is currently experiencing an unprecedented degree of volatility.

Chelsea is one of the most efficient building societies in the country and hugely successful at what we do, lending safely and providing a secure home for people’s savings.

The key points to remember about Chelsea are:

• we are a building society, not a bank
• we are an efficient, profitable, financially strong business
• we have more than sufficient cash reserves to meet our commitments
• we have a good quality mortgage book with lower than average industry arrears
• we are not exposed to the US sub prime mortgage market
• no ordinary member has ever lost money from saving with a building society.

• For more information on building societies please refer to The Building Societies Association (BSA) website

• Find out more about our savings accounts.