The same report went on to state that building societies also compared well against banks in terms of stability, in part due to the mutual ownership aspect of how they are run, with no shareholder intervention or pressure in terms of performance targets.

This perception of stability is reinforced by the more mature manner in which building societies withstood the recession, with very little state intervention, unlike the banking sector.

Their safety and stability are both elements promoted by building societies themselves, and this has helped them to win a healthy share of the lending market. Figures released by the Building Societies Association in the summer showed that the sector approved 189,000 mortgages in the first half of 2015 (accounting for 29% of the total market), as well as lending £26.4bn of gross new mortgages.

The prospect for further inroads into the retail lending market are certainly good, and building societies are taking active steps to use their positive image to leverage further growth by proactively dealing with any poor governance concerns that were raised post the last recession.

In an independent review into how the sector handles corporate governance, Robin Fieth, Chief Executive of the Building Societies Association, said building societies were not immune to poor standards of governance pre-recession. He did, however, say that he was “struck by the extent to which the sector takes matter of governance very seriously,”  that it follows the UK Corporate Governance Code and has “voluntarily embraced standards required of listed companies.”

Proper risk management is key if building societies are to retain their image of providing a safer bet than both banks and niche lenders for savings and mortgage accounts as well as attracting the more discerning customer.

Despite perceptions, the sector did suffer in the downturn. As recently as 2010, Britannia merged with the Co-op Bank even though its balance sheet was riddled with “toxic” residential and commercial loans. It was a disaster for Co-op Bank, forcing it to obtain new capital from private sector investors. Overall, according to one report, the sector lost one-fifth of its members in the recession.

For those building societies that remain, an intrinsic part of retaining and growing their market share is to maintain a balanced and specialist underwriting process, and in particular, by using title insurance.

As for their competitors, most notably the niche lenders, to grow their market share will require creativity. In order to retain their profitability in an increasingly competitive market, lower processing costs via title insurance becomes vital. This will also allow more borrower-specific lending criteria to be adopted without the need for unduly high lending rates, inferring a more responsible approach to lending.

Attributed to Chris Taylor, CEO of Titlesolv

Titlesolv is the trading name of London & European Title Insurance Ltd authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.