Building society confirms CEO

The Edinburgh-based Scottish Building Society, which claims to be the oldest firm of its kind globally, has officially named its chief executive.

Paul Denton was previously MD at Co-op Funeralcare Operations, and has 25-plus years experience in the banking sector, starting his career with Royal Bank of Scotland, where he later progressed to head of trading for retail banking at Rbs/natwest.

His latest role was unveiled earlier this year, and he has now taken the reins after formal regulatory approval, pledging to focus on personalised customer service. Denton leads the world’s oldest mutual member-owned society – dating back to 1848 – with 33,000 members.

It has offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Troon, Galashiels, Aberdeen and Inverness – and has seen a fifth consecutive year of mortgage book growth, with pre-tax profits ahead of plan to £1 million.

Denton said: “I feel a great sense of excitement about returning to financial services and building on the solid foundations of Scottish Building Society. I am proud to be working for a Scottish business for Scottish people – 99 per cent of our lending is in Scotland and we are as Scottish now as we were 170 years ago.

“We have been known as a niche lender, with products such as our retirement-only mortgages, but we do want to be out there on a broader basis, not to compete with the likes of RBS and Lloyds on price, but on trust, authenticity and customer service.”

Chairman Raymond Abbott said: “After a rigorous recruitment process, we are pleased to welcome Paul to Scottish Building Society.

“Paul will be an excellent asset and his knowledge and extensive skillset will mean he is able to build solid relationships with our stakeholders.”

Denton was also credited with delivering major change across 1,100 funeral homes at Co-op Funeralcare Operations.