Progressive and City of Derry building societies to merge
Northern Ireland's two building societies, the Progressive and City of Derry, are to merge.
Progressive is much the larger of the two and its name will be retained after the merger.
It has assets in excess of £1.6bn and around 100,000 members; City of Derry has assets of just £42.6m and around 2,500 members.
No bonuses will be payable to members of either society arising from the merger.
There will also be no compulsory redundancies.
In a statement the board of the City of Derry said it recognised that its long-term future depends on investment in back-office systems and product ranges.
It added that "the resources for this investment can only readily come from the economies of scale, organisational depth and financial strength associated with size".
It said the merger will "enable the members of the City of Derry to join a strong, thriving regional building society, with similar objectives and values".
The merger will need to be approved by City of Derry's members and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Darina Armstrong, the Progressive's chief executive, said: "We are looking forward to finalising the terms of the merger and to welcoming the members of City of Derry Building Society as members of the enlarged society in due course.
"The members of both societies will benefit from the financial strength of the combined society.
"The Progressive will continue to operate as it always has - a traditional building society, offering good value savings and mortgage products and excellent customer service for the benefit of our members.
"A branch office will be retained in Londonderry for at least three years and a decision will be made on the preferred location in due course."