A NORTH-EAST mutual is moving online to help nurture the next generation of savers.

Darlington Building Society (DBS) is adding mobile mortgage and saving services to its traditional over the counter offerings.

The company says customers could be applying for mortgages digitally by the end of the year, with saving accounts following in 2016.

It is also looking at fitting machines in branches to count cash from youngsters’ piggybanks, to help them understand the value of saving.

However, despite the changes, Colin Fyfe, DBS’ chief executive, told The Northern Echo the 159-year-old mutual’s branches will not be leaving the high street, nor will its passbooks be affected.

Speaking at its annual general meeting, held at Middlesbrough Football Club’s Riverside Stadium today (Thursday, April 23), he said: “These services will work hand-in-hand with our branches because they are complementary to each other.

“Our ten branches are very important to us and our passbooks are a key part of the business, just as computers and mobiles will be.

“Online is a line in the sand for the society; we can start to invest after some challenging times and move forward.

“We will not be going in at the bottom with our online offering; we can go in at the same level as existing firms.

“You can also use department store John Lewis as an example.

“Its online sales are tremendous, but they are increasing the number of shops they have.

“It is a complementary thing; people are happy to buy online, but they also want to go into the store and touch and feel items, and talk about them.”

Mr Fyfe, who took on his role from David Dodd after spending almost three decades with Clydesdale Bank, said DBS was also looking at methods to get young people into the art of saving.

He said it will trial a machine at its Tubwell Row branch, in Darlington, this summer, allowing people to drop coins into a pot and get an instant valuation of their savings.

He added: “This is a key element; we need to encourage young people to save.

“We want the children to understand the fundamentals of how to manage money.

“The savings bank will allow youngsters to take their piggy bank and pour their money into a machine.

“That will count it up and give them a slip of paper telling they have, for example, £26.14, which they can then put away in their account.

“We have to encourage people to get into the habit of saving, and that will also be reflected at Darlington’s Festival of Thrift, where we will be one of the sponsors to promote thriftiness through the concept of saving.”

Mr Fyfe, who hails from Larkhall, near Motherwell in Scotland, was speaking as DBS revealed a profit of £1.16m for the year to December 31 2014.

He added: “The future of the society is on very strong foundations.

“It has navigated through the choppy waters between 2008 and 2013 and is flexible enough to react to local needs, while ensuring it remains focused on delivering the best for members.”

DBS has branches across the region, including sites in Darlington, Middlesbrough, Redcar, and Barnard Castle, County Durham. 

Darlington Building Society tweeted live from its annual general meeting for the first time, with the tweets reported by The Northern Echo here