Letter from the Chairman

Dear Member

The Society’s AGM is to be held on 28 April 2010 in Bradford. Full details about the meeting and the items to be voted on by members are set out in this site which also includes details about the Society’s financial performance in 2009.

I am pleased to report that, despite the continuation of the harsh economic conditions in 2009, the Yorkshire has continued to provide value to members and remains a safe and secure independent building society for the benefit of our members.

Naturally, the 2009 financial results have been affected by the challenging market conditions. In the documentation about the merger with Chelsea Building Society, which was sent to you in December, we included our financial results for the first half of 2009. These results showed a small core operating profit, reflecting the underlying performance of the business, and a statutory loss for this period. Whilst we have, as predicted, made a statutory loss for the full year, the position in the second half of the year improved with a return to profit on a statutory basis and an improvement in the core operating profit. Further information about our 2009 performance is set out in this site together with some typical questions asked by our members, and our responses, which I hope you will find helpful.

Merger with Chelsea Building Society

I am delighted that members of the Yorkshire and the Chelsea approved the merger resolutions at the Societies’ special general meetings in January. The merger will take effect on 1 April 2010, subject to confirmation by the Financial Services Authority which is awaited at the time that this letter and other enclosures go to print. This is a significant development for the Yorkshire and will strengthen our ability to continue to deliver long-term value to our members.

Use your vote

I encourage you to attend the AGM where you will be able to ask questions of me and my colleagues. You will also be able to vote on the resolutions, which are set out in the Notice of the Meeting. If you cannot attend the meeting (and I appreciate that this will not be convenient for many of our members), then you can still vote by returning the paper voting form or by voting online by 23 April 2010.

The board’s recommendation is that you vote in favour of all the resolutions, and I encourage you to use your vote.

Vote and Donate

For every valid vote received, we’ll donate 15p* (25p* if you vote online) to the Yorkshire Building Society Charitable Foundation, raising money to support good causes nominated
by our members and staff. Further details can be found in the enclosed booklet. *Subject to a maximum donation of £40,000.