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LEADING DIGITAL WITH PURPOSE: SUSAN ALLEN ON TRANSFORMING YORKSHIRE BUILDING SOCIETY

YORKSHIRE BUILDING SOCIETY

PROJECT DIRECTED BY: JAMIE WAITE

When discussing Susan Allen, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Building Society (YBS), it is immediately clear that her passion for purpose-led leadership is as real as it gets. Since stepping into the role in March 2023, she has been driving a bold digital transformation across the organisation, one that is about more than just technology upgrades. From the start, what excited her was the opportunity to lead an organisation with a strong social mission. YBS exists to support members at key moments in their lives, and that purpose underpins everything it does.

With more than 25 years in financial services, including time at Barclays and Santander UK, Allen brought serious experience to the table. However, at YBS, she has charted a path that is not just about business acumen. It is about aligning innovation with empathy.

When she joined, one of the biggest priorities was to modernise how the organisation serves members. Consumer behaviour is changing rapidly, and people expect to manage their finances on their own terms. Therefore, the focus has been on building a digital service that is flexible, intuitive, and still deeply personal.

Under Allen’s leadership, YBS has invested heavily in its digital capabilities. Whether members want to manage their accounts on the go, visit a branch, or call in for help, the goal is simple: give them the freedom to choose. It is not about going digital for the sake of it. It is about giving people more control and convenience in how they interact with the Society.

To make that happen, YBS partnered with some of the biggest names in technology, including Tata Consultancy Services, Cisco, Mitel, and others. TCS has been a particularly important partner. It has helped YBS rethink its core systems to become more agile, scale faster, and improve the digital experience for members. It is not just about the back end, it is also about making everything feel easy and accessible for users.

The road to exponential value creation:

Propelling the business transformation journey for building societies with automation and technology modernisation

At TCS we bring the power of innovation, technology and deep contextual knowledge to set the pace of transformation for our Banking customers. We help them deliver greater outcomes and achieve sustainable growth by leveraging our extensive AI expertise, partner ecosystems and co-innovation framework. With continuous investment in research, we enable financial institutions to unlock a sea of new possibilities, elevate customer experience, and build resilience for the future.

Satya Mishra, Head of Banking and Financial Services UK at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), shares how the company has been partnering with Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) to support the latter’s strategic business visions through accelerated digital transformation and topnotch customer service.

TCS is a digital transformation and technology partner of choice for industry-leading organisations worldwide. Since its inception in 1968, TCS has upheld the highest standards of innovation, engineering excellence and customer service.

TCS has partnered with YBS to build a nextgen Mortgage Sales and Origination Platform, helping YBS create market differentiation and meet its strategic growth objectives. With focus on launching purpose-led products and improving business process through strategic automation and tech modernisation, TCS is helping YBS deliver significant value to its members.

On the Savings side of business, TCS has ensured increased digital adoption by YBS members, resulting in 25 percent uptick in YBS’ NPS score. With new feature launches and migration to modern web platform, TCS is helping YBS make its Mobile-first vision a reality.

The TCS-YBS partnership

Trust as the cornerstone: TCS has a longstanding partnership with YBS. Our relationship is driven by mutual trust. For over 17 years, we have been collaborating to deliver extraordinary results. YBS stakeholders have specifically highlighted how TCS has stood by YBS’ side at every step of the key transformation journeys.

Equitable partnership: We keep equity at the heart of our relationship, with respect for our cultural diversity, different expertise and experiences. Over time, our strong relationship has demonstrated one-team ethos and has evolved with changing market trends, business & IT needs.

One Team Culture: We believe in collaboration, inclusivity, and a shared vision for success. It is a mindset that has enabled us to go above and beyond to deliver value for the building society and its members.

Leading change for YBS with emerging technological advancements

As we look ahead, we are delighted to be chosen as the partner of choice by YBS to achieve their 2030 strategic goals and aggressive growth ambitions and help YBS make a future ready society and meet its north star ambition. We will continue to leverage cutting-edge technologies to support YBS in modernising its core banking systems and adopting cloud-native solutions. By doing so, we aim to create seamless, customer-centric services that drive efficiency and business agility.

With data as the backbone of the modern financial ecosystem, TCS will enable YBS to unlock actionable insights through advanced analytics and artificial intelligence. Aligning with evolving customer expectations and regulatory mandates, we will collaborate with YBS to integrate sustainable practices across its operations. Our expertise in ESG solutions will help YBS maintain its leadership in ethical and responsible banking.

Tapping into the opportunities presented by open banking, TCS will support YBS in exploring partnerships with FinTechs and embracing innovation in financial products and services. Together, we will position YBS as a pioneer in providing value-added, inclusive financial offerings.

To help drive member- first engagement, we will leverage AI-powered analytics to enhance customer experience for YBS, while meeting the sustainability and ESG mandates in lending and investment with data-driven solutions.

Shaping the future of banking and financial services

AI-Driven Transformation: TCS is integrating artificial intelligence into banking operations to

View our interview with Satya

Mishra, Head of Banking and Financial Services UK at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

Click the link below to watch.

enhance customer experiences, optimize costs, and improve decision-making.

Generative AI for Product and Service Innovation: TCS is exploring the potential of generative AI to create disruptive solutions in areas like customer engagement, product design, and operational efficiency.

Intelligent automation: TCS is streamlining processes like loan approvals, compliance checks, and customer onboarding.

Cloud-native Platforms: TCS is enabling banks to embrace cloud, ensuring scalability, flexibility, and resilience.

Open Banking and Ecosystem Integration: TCS is helping financial institutions unlock the possibilities of open banking by integrating APIs and fostering collaboration with FinTechs.

Sustainability: TCS is aligning its solutions with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals, helping banks adopt sustainable practices and meet regulatory requirements.

Cyber resilience: With the rise of digital banking, TCS is providing robust cybersecurity frameworks and compliance solutions to

protect financial institutions against evolving threats.

Towards a perpetually adaptive enterprise

With the ability to rapidly apply and scale new technologies, TCS is helping its customers emerge as perpetually adaptive enterprises. We offer innovative solutions and strategies that help businesses become more adaptable, focusing on leveraging technology, particularly AI, to enhance operational efficiency, build business resilience, and develop future-ready workforces.

Cloud Transformation: Helping financial institutions modernize legacy systems through cloud-based solutions like TCS BaNCS™.

AI-Driven Innovation: Leveraging AI and automation to enhance customer experience, fraud prevention, and operational efficiency.

Regulatory & Risk Management Solutions: Deploying platforms like Quartz for Compliance to help firms navigate evolving regulations.

Co-Innovation Ecosystem: Through TCS Pace Ports™, we collaborate with startups and academia to drive financial innovation.

The results speak for themselves. In 2024 alone, YBS completed over 41,000 residential mortgage deals, with gross lending reaching £9.7 billion. That kind of growth does not happen by accident. Mortgage applications have been streamlined, onboarding has become simpler, and service speed has improved, making a real difference in a challenging economy.

There has also been a sharp rise in digital engagement. Since the strategy launched, online member interactions have more than doubled. Satisfaction with the digital experience has risen accordingly, as reflected in a record-high Net Promoter Score last year.

However, while digital is a key part of the story, Allen remains equally focused on community impact, and is personally involved. In October 2024, she joined the CEO Sleepout at Elland Road Stadium to raise money for FareShare, a charity tackling hunger and homelessness. That night underscored how important YBS’s work is. Helping people find a place to call home, and improving financial wellbeing, are not abstract goals, they are real, and they matter.

Through partnerships with organisations such as the Good Things Foundation, YBS is also addressing digital exclusion. In Bradford alone, more than a thousand people have been supported in building their digital skills and confidence. The aim is to ensure no one is left behind as technology advances.

That inclusive ethos is reflected internally as well. YBS was named one of the UK’s top ten family-friendly employers in 2023. Internal networks such as the Parents and Carers Network have played an instrumental role in fostering a culture that supports real people with real lives.

Leadership is evolving at the top too. In 2024, Annemarie Durbin became the Society’s first female Chair, a historic appointment that brings global perspective and deep experience as YBS looks to the future.

Financially, the organisation is on solid ground. In 2024, YBS posted a core operating profit of £345.7 million, with pre-tax profit reaching £383.7 million. Allen is quick to tie those results back to the mutual model: without shareholders, success directly benefits members through better savings rates, new services, and increased community investment.

Her transition into the role did generate headlines, particularly due to a £2.5 million golden hello package. Allen acknowledged the public scrutiny, noting that such packages are standard in the industry when someone leaves behind significant compensation. What matters most to her is the work being done, and the results beginning to show.

Looking ahead, Allen remains focused on delivering the final stages of YBS’s 2025 strategy. Transformation, in her view, is not just a project, it is a mindset. The goal is not merely to keep up with change, but to actively shape it in ways that serve members and stay true to the Society’s purpose.