I am a Barnsley Building Society saver, what does this mean for me?

Firstly, do not panic, your money is completely safe. In fact, it is likely to be earning more interest than it was before.

The accounts of Barnsley savings members will move to the Yorkshire, but will remain under the Barnsley brand and will be on similar, or better, terms and interest rates than provided by the Barnsley prior to the merger.

No Barnsley savers should see a lower interest rate as a result of the merger. If you have a Barnsley savings account with a better interest rate than offered by Yorkshire – for example, Barnsley’s internet account offers 5.85 per cent, whilst Yorkshire’s offers 5.7 per cent – you will keep your higher rate.

Barnsley savers can still access their money as normal, if needed.

I have a mortgage with Barnsley Building Society, what does this mean for me?

All mortgage customers will be transferred to the Yorkshire. Borrowers on Barnsley’s standard variable rate (SVR), currently 7.19 per cent, will be transferred to Yorkshire’s SVR, currently 6.90 per cent, which is excellent news for Barnsley SVR borrowers, as their monthly repayments will be lower.

Borrowers on fixed rate deals will carry on paying their fixed monthly sum until the deal expires, at which point they will be placed automatically onto Yorkshire’s SVR, unless they negotiate another deal.

Yorkshire tends to offer more competitive mortgage deals – Barnsley’s three year fixed rate is currently at 6.49 per cent, whilst Yorkshire’s is fixed at 6.29 per cent. The merger is likely to be good news for mortgage customers.

Will I still be able to use Barnsley branches?

Yes. The Yorkshire Building Society wants to retain the name, and all eight branches, of the Barnsley Building Society.

The only difference is that Barnsley will be owned by Yorkshire, but Barnsley customers will not be able to bank at Yorkshire branches, and vice versa.

What about the £10 million that Barnsley is owed?

The reason Barnsley had to seek a merger with Yorkshire is because it is owed £10 million by Kaupthing Singer & Friedlander and Heritable Bank, the Icelandic banks that have gone into administration. Whilst there is no guarantee that the money will ever be returned, Yorkshire intends to pursue recovery of the Icelandic deposits. If this is successful, the Yorkshire will consider a discretionary cash payment to those who were saving or borrowing members of Barnsley on October 21 2008.

I have more than £50,000 with both Barnsley and Yorkshire - will I still be protected under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme?

No. Despite keeping both brands, the societies will only have one banking licence. Savers in both societies should therefore consider moving their cash around if they have more than £50,000 invested between the two.

So when will the merger be completed?

The merger is expected to be complete on December 31 2008. Barnsley customers will receive a Merger Notification Statement outlining the details of the merger by the end of November.

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