Our mutual friend over at the EBS

ANY form of financial transaction is usually evaluated down to the last digit of a decimal point. With interest rates scraping the bottom of the current cycle, borrowers and lenders are jostling for position in a crowded market where the fraction of a point either way can prove crucial.

The EBS building society this week went on a public relations and deposit raising offensive, extolling the merits of stepping aside from grubby profit making in favour of being the customer's mutual friend. In a sideswipe at the competition, chief executive Pat O'Reilly argued that the EBS could better serve its clientele without the "profit maximising ethos" of the public companies.

In an effort to attract new business and retain customer loyalty, the society has raised interest rates on deposits and indirectly reduced interest costs for mortgage holders. The initiative will cost the society £5 million this year. Last year, an upsurge in lending and tight cost controls lifted EBS pre tax profits by 10 per cent to £23 million.

Making a virtue out of mutuality, the EBS wants to portray itself as almost altruistic, almost an old fashioned friendly society. But essentially it's a complementary marketing strategy, improved rates substituting for the bonus payments and other incentives on offer elsewhere. In financial services, "customer" is a more user friendly word than "shareholder" but both require an appropriate return on investment. Dividends, loyalty bonuses, interest rate incentives - call it what you will - it all costs money to keep the customer satisfied in an age of multiple choice.