Ipswich Building Society (IBS) has more than 160 years experience in providing mortgages and savings for people in the East of England. The society is an independent mutual, run in the best interests of its members, not shareholders. The society exists to help its members achieve their goals of home ownership and save for the future with an organisation they can trust. IBS was established in 1849 as the Ipswich and Suffolk Freehold Land Society, to create 'forty-shilling freeholders' – giving the ordinary man the chance to buy enough land to enable him to vote. The aim was to improve the social position and promote the moral elevation of the unenfranchised population of the country. Whilst IBS keeps these traditional values at its heart, they are looking to the future, with plans to grow and retain independent mutuality under Chief Executive Officer Richard Norrington. The society has nine branches across Suffolk.
