Awards: Yorkshire Building Society, Wates, Hitachi Personal Finance

A CYBER security prize has been awarded to Yorkshire Building Society.

The Information Risk Management team at YBS won the “Banking or Financial Services Team of the Year” at the Cyber Security Awards.

A panel of ten judges chose YBS from a shortlist which included Royal Bank of Scotland, Grant Thornton and Deutsche Bank.

Mike Jolley, head of information security at Yorkshire Building Society, said: “Our customers provide us with their most sensitive information, we should feel proud we are treating that information with the care and attention our customers expect – and this is now award winning against some strong competition.

“My team has worked incredibly hard to create a robust system to protect information and maintain our customers’ trust.

“The judges picked up on this and we won the award for having a clear vision statement that aligned to our corporate one; our strategy was realistic and based on facts, and they were really impressed with the way we operate.”

Karla Jobling, member of the judges’ panel at the Cyber Security Awards, said: “It’s an honour to be named as a winner by the Cyber Security Awards as it demonstrates true achievement within the industry. The judges focused on innovation and those who demonstrated an exceptional work ethic this year.”

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CONTRACTOR Wates has received a Silver Award from Support for Britain’s Reservists & Employers.

The awards are designed to recognise the companies that best support defence personnel.

The ceremony was hosted by SaBRE and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) on board the historic HMS Victory in Portsmouth.

Andy Riggs, head of government sector, Wates Construction, commented: “This achievement is to the credit of our exceptional Junior Board, which has worked tirelessly to embed Britain’s reservists at the heart of our business.
“We receive this accreditation with immense pride and look forward to growing our support for defence personnel.”

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FOR the second year running, Hitachi Personal Finance has won the Best Direct Personal Loan Provider accolade at the Your Money Awards 2015.

Hitachi employs 300 people at its headquarters in Leeds.

The awards recognise competitively-priced products from banking to savings, credit cards to personal loans, breakdown cover to mortgages.

Paula John, editor in chief of Your Money said: “The personal loan sector is fiercely competitive, so it takes a strong contender to stand out from the crowd. This year Hitachi Personal Finance hugely impressed judges with a combination of outstanding personal loan products backed up with solid, personal and professional customer service.”

Judges praised Hitachi Personal Finance’s easy application process, speedy decision making and competitive pricing.

Hitachi Personal Finance, head of loans, Andrew Davies, said: “We set out to offer borrowers a better deal and we’re proud that we were one of the first personal loan providers to offer complete transparency, with no arrangement fees or hidden extras, and live customer feedback 24/7 online.

“This year we launched a new level of flexibility, letting the customer decide how much they want to pay and putting them in control of the term right at the start. Our 98% customer satisfaction rating and this award is great recognition for the hard work of the team.”