A campaign by building societies to change the rules governing compensation for savers in failed institutions, which they say could force up mortgage charges, is to be stepped up.

Iain Cornish, chief executive of the Bradford-based Yorkshire Building Society, has been at the forefront of the campaign to change building societies’ liability under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which guarantees savings accounts up to £50,000.

He has pledged to keep up pressure on the Government to change the rules so that building societies do not have to pay as much if banks get into trouble.

Mr Cornish said: “The campaign to change the way the FSCS is funded goes on. It was unfair that, following the failure of several banks such as Bradford & Bingley, building societies ended up paying over the odds to bail them out when we had no responsibility for the crisis.”

Building societies were unhappy because a Government levy to support the FSCS after the bank collapses was not linked to the risk of them failing, but are instead based on the deposits they held The Yorkshire urged its members to complain to ministers after it was landed with a bill for around £20m. The smaller Skipton faced a charge of about half that and even the tiny Silsden-based Ecology Building Society was hit with a charge of £270,000.

At the recent special general meeting of Yorkshire members to vote on the proposed merger with Chelsea Building Society, Mr Cornish promised that the campaign for changes to the FSCS would continue.

He said: “We will continue to press for changes to try to ensure that the impact on building societies takes account of the lower risks we face .

“The Financial Services Authority has started a consultation process and we’ll be making our views known in a bid to get the balance right in future.”

Mr Cornish pointed out that keeping the Chelsea brand in being after the merger would provide double protection for savers of both societies until the end of 2010, providing them with insurance for up to £100,000 of savings.