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The BSA has admitted in recent years it has invested relatively little in mortgage issues as it focused on other matters such as savings, corporate governance and treating customers fairly.

Seven additional members of staff will be recruited in the second half of 2008 to increase the range of services offered to BSA members, the association announced on Thursday.

It is expected those staff will play an important role from January in representing the interests of societies to regulators such as the FSA, to parliamentarians and to the media. The new recruits will also help building societies understand the impact of regulatory and economic developments on their own mortgage business, according to the BSA.

John Goodfellow, chairman of the BSA, said: "This expansion of representation is a natural step for the BSA and will reinforce the standing of building societies in the financial sector. "It will help to ensure that the differences between building societies and banks are more widely understood."