HOMELOAN Management was just a twinkle in Skipton Building Society's eye at the start of the last decade.

Who would have thought that a dozen or so years later that the young child would be bigger than the parent?

Homeloan's rise and rise has been good for the locality, bringing employment and thus money into the local economy. While a fair proportion of those jobs are for people from outside Craven, even these provide spin offs for local businesses.

So successful has Homeloan become, that the supply of local employment cannot meet its demand. It has had to spread its wings, first to Padiham and now to Northern Ireland.

The decision to provide jobs at home rather than overseas is one to be applauded - and indeed it has been by the Department of Trade. While other banks and building societies have exported much-needed jobs, Homeloan has put its faith in British workers. We are sure they will be repaid.