Nationwide fires starting gun on mortgage deals ahead of interest rate decision Banking Nationwide has slashed its mortgage rates for the second time in the space of a week, ahead of the Bank of England’s interest rate decision on Thursday. The building society has taken the chop to its home loan prices, with a 0.28 percentage-point reduction. It follows a 0.12 cut on 10 June. The move comes [...]
Nationwide accused of picking ‘unfair fight’ with member board candidate Banking Nationwide has been accused of picking an “unfair fight” with one of its members who has sought to clinch a seat on the building society’s board. The mutual has opted not to recommend the candidacy of James Sherwin-Smith, who is running to be the first member to take a seat on Nationwide’s board in nearly [...]
An Inspector Calls at Nationwide’s annual general meeting Banking In 49 days An Inspector Calls at the Nationwide annual general meeting and in this week’s column Samuel Norman looks at what he could be asking. Also on the agenda… after annual report season, it’s time for Starling to go full throttle on Engine. Not since the keen-eyed Inspector Goole shattered the comfortable illusions of [...]
Nationwide income soars on consumer lending boost May 21, 2026 Nationwide booked a hefty jump in its annual income as the building society benefited from a boost in consumer lending and clawed out a bigger market share of mortgage balances. The mutual recorded a 22 per cent jump in total income to £6.4bn, which was up from £5.2bn in the previous year, led by a [...]
Why Nationwide’s £7m boss was worth splashing the cash for April 15, 2026 Nationwide splashed the cash on it’s top boss, Debbie Crosbie, in this week’s column Samuel Norman asks if they got their monies worth. Nationwide has been proclaimed Britain’s best bank. The UK’s largest building society – which is, in fact, not a bank due its status as a mutual – has been handed the crown [...]
Mortgage lenders pull deals at fastest pace since mini-Budget March 11, 2026 Mortgage lenders are pulling deals at the fastest rate since Liz Truss infamous mini-Budget amid growing agitation around the economic consequences of the Iran war. Nearly 500 homeowner mortgages have disappeared from the market in mere days, according to finanical information platform Moneyfacts, as average mortgage rates breeze past the five per cent mark. Moneyfacts [...]
Bank of England names first fintech cohort for scale-up regulator February 3, 2026 The Bank of England has named the first handful of UK fintech talent which will be overseen by the new regulatory ‘Scale-Up’ unit. Small business lenders OakNorth and Allica Bank – which was named the fastest-growing fintech ever by Deloitte – were listed as two of the firms that had been accepted into the first [...]
Nationwide hit with fine after failing to flag Covid furlough fraud December 12, 2025 Nationwide had been slapped with a £44m fine by the City watchdog for failures in its financial crime controls. The building society giant has been blasted by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) for missing opportunities to identify fraudulent Covid furlough payments. The FCA said one customer received 24 payments, totalling north of £27m, over 13 [...]
Watchdogs rip up rulebook for building societies in growth boost December 5, 2025 British building societies are in line for a deregulation boost after UK watchdogs announced a joint raft of initiatives aiming to power up the sector. Mutuals – which, contrary to banks, are owned by their members – are set to land a significant growth tailwind following a fresh report from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) [...]
Reeves puts cash ISA reform on ice ahead of Mansion House speech July 11, 2025 Rachel Reeves is expected to backtrack on plans to cut the tax-free allowance for cash ISAs, amid growing criticisms and building societies reporting a jump in new accounts being set up. “Differing views” from within government and a longer consultation time with the financial sector have contributed to the pause in the policy, according to [...]