June 2026 – This is an appeal on behalf of James Sherwin-Smith (James4Nationwide.co.uk) James is attempting a challenge the like of which no human being has attempted in over 20 years. It is a challenge far more difficult than the scaling of Everest. Far more difficult than the first attempt to break the 4-minute mile. Far…
Category: News
May 2026 – Nationwide Building Society has confirmed that it remains as unmutual as ever. The board has rejected any hopes that James Sherwin-Smith may have held that they would recommend him as a candidate for board membership and will ensure that every effort is made to be as awkward, unhelpful and as difficult as possible…
April 2026 – Nationwide Building Society has confirmed that James Sherwin-Smith has obtained sufficient nominations to allow him to stand for election at the 2026 AGM in July. Members will be receiving notification of the AGM in mid June. The society rejected 94 of the 350 nomination forms submitted and advised that just 256 were valid….
March 2026 – James Sherwin-Smith a member of the Nationwide Building Society is hoping to get sufficient numbers of nominees (250) to support him in his attempt to stand as a candidate for election to the board of directors at the 2026 AGM. James’ began his campaign in August 2024, following their proposed takeover of Virgin…
February 2026 – The UK government has recently stated that it is “pressing ahead with plans to allow virtual AGMs” (Annual General Meetings). While hybrid meetings that combine physical and online participation can enhance accessibility, the Building Societies Members Association is concerned that supporting virtual-only AGMs would represent a backward step for member democracy and corporate…
January 2026 – Nationwide Building Society has announced that Mike Rogers will takeover the chairmanship of the society on 16 July 2026. He is currently chair of Experian and Admiral. Mike Rogers said: “I am honoured to be appointed as the Chair-elect of Nationwide Building Society. Nationwide has an important role as the UK’s largest…
December 2025 – The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has imposed a fine of £44mn upon the Nationwide Building Society for lack of proper financial control between October 2016 and July 2021. The fine was originally £62,969,297 but was reduced by 30% for early settlement. The Nationwide failed to address “unacceptable” known deficiencies in its systems for…
September 2025 – The Financial Times reports on a breakfast meeting held by the Reform UK party this week to which the chairman of the Nationwide Building Society, Kevin Parry, was invited. The FT reports – Kevin Parry is one of the first senior UK bankers to engage with Nigel Farage’s right-wing populist party. Building societies claim…
July 2025 – The Guardian article by Nils Pratley questions the need for an overhaul of the governance of this society after the exclusion of members from any involvement in the acquisition of Virgin Money with £2.9bn of members’ money and the CEO’s self awarded £7mn for doing so. “the boast about not being answerable to…
July 2025 – A few of the members of this organisation were permitted to have their moment of mutuality on Friday 25th July at their AGM. Some members were allowed to “have your say” but in accordance with their customary very low standards of corporate governance the directors ensured that the AGM was online-only –…