November 2021 – This so-called mutual society has announced a massive cut in their regular saver interest rates from 1.80% to 1.05%. That is a whopping 42% cut. This is just as the Bank rate is about to increase along with inflation. No proper reason has been given to account holders for such a big…
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July 2021 – Manchester Building Society has finally won its case against Grant Thornton after pursing the firm through the lower court and the court of appeal. However damages awarded, amounting to £13.4m, are just over a third of the claim made by the society. The case related to audit services provided by Grant Thornton…
April 2021 – A Government consultation sets out a package of measures because of concerns about the credibility of directors’ reporting and the statutory audit. The review is aimed at improving the UK’s audit, corporate reporting and corporate governance systems. It includes views expressed in responses to initial consultations on recommendations made by the Independent…
April 2021 – A strategic review (yet another one) carried out by Whitecap Consultants, a strategy consultation company, in conjunction with the BSA and others, endeavoured to obtain the views and understanding of the meaning of mutuality from the directors of all building societies. This presented a difficult challenge for the building society directors all…
March 2021 – It’s AGM time again at many building societies and as usual their annual reports show that directors have been awarding themselves large amounts of members’ money despite the hardships suffered by so many due to the Covid pandemic. Their savings interest rates are close to zero and savers receive peanuts but life…
March 2021 – Nationwide are rather coy in their advertising of the new TV sponsorship deal which lasts 18 months until 2022; it is on the back of their 2020 deals with the football authorities of the 4 nations – England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland – which was focused on the various iterations of the…
December 2020 – The Sunday Times reports on members’ bad experiences in attempting to make claims on Nationwide’s travel insurance. Sunday Times Report
October 2020 – A Nationwide Building Society announcement in 2019 stated – “Our Branch Promise – Here today, here tomorrow. That’s our promise to every town and city with a Nationwide branch on its high street. So, if we’re still a part of your community on March 18th 2019, we’ll stay part of your community until…
July 2020 – Nationwide, as with most other companies, has been unable to hold an AGM in the normal way and held it online. The meeting was held at their headquarters at Swindon with directors and sufficient numbers of staff to make up the required 50 for a quorum, although only three people could be seen. So there…
May 2020 – Tony Prestedge the ex-deputy CEO of the Nationwide Building Society who waits to join Santander Bank in the autumn as deputy CEO has now been recruited to help Dido Harding as she struggles to get the NHS Track and Trace programme off the ground. Prestedge was the techy chappy at Nationwide and it…