March 2024 – Nationwide Building Society directors have announced that they plan to takeover Virgin Money. This will enlarge their empire and their already inflated pay packets. Virgin Money customers will learn all about unaccountable management and an undemocratic biased voting system at Nationwide. Virgin Money shareholders will be consulted on the deal but building society…
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December 2023 – The Coventry Building Society is in preliminary talks to buy the Co-operative Bank from it owners, a group of American hedge funds. If the takeover takes place it would return the bank to its mutual origins. Although its origins did not include the infamous “Quick Vote” used by the directors of the Coventry…
October 2023 – The directors have decided to throw away more of members’ money on a change of logo. The change will also reflect the policy of progressively and quietly changing into a bank whilst retaining its mutual status through the inclusion of the word “bank” in the logo. This follows on from their claim…
September 2023 – The Nationwide Building Society has found itself among the top of the savings accounts charts. An unusual position for this society with the highest paid directors. But the account is only for those members with a current account. This building society continues its drive to be a bank and follows on from…
September 2023 – The National Trust has followed the corrupt practice used by building societies to bias their voting system. The infamous “Quick Vote” trick was first used by the NT in 2022 and is set to continue. It is sad that the management of yet another once respectable membership organisation and that was once…
Nationwide AGM 2023 June 2023 – This year the directors have decided to hold the AGM amongst themselves at their Swindon headquarters. Some members may be allowed to ask questions online. It will be convenient for them as they will have no need to leave the office and there will be no BSMA members around…
May 2023 – It must be getting near to AGM time again. Nationwide Building Society is indulging in another great publicity spending spree with double page advertisements in national newspapers. The ads say they are sharing their profits with members, unlike banks. They have dubbed it – “The Nationwide Fairer Share”. What they don’t say…
February 2023 – Following the slow and painful decline of the Manchester BS the go-ahead has been given by the PRA and the FCA for the Newcastle BS to takeover the Manchester without the involvement of the members (that’s the people they still term the “owners”) of either society. It has been a very drawn-out death for…
June 2022 – Jeff Prestridge the Mail on Sunday Personal Finance Editor comments on the excessive amount of members’ money being taken by the directors of this building society while interest rates for members’ savings accounts are among the lowest in the country. The chief executive, Joe Garner, increased his take by 71% over the previous…
April 2022 – The Financial Mail on Sunday reports on the enormous pay increases that the directors of building societies are awarding themselves while savings interest rates for members are pathetic. The greed was led by the CEO of the Skipton Building Society with an increase of 103% over the previous year. Financial Mail on…