Nationwide doubles boss’s pay despite backlash (The Telegraph)
Chief executive’s bonus increase risks reviving concerns over stewardship of the building society
Monday 8 June 2026, 3:17pm BST
By Tom Saunders
Link: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/06/08/nationwide-doubles-bosss-pay-despite-backlash/
The boss of Nationwide saw her pay nearly double last year despite concerns about banker-style bonuses at the mutual.
Dame Debbie Crosbie, who steered Nationwide’s takeover of Virgin Money, saw her pay increase from £2.49m to £4.70m for the year ending March 2026 after her bonuses tripled.
According to the latest accounts for the building society, it makes Dame Debbie the highest-paid chief executive of Nationwide in more than a decade.
While her salary stayed broadly flat, her total bonuses increased from £1.1m in 2025 to £3.2m. This included her first long-term bonus award. Dame Debbie received 97.3pc of the maximum amount of performance pay.
The 88pc pay rise will revive concerns about Dame Debbie’s stewardship of Nationwide, which has come under scrutiny after the Virgin Money takeover triggered fears about the future of the historic building society.
Formed in the 1880s to help people buy a home, it is today owned by its 17 million members rather than shareholders, but the Virgin acquisition has raised concerns about a change of culture.
Nationwide was criticised last year for introducing a new pay policy for Dame Debbie, allowing her to earn significant bonuses if the mutual performed well.
Under the proposal, she is able to earn a maximum of £6.9m if she hits all performance targets. This includes long-term incentive pay that she would receive in three years’ time, depending on the performance of the company.
The £4.7m payout last year is the first to be received by Dame Debbie under the new pay policy.
The pay framework has prompted significant criticism from some of the building society’s members.
Baroness Sharon Bowles, a Nationwide member, told The Telegraph at the time she was “unhappy” about the arrangement, saying “if they want to wear the community bank label in some way, then they should be a bit more like their customers”.
‘Questions about accountability’
Some members were also angry that they were denied a binding vote on Dame Debbie’s pay, as shareholders in listed banks are granted.
James Sherwin-Smith, one of Nationwide’s members who is campaigning for a seat on the mutual’s board, said the move “raises legitimate questions about accountability”.
Dame Debbie’s pay increase came a month after Nationwide said that around 4.4 million of its members would have a share of £440m, meaning cash bonuses of around £100 for its main customers.
While Dame Debbie was awarded almost all of her available bonuses this year, some former senior executives saw their deferred pay cut.
The charge was imposed on the executives after the building society was fined a record £44m for failing to spot a customer’s £27.3m furlough fraud.
Kevin Parry, the chairman of Nationwide, said: “Debbie Crosbie’s pay has increased because it includes a long-term bonus for the first time, reflecting the society’s outstanding performance and development over the past three years.
“In that period, Nationwide has paid out more to members than at any time in its history, our customer satisfaction lead has doubled.”
The pay increase came after Nationwide spent £2.9bn to acquire Virgin Money in 2024.
It finalised the takeover in October 2024, making this year the building society’s first as the full owners of Virgin Money. The acquisition has made the building society the UK’s second-biggest mortgage lender.
It also added Virgin’s 91 branches to Nationwide’s 605 sites, which the company has pledged to keep open until at least 2030.