Elect James Sherwin-Smith to represent Nationwide building society members
An excellent article regarding Eliza Orme was published in The Times this week. She is believed to be one of the first women to become a director of a building society, when she co-founded the Nineteenth Century Building Society in 1880. It inspired me to write this brief history of female directors at Nationwide Building […]
Alongside delivering the required nominations, and a £500 deposit, candidates for election to the board have the opportunity to include an election address of up to 500 words. This is as per Rule 31 of Nationwide’s Memorandum and Rules and Section 61 of the Building Societies Act (1986), as amended. Below the line is the […]
I thought a summary of recent board changes ahead of this summer’s AGM would be helpful to share as there has been a fair amount of change over the last 18 months. Background Each year, Nationwide members are asked to (re-)elect board directors. Ballot papers and online forms are circulated by the society to members […]
You might have seen reports in the press this week that the High Court has approved the transfer of Virgin Money’s business into Nationwide (e.g. The Sun, The Mirror). This was a legal application made by Nationwide to transfer nearly all assets, liabilities and customers of Clydesdale Bank plc (trading as Virgin Money) into Nationwide. […]
Ben Marlow (Associate Editor), writing in the Telegraph, in the run up to the 2025 AGM: The mutual’s readiness to ride roughshod over the will of its members goes against everything it claims to be Who said banking was boring? One glance at Nationwide’s website and you might wonder if you were in the company […]
Michael Bow, Chief City Correspondent, writing in The Telegraph ahead of the 2025 AGM: Building society under fire over claims it is stopping ordinary members from joining board Nationwide is facing a backlash over boardroom cronyism after claims it has rebuffed attempts to allow ordinary members of the building society to join its board. The […]
Nationwide building society has historically taken a strong stance, and made some stronger statements, regarding its branch network. Yet branch closures and reduced opening hours are some of the first topics that come up in my conversations with members, staff and former staff. While Nationwide has now promised not to close any Nationwide branches before […]
In the last few days, Nationwide members will have received the Chairman’s letter 2025, inviting members to vote and attend this year’s virtual-only Annual General Meeting (AGM). One claim that stood out for me and I wanted to check its veracity: “Since we made the meeting online, we’ve had the highest member attendance for over […]
My thanks to Michael Bow at the Telegraph for a long article examining the impact Dame Debbie Crosbie is having at Nationwide building society. Read the full article here (25 June 2025): How Nationwide’s £7m boss became Britain’s most controversial banker Michael quoted me throughout the article, sharing some of my concerns with regard to […]
With 17 million Nationwide building society members, the majority of whom are presumed to be eligible to vote (i.e. more than some sovereign countries), the “modern” mutual’s 2025 AGM should be a leading example of democracy and corporate governance in action. Instead the largest building society in the world exhibits contempt for its members by […]
Costs related to the Virgin Money bank acquisition continue to rise at Nationwide building society. With years of integration work yet to begin, Nationwide members should be concerned. When the deal was proposed, the building society sought to placate its members (who were calling for a vote) with assurances that the deal represented “good value” […]
Great to read this article from Patrick Tooher in today’s Daily Mail addressing this important topic (which also kindly quoted me). You can read the article online: Don’t turn up! Big firms bar investors from AGMs Limiting the ability for shareholders and members to hold boards to account via online-only (and thus often highly stage-managed) […]
[Updated 29 March 2026] I have the opportunity to include an Election Address of no more than 500 words in support of my candidacy under Rule 22 of Nationwide’s memorandum and rules (see: Process to nominate and elect a Director of Nationwide). The Society Secretary has therefore asked me to deliver this to him at […]
Nationwide announced this week the “Big Nationwide Thank You” – a £50 one-off payment to eligible members. This is entirely separate to the recent annual (but not guaranteed, or clearly defined) Fairer Share Payment. This “thank you” payment is another example as to why members should be more engaged, and members’ perspectives better represented, at […]
The FCA have agreed I can share the following information: An oral hearing will convene on the 26 February 2025 at 11am at 12 Endeavour Square, London, E20 1JN. The hearing will be in-person only and will last approximately 90mins. This hearing is to determine an application to obtain a copy of the register of […]