Latest news with #buildingSociety
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
The Little-known cash Isa perk that lets you EXCEED your allowance: SYLVIA MORRIS
There is a useful benefit of tax-free cash Isas that is not well known and is often hard to find on providers' websites. It goes by the name of the additional permitted subscription, or APS for short. Not all providers offer them – including a major building society and many top payers on easy-access accounts. The APS gives you a one-off extra Isa allowance following the death of your husband, wife or civil partner. As the surviving spouse or civil partner, you are entitled to an extra Isa allowance equal to the amount they held in cash Isas with any number of providers. You can then carry on earning tax-free interest on the money. You don't inherit the Isa, but can use the money to open one in your own name. Crucially, it does not count towards this year's £20,000 allowance but comes on top. Broadly, you have three years from the date of death to use it. Check your provider: The additional permitted subscription benefit gives you a one-off extra Isa allowance following the death of your husband, wife or civil partner But if administering the estate takes longer than this, you have up to an additional 180 days after it is complete. You need to ask each of your late partner's Isa providers for a certificate that says you are entitled to this allowance. Ask your chosen provider to organise the transfer directly into an Isa in your name. Under the Isa rules, you can open your new Isa with the existing provider or move it to a new one. But if you want to use the same provider, they can choose whether they will accept the APS – and many don't. Providers that often appear among the best buys that don't accept them include Marcus, Shawbrook Bank, Paragon, Charter Savings Bank, Kent Reliance, Leeds BS, Close Brothers, Cynergy, Ford Money, Hodge Bank, Secure Trust, Vida Savings, United Trust Bank and app-based accounts Tembo, Chip, Moneybox and Plum. Paragon and Plum tell me that they hope to do so soon. The big banks that do include Barclays, Halifax, HSBC (but only if you have a current account with it), Lloyds, NatWest, Santander and Virgin Money. But their easy-access rates are generally below 1.5 per cent. National Savings & Investments accepts the additional allowance paid into its Direct Isa, paying 3.5 per cent. With cash Isas under threat from Rachel Reeves, it is crucial that you make the most of them now.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Anger as Nationwide refuses members a binding vote on boss's 43% pay hike
Nationwide is under fire for refusing to give members a binding vote on a 43% pay rise for its chief executive, Debbie Crosbie, that could mean her pay package reaches up to £7m. Campaigners say it leaves the building society's members with fewer rights than shareholders of listed UK banks and exposes a worrying 'loophole' in building society rules. Nationwide says that after its £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money, Crosbie's pay should compete with that offered by banks such as Lloyds and NatWest. However, the board is offering members only an 'advisory' vote at its annual general meeting (AGM) on 25 July, meaning there are no repercussions if they reject it. Related: Virgin Money mortgage holders cry foul over owner Nationwide's better deals Large high street banks are required to hold a binding vote on their pay policies at least once every three years, under laws governing large businesses listed on the London Stock Exchange. If shareholders reject the policy, they have to revert to the old pay plan and put a revised pay deal to shareholders within 12 months. Nationwide could do the same, but said it is already going further than required under the Building Societies Act, which requires binding votes only for the election of board members. A spokesperson said: 'As part of our commitment to member engagement and transparency, Nationwide voluntarily puts the remuneration policy to the membership on an advisory basis at the AGM and we currently have no plans to change this approach.' While Nationwide has never held a binding vote on pay, it has also never proposed such a large renumeration package for its chief executive, which could result in a record payout, up from £4.8m now to £7m. That is close behind NatWest Group, which in April secured backing for a package worth up to £7.7m for its chief executive, Paul Thwaite. Luke Hildyard, the director of the High Pay Centre thinktank, described the situation as a 'loophole in the governance of building societies'. 'Mutuals are supposed to have a more collective approach to business than corporate banks, but while the banks are required to revise pay policies that are rejected by a majority of shareholders, and provide a response to the stock market if more than 20% vote against, building societies can in theory ignore their members,' he said. 'The Nationwide case, where there may be significant discomfort with the huge pay out planned for the chief executive, highlights the need for the loophole to be closed.' Crosbie's £7m pay deal has angered some members. 'I'm a Nationwide customer and didn't know about this? Please send me a voting form immediately,' one posted on X. 'Building societies are supposed to be the good guys. The apple has fallen far from the tree,' another said. Sara Hall, the co-executive director at the campaign group Positive Money, said Nationwide 'hiking its chief executive's pay because that's what the big banks are doing would be completely at odds with what building societies are supposed to stand for'. The move is 'counterintuitive for an institution whose main selling point is putting its customers before shareholders', Hall added. A Nationwide spokesperson pushed back against the criticism, saying its pay proposals – although advisory – 'always received overwhelming member support'. 'Any suggestion that we would ever ignore a vote against it is simply ridiculous. We always consider their views and at the last AGM over 94% of votes were in favour of the proposed remuneration policy,' they said. 'Nationwide delivered record member value last year, we are still first for customer satisfaction among high street banks, and more people switched their current accounts to Nationwide than to any other brand. 'We have managed this because we can attract, retain and motivate talented leaders. Even after the changes that are being proposed at the AGM, Nationwide's chief executive will still be paid substantially less than the other large banks.'
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Nationwide draws up bonus plan that could give CEO £7m payday
Nationwide's chief executive, Debbie Crosbie, could land a maximum pay package of nearly £7m as part of a new bonus plan that has been criticised as 'borderline hypocritical' for a UK building society. The pay policy, which will be put to its customers next month, would raise Crosbie's maximum payout by 43% to £6.9m. She had previously been allowed to earn up to £4.8m under the building society's remuneration guidelines. The plans were outlined in Nationwide's annual report, which argued that Crosbie's pay should reflect new demands following the £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money, and should be offering payouts close to packages offered by rivals including Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest. Those rivals, it said, had 'significantly increased' executive pay following the eradication of the UK banker bonus cap, which previously limited payouts to two times' salary. 'This has materially increased the gap between Nationwide and the firms with which we compete for senior talent,' its annual report said. Nationwide now wants to offer Crosbie an annual bonus worth up to 150% of her £1.1m salary, up from 100%, and said it would consider hiking other elements – which could include long-term bonuses – in order to compete with other big high street lenders. 'While our proposed changes for 2025-26 will go some way to addressing the competitive gap, we remain materially behind some of our UK banking peers, and the committee recognises that future policy changes among other firms may further increase the existing gap,' the annual report said. Nationwide is hoping that its customers back the new plan at its annual meeting, which is being held online on 25 July. But the pay policy drew criticism from the High Pay Centre thinktank, which said a member-owned UK building society like Nationwide should not be trying to match UK banks on pay. Luke Hildyard, the director of the High Pay Centre, said: 'It's borderline hypocritical for a building society that presents itself as an ethical alternative to the major banks to replicate their pay culture, the aspect of modern banking that people find most egregious. 'Nationwide is a longstanding institution with an established brand and business model. They really don't need to make such vast executive payouts and could better reflect the values they project in TV adverts by doing things differently.' Nationwide had a TV advert banned last year that mocked its bank rivals. The original advert showed the actor Dominic West as a fictional, hard-nosed bank manager intent on closing branches. He mocked customers who have lost their life savings as a 'total yawn fest', clicks his fingers for a green smoothie and says: 'We're not Nationwide are we, we're nothing like them.' Nationwide's annual report showed Crosbie was paid a total of £2.5m for the financial year to March, up 2.4% from a year earlier. The staff bonus pot – excluding new Virgin Money colleagues – rose 16.8% to £97m. Including the newly added Virgin Money workforce, the bonus pot totalled £132m. A Nationwide spokesperson said: 'Nationwide has become the second largest provider of mortgages and retail deposits, and remains first for customer satisfaction, because it can attract, retain and motivate talented leaders to run a business of this scale and prioritise member value.'
The Guardian
16-06-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Nationwide draws up bonus plan that could give CEO £7m payday
Nationwide's chief executive, Debbie Crosbie, could land a maximum pay package of nearly £7m as part of a new bonus plan that has been criticised as 'borderline hypocritical' for a UK building society. The pay policy, which will be put to its customers next month, would raise Crosbie's maximum payout by 43% to £6.9m. She had previously been allowed to earn up to £4.8m under the building society's remuneration guidelines. The plans were outlined in Nationwide's annual report, which argued that Crosbie's pay should reflect new demands following the £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money, and should be offering payouts close to packages offered by rivals including Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest. Those rivals, it said, had 'significantly increased' executive pay following the eradication of the UK banker bonus cap, which previously limited payouts to two times' salary. 'This has materially increased the gap between Nationwide and the firms with which we compete for senior talent,' its annual report said. Nationwide now wants to offer Crosbie an annual bonus worth up to 150% of her £1.1m salary, up from 100%, and said it would consider hiking other elements – which could include long-term bonuses – in order to compete with other big high street lenders. 'While our proposed changes for 2025/26 will go some way to addressing the competitive gap, we remain materially behind some of our UK banking peers, and the committee recognises that future policy changes among other firms may further increase the existing gap,' the annual report said. Nationwide is hoping that its customers back the new plan at its annual meeting, which is being held online on 25 July. But the pay policy drew criticism from the High Pay Centre thinktank, which said a member-owned UK building society like Nationwide should not be trying to match UK banks on pay. Luke Hildyard, director of the High Pay Centre, said: 'It's borderline hypocritical for a building society that presents itself as an ethical alternative to the major banks to replicate their pay culture, the aspect of modern banking that people find most egregious. 'Nationwide is a longstanding institution with an established brand and business model. They really don't need to make such vast executive payouts and could better reflect the values they project in TV adverts by doing things differently.' Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Nationwide had a TV advert banned last year that mocked its bank rivals. The original advert showed the actor Dominic West as a fictional, hard-nosed bank manager intent on closing branches. He mocked customers who have lost their life savings as a 'total yawn fest', clicks his fingers for a green smoothie and says: 'We're not Nationwide are we, we're nothing like them.' Nationwide's annual report showed Crosbie was paid a total of £2.5m for the financial year to March, up 2.4% from a year earlier. The staff bonus pot – excluding new Virgin Money colleagues – rose 16.8% to £97m. Including the newly added Virgin Money workforce, the bonus pot totalled £132m. A Nationwide spokesperson said: 'Nationwide has become the second largest provider of mortgages and retail deposits, and remains first for customer satisfaction, because it can attract, retain and motivate talented leaders to run a business of this scale and prioritise member value.'
The Independent
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Nationwide confirms £100 bonus payment coming later this year – what you need to know
Nationwide has confirmed that millions of members will once again receive a £100 bonus payment later this year as the building society posts a substantial jump in annual profits. For the third year running, a 'Fairer Share' payment of £100 will be distributed to eligible Nationwide members. The bank says that this includes over 4 million people in 2025, up from 3.85 million last year and 3.4 million the year before. The initiative will cost the building society £400 million – the most it has ever distributed as part of the Fairer Share Scheme. As with previous years, receiving the payment will be subject to certain eligibility criteria. The building society explains that it will go to 'eligible members choosing Nationwide for their everyday banking, in addition to holding a qualifying savings or mortgage product. ' Those who qualify will see the payment paid directly into their account between 18 June and 4 July, Nationwide has confirmed. The payment comes as Nationwide posts a 30 per cent jump in annual profits after an 'outstanding' year that saw it complete the takeover of Virgin Money. The firm was able to pay its members a one-off £615 million 'Thank You' reward earlier this year following the deal. The mutual reported pre-tax profits of £2.3 billion for the year to 31 March, up from £1.8 billion the previous year, which came despite it handing out a record £2.8 billion in value to members including £1 billion in rewards. On an underlying basis, pre-tax profits fell to £1.9 billion from £2 billion as Nationwide said it focused on offering competitive interest rates to customers. Debbie Crosbie, group chief executive of Nationwide Building Society, said: 'Nationwide has had an outstanding twelve months. 'We returned a record £2.8 billion in value to our members and recorded our highest ever year for growth in mortgage lending and retail deposit balances.' She added: 'The Virgin Money performance was strong in the six months since our acquisition, with improvements in customer service and a return to growth in mortgage lending.' The firm completed the £2.9 billion takeover of Virgin Money last year, which has seen it become the UK's second largest mortgages and savings provider. The group said integration of the acquisition was 'progressing well'. Nationwide said it was continuing to run the two businesses separately initially after the acquisition and had no plans for job cuts in the short-term. But Ms Crosbie said it was 'too early to say' what impact there would be on staff of the combined group further out as it integrates the businesses. 'Every business always reviews its workforce and we'll continue to do that on an ongoing basis, but it's too early to say if there'll be an impact on the broader workforce,' she said. She also signalled Nationwide would keep Virgin Money's Newcastle headquarters, with Ms Crosbie saying 'the current footprint that we have will remain the same'.
