Following the Virgin agreement, nationwide subscribers will receive £50 a piece
Following the merger of Virgin Money, more than 12 million Nationwide members will receive a £50 payout a piece. The Nationwide, the UK’s largest building society, billed the money as a “thank you” to its members, costing £600 million. However, there was criticism that the same members were not allowed to vote on Virgin Money’s £2.8 billion acquisition last year.
Most clients will immediately have the £50 deposited into their accounts by the end of April. However, some may be paid by check. Nationwide is writing to members getting payments to inform them how and when they will receive their money. The payouts will go to more than 12 million clients who:
- Held a savings or current account, or mortgage, at the end of last September.
- In addition, they had performed at least one transaction on their present account or savings or had a balance of at least £100 in their current account, savings, or mortgage from the end of September last year.
- Still, they keep their accounts or mortgage after the payment is made.
- These conditions indicate that about four million consumers will not get payment.
Customers of Virgin Money, the name given to the Clydesdale and Yorkshire bank group, will also be ineligible for the money. Debbie Crosbie, Nationwide’s CEO, stated that the payout “recognizes the role our members played in establishing the financial strength that made the deal feasible.”
Following last year’s transaction, the most extensive banking takeover since the financial crisis, Nationwide became the UK’s second-largest supplier of mortgages and savings accounts. However, there was significant controversy since, while Virgin Money members had a vote on the arrangement, Nationwide members did not. Nationwide’s board determined that no member approval was necessary. The £50 payout differs from Nationwide’s so-called fairer share payments system, which regularly distributes a portion of its earnings to members.
