Nationwide Building Society has legally finalized its acquisition of Virgin Money, creating the UK's second-largest retail bank and transferring millions of customers. All Virgin Money customers with personal current accounts, savings, and mortgages now qualify as Nationwide members, with welcome letters going out from the start of May, according to Nationwide. Almost half of Virgin Money's 6.3 million customers have become members this month, bringing Nationwide's total to over 20 million, the building society said. Remaining customers, such as those with credit cards or business accounts, can become members by opening at least one qualifying product like a current account, Nationwide stated.
New Nationwide members will be eligible for Fairer Share payments from next year, having missed the March cutoff for any potential payment this year, Nationwide confirmed. Nationwide aims to make the Fairer Share payment again this year, subject to financial performance and board approval, with an announcement on criteria and amount to be made on May 21 at its end-of-year financial results, the building society said.
The boss of Virgin Money, Chris Rhodes, is set to depart the firm later this year as the UK bank fully consolidates into the Nationwide umbrella. Nationwide revealed on Tuesday that Chris Rhodes would retire in September 2026.
Nationwide agreed a deal for Virgin Money in March for around £2.9 billion, with Virgin Money going on to bag around £2.3 billion from the takeover, according to reports. Sir Richard Branson founded Virgin Money in March 1995, originally known as Virgin Direct, and bagged a windfall of around £724 million from the deal with Nationwide, including £414 million for his 14.5% stake, sources said.