Nationwide is the UK's largest building society, not a bank due to its status as a mutual, with around 16 million members. 3bn from its landmark takeover of Virgin Money and distributed a £50 payment to over 12 million members in 'The Big Nationwide Thankyou' following that acquisition. CEO Debbie Crosbie rose to prominence as the fixer who dragged TSB out of the wreckage of its 2018 IT meltdown, delivering a three-year turnaround strategy a year early, and was the first woman to sign a Scottish banknote while steering Clydesdale Bank through its own complex demerger.
Nearly a decade after leaving Clydesdale, she was labeled 'Britain's most controversial banker', with her top offenses listed as aggressive dealmaking and a bumper pay packet. 4 million former Nationwide chief Joe Garner took home in 2022. Members of the mutual accused it of falling out of line with the building society's practices.
Santander, Lloyds, and a handful of other banks offer similar switching incentives. Nationwide consistently dominates the top tier of customer satisfaction rankings.