Annual Report
and Accounts 2024
Welcome to our
Annual Report and Accounts 2024
Strategic report
An overview of how we have
done this year, our strategy
and how we measure our
performance.
What your Society has
achieved this year 4
Our difference is our
mutual ownership model 6
A letter from your
Society’s Chairman 9
Chief Executive review 12
How we performed in
2023/24 against our key
performance indicators 23
Engaging with our
stakeholders 26
Nationwide Foundation 41
Committed to doing the
right thing 43
Nonfinancial and
sustainability information
statement 52
Climaterelated financial
disclosures 53
Risk overview 62
Viability statement 65
Financial review 67
Governance
How we are governed, what
items are discussed in our
Board and Committee meetings
and how we pay our directors.
Chairmans introduction to
the Corporate Governance
report 76
Your Board 77
Governance at Nationwide 81
Statement of compliance
with the UK Corporate
Governance Code 2018 81
Audit Committee report 97
Board Risk Committee
report 104
Nomination and Governance
Committee report 108
Report of the directors
on remuneration 112
Directors’ report 139
Risk report
Key risks that could affect our
business performance and
what we do to manage them.
Introduction 144
Managing risk 144
Principal risks and
uncertainties 148
Credit risk 149
Liquidity and funding risk 187
Capital risk 199
Market risk 205
Pension risk 212
Business risk 214
Operational and conduct
risk 215
Model risk 219
Financial statements
Our audited financial
statements, related notes and
independent auditor’s report.
Independent auditor’s
report 221
Income statements 235
Statements of
comprehensive income 236
Balance sheets 237
Statements of movements
in members’ interests and
equity 238
Cash flow statements 240
Notes to the financial
statements 241
Other information
Including our annual business
statement.
Annual business
statement 317
Countrybycountry
report 320
Underlying profit 321
Forwardlooking
statements 321
Glossary 321
Contents
2
Strategic report
The Strategic report has been approved by the Board of directors and signed on its behalf by:
Debbie Crosbie
22 May 2024
What your Society has achieved this year 4
Our difference is our mutual ownership model 6
A letter from your Society’s Chairman 9
Chief Executive review (includes delivery against
our strategic drivers) 12
How we performed in 2023/24 against our key
performance indicators 23
Engaging with our stakeholders 26
Nationwide Foundation 41
Committed to doing the right thing (includes
our Mutual Good Commitments) 43
Non-financial and sustainability
information statement 52
Climate-related financial disclosures 53
Risk overview 62
Viability statement 65
Financial review 67
Ownership model
Describes how we create
value over the longer term.
Page 6
Our strategy
Our delivery against our
strategic drivers is set
out in the Chief Executive
review.
Page 12
Risk overview
Includes our approach to
managing risks and our
assessment of our top
and emerging risks.
Page 62
Financial review
Includes information on
financial performance and
the main trends and factors
which have impacted our
financial results.
Page 67
Key performance
indicators
Our performance in the
year is shown against our
strategic key performance
indicators.
Page 23
Our stakeholders
Listening and engaging
regularly with our
stakeholders is
fundamental to the
way we do business.
Page 26
Committed to doing
the right thing
We remain committed
to doing business in a
way that positively impacts
our customers, employees
and communities.
Page 43
Banking -
but fairer,
more
rewarding,
and for the
good of
society.
3
What your Society has
achieved this year
4
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
What your Society has achieved this year
1. Lead as at March 2024: 5.5%pts, March 2023: 3.8%pts. © Ipsos 2024, Financial Research Survey (FRS), for the 12 months ending 31 March 2013 to 12 months ending 31 March 2024. Results based on a sample of around 47,000 adults (aged
16+). The survey contacts around 51,000 adults (aged 16+) a year in total across Great Britain. Interviews were face to face, over the phone and online, taking into account (and weighted to) the overall profile of the adult population. The
results reflect the percentage of extremely satisfied and very satisfied customers minus the percentage of customers who were extremely or very or fairly dissatisfied across those customers with a main current account, mortgage or
savings. Those in our peer group are providers with more than 3.2% of the main current account market as at April 2023 – Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank, NatWest, Santander and TSB. Prior to April 2017, those in our peer group were
providers with more than 6% of the main current account market – Barclays, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds Bank (Lloyds TSB prior to April 2015), NatWest and Santander.
2. All our 605 branches will remain open until at least 1 January 2028. Opening hours may vary. There may be exceptional circumstances outside of our control that mean we have to close a branch. But we will only do this if we do not have
another workable option.
3. Market share of household deposit balances, based on Bank of England data, as at 31 March 2024: 9.5% (2023: 9.6%).
4. Pay.UK quarterly Current Account Switch Service data, 9 months to December 2023, based on the latest available data.
5. The £15.5 million includes £13.6 million of charitable donations and £1.9 million relating to supporting activity and staff costs.
6. The FTStatista ranking of Europes Diversity Leaders, as published by the Financial Times (www.ft.com). For more information, see footnote 2 on page 10.
7. Based on a study conducted by an international market research company commissioned by Nationwide Building Society. Based on total consumer responses, including noncustomers, for the 6 months ending March 2024. Financial brands
included are Nationwide, Barclays, Cooperative Bank, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, NatWest, Santander, Starling Bank and TSB.
8. The Nationwide Fairer Share Payment of £344 million, distributed in June 2023, accounted for the majority of the difference between underlying and statutory profit. More information can be found on page 68.
No. 1
for customer satisfaction
among our peer group
for the 12th year running
1
Branch Promise
Everywhere we have a branch, we
promise to still be there until at least
the start of 2028
2
Almost £1 in every £10
of balances saved in the UK were looked
after by us
3
64,000 rst
time buyers
2023: 72,000
More net current
account switchers
to us than to any other brand
4
£15.5 million
committed to charitable activities
5
2023: £9.6 million
Highest ranked
UK high street financial services
provider in the Financial Times
Diversity Leaders in Europe list,
for the third year running
6
The brand consumers are
most likely to say they have
‘heard good
things about
7
£2,194 million
in member value
through member financial benefit and our
first Nationwide Fairer Share Payment
2023: £1,055 million in value from member
financial benefit
£2,003 million
underlying prot
8
2023: £2,233 million
£1,776 million
statutory prot
8
2023: £2,229 million
6.5%
leverage ratio
2023: 6.0%
5
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Our difference is our mutual
ownership model
We are a building society, not a bank. That means we are owned by our members –
our customers who have their current account, mortgage or savings with us.
6
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Our difference is our mutual ownership model
Our purpose Our business model Our strategy
Banking –
but fairer,
more rewarding,
and for the
good of society.
As a modern mutual, we make a positive difference for
our members and customers, our communities and
society as a whole.
Nationwide holds a unique position in UK financial
services. As the largest building society, we can deliver
the value, service and benefits of mutuality to our
customers and members that others cannot.
We aim to return additional value to our members as
owners, including through our Nationwide Fairer Share
products and payments.
We deliver our valuable banking products and services to
all of our customers by helping them with:
managing everyday finances – almost one in ten
1
of the
UKs current accounts are with us and one in six current
account switchers came to us last year
2
owning a home – we are the UK’s third
3
largest
mortgage provider
saving for the future – we look after almost £1 in every
£10 saved in the UK
We also support landlords, and those who rely on the
private rented sector for their longterm housing needs,
through our buy to let business, The Mortgage Works.
This diversifies our income, and helps us give value back
to our customers, through better product pricing and
service. In addition, we offer a comprehensive range of
wider retail financial services and products, including
credit cards, personal loans and insurance.
In total, around 75% of our funding comes from our
customers, and over 95% of our lending is to individuals,
secured on residential property.
We have four strategic drivers that help us to fulfil our
purpose. They are:
More rewarding relationships
Simply brilliant service
Beacon for mutual good
Continuous improvement
Our strategic drivers are supported by our Mutual Good
Commitments, that seek to measure the positive impact
we have on our customers, communities and wider
society.
For more information on:
Delivery against our strategic drivers,
see pages 15 to 22.
Our Mutual Good Commitments,
see pages 46 to 51.
1. CAC’s Current Account and Savings Database, Stock (February 2024).
2. Pay.UK monthly CASS data. 12 months to March 2024: 17.7% (12 months to March 2023: 19.2%).
3. UK Finance 2022 balance database (latest available data).
7
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Our key stakeholders What makes us different –
our ownership model
Members and customers
Colleagues
Mortgage intermediaries
Communities
Regulators and policymakers
Investors and rating agencies
Suppliers
As a mutual, our members – customers who have their
current account, mortgage or savings with us – are our
owners and are our primary stakeholders. We also have
other customers, including our buy to let and social
housing customers.
In addition, we have other important stakeholders who
we engage with and consider in our decision making.
We are committed to maintaining effective
communications and building positive relationships
with all our stakeholders. More information on our
engagement with stakeholders can be found on
pages 26 to 40.
As a mutual, we are owned by our members, which means we
think about profit in a different way from our banking peers.
We do not have to pursue profit to pay shareholders dividends.
Instead, we balance our need to retain sufficient profit to remain
financially strong, with rewarding members and our commitment
to share our success through:
Delivering value and rewarding loyalty.
Product and service propositions that meet the
needs and expectations of existing and future
customers.
Providing brilliant and trusted service.
Committing at least 1% of our pre-tax profits
4
each year to charitable activities.
4. The 1% is calculated based on average pretax profits over the previous three years.
Our difference is our mutual ownership model
(continued)
8
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
A letter from
Kevin Parry
Your Societys Chairman
9
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Chairman’s Letter
Dear fellow member
The past year has remained challenging as our members,
customers and colleagues faced into economic
uncertainties, including interest rate rises and higher
costs of living. As a memberowned modern mutual,
we support our customers by offering valuable banking
and savings products to help them plan and save for
their financial futures, and mortgages to help them buy
their homes.
Last year was a year of several firsts for the Society.
I am pleased to reflect on some of these as I take the
opportunity to look back on 2023/24, and also look
forward to the exciting but challenging year ahead.
I am pleased to report that our financial position remains
strong, ensuring financial stability for the future in line
with the Society’s mutual ethos. Our pretax profit of
£1,776 million allows us to deliver financial value to
our members, including the Nationwide Fairer Share
Payment.
Our first Nationwide Fairer Share Payment in 2023
enabled us to deliver financial value back to members
during these economically challenging times, giving
eligible members a share of our 2022/23 profits by
making payments totalling £344 million. We also
launched the Nationwide Fairer Share Bond, offering a
highly competitive savings interest rate to our existing
members for a limited time. Being a modern mutual
enables us to reinvest our profits for our members
benefit, which is a huge differentiator between us and
the big banks. The Board intends to declare an annual
Fairer Share Payment going forward, subject to a formal
approval each year, to ensure that any payment would
not be considered detrimental to the financial strength
of the Society. Helping our members in this positive and
tangible way truly demonstrates our mutual difference.
The Society’s first brand refresh in over 30 years was
an exciting development and has been a great talking
point for our colleagues and customers alike. Updating
how we look, and expressing our mutual difference, will
help us to attract and retain more customers. Increasing
our customer base helps ensure that we can continue to
offer competitive savings and mortgage rates now and in
the future. We recognise that branches matter – and our
customers value being able to speak to our staff face to
face. Our branch promise
1
is a clear demonstration of our
commitment to local communities.
On 21 March 2024, following full consideration and the
appropriate due diligence, the Society confirmed its
intention to buy Virgin Money. The Board’s assessment
is that this binding offer is in the best interests of the
Society and its present and future members. I can
confirm that following the acquisition, Nationwide will
remain a building society and a modern mutual. This
acquisition will strengthen the Society’s ongoing financial
position, enabling it to continue to provide further value
to customers and members through its products and
services. The Board expects that the acquisition will
bring the benefit of mutual ownership to more people in
the UK.
The Society’s first online Annual General Meeting (AGM)
was held on 19 July 2023. It was the bestattended AGM
for many years, and the online format enabled more
members to participate by attending, voting and asking
questions online. My fellow Board members and I valued
the opportunity to engage with you, respond to your
questions, and receive your feedback and views. We look
forward to welcoming even more of you to our AGM in
2024.
Nationwide continues to be an inclusive organisation
that values the diversity of the communities it serves.
The Board is also most effective when it reflects the
diversity of its colleagues and members. This year I am
pleased that the Society’s diversity has been recognised
in both the 2024 Financial Times’ Diversity Leaders list
2
,
where we were ranked fourth out of 850 and, in the FTSE
Women Leaders Report
3
, where we ranked sixth for
female representation on our Board of Directors across
50 of the UKs largest private businesses.
1. All our 605 branches will remain open until at least 1 January 2028. Opening hours may vary. There may be exceptional circumstances outside of our control that mean we have to close a branch. But we will only do this if we do not have
another workable option.
2. The FTStatista ranking of Europe’s Diversity Leaders is based on independent surveys of more than 100,000 employees across Europe, on their perceptions of their organisation’s diversity and inclusion practices. For the 2024 list,
the employee surveys accounted for 70% of the final score, and three new indicators accounted for 30% of the score (the share of women in management positions, the communications made in favour of diversity, and a diversity score
calculated by data provider Denominator).
3. FTSE Women Leaders Review (February 2024).
10
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Our Society strategy – Blueprint for a modern mutual –
continues to set our direction. It is centred around our
purpose: Banking – but fairer, more rewarding, and for
the good of society. It is supported by four strategic
drivers: More rewarding relationships; Simply brilliant
service; Beacon for mutual good and Continuous
improvement. Our customers’ interests are at the heart
of how we do things. More information on the success
of our strategy can be found in the later sections of the
Strategic report.
The Governance report on page 76 sets out the key
changes to the Board during the year. I would like to pass
on my thanks and that of the Board to Gunn Waersted
and Mai Fyfield who both stepped down from the Board
at the 2023 AGM. Additionally, Tracey Graham was
appointed Senior Independent Director with effect from
20 July 2023 and Sally Orton was appointed to the Board
with effect from 1 June 2023.
The Society has a lot to be proud of and we all look
forward to the opportunities ahead. Our members,
customers and colleagues continue to be at the heart of
everything we do.
Kevin Parry
Society Chairman
Chairman’s Letter (continued)
11
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Reections on
2023/24 from
Debbie Crosbie
Your Societys Chief Executive
Chief Executive review
12
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
My reections on 2023/24
Last year, we set a new strategic direction and a clear
and compelling purpose: Banking – but fairer, more
rewarding, and for the good of society. We continue to
seek and respond to member and customer feedback,
and the progress we are making against our strategy is
leading to a better customer experience and a strong
financial performance.
Our financial performance means we can provide our
customers with great value products, choice in the way
they bank with us, and simply brilliant service.
We delivered our highest ever level of member financial
benefit, which included better pricing than the market
average. We offered valuable savings products, such as
our memberexclusive Fairer Share Bond, and passed a
greater proportion of the Bank of England’s interest rate
rises on to savers.
We continue to stand out as a genuine alternative to the
shareholderowned banks. Following your feedback last
year, we have continued to develop our propositions and
are providing more ways for members to benefit from
our financial strength and to share in our success.
In 2024, for a limited period, our members can benefit
from the preferential interest rate on our Member
Exclusive Bond
1
. In addition, eligible members who
have chosen us for their everyday banking will receive
a Nationwide Fairer Share Payment
2
. For members who
do not have their main current account with us, we are
offering a memberonly £200 incentive to switch to us
using the Current Account Switch Service
3
.
As well as sharing in our success, members have
benefitted from our great services and commitment
to branches. We take time to consult with our members
through our Member Connect Panel, frequent surveys
and by regularly tracking customer experience,
responding to their feedback. As a result, satisfaction
amongst those who use our branches is now at its
highest ever level
4
.
We are also proud to have remained first among our peer
group for customer satisfaction for 12 years running
5
.
We continue to provide choice in how customers bank
with us. We know from your feedback that customers
value facetoface banking and so we again extended our
Branch Promise until at least the start of 2028. While
others close their doors, we have promised to keep
ours open. We now have the largest singlebrand branch
network across the UK and remain committed to the high
streets, our customers, and their communities.
We also launched our new banking app, with a refreshed
look and added features. With almost five million
customers using our banking app, we will continue to
innovate and add the features that you have asked for to
improve the app and make banking even easier.
We continue to work hard to protect our customers from
fraud. Last year, our fraud defence systems and specialist
fraud team helped prevent more than £130 million of
attempted fraud on card and online transactions, and our
Scam Checker Service helps protect customers too.
Over the year, we revealed our most significant rebrand
in over 30 years. This was supported by a highprofile
marketing campaign, bringing to life our purpose and the
difference we make as a modern mutual. This will help
us to build stronger relationships with our customers,
now and into the future. We are now first among our peer
group when consumers rate the brands that they have
‘heard good things about’
6
.
Our overall progress has resulted in record numbers of
people switching their current account to Nationwide.
More net current account switchers came to us than to
any other brand
7
.
Chief Executive review
1. More information can be found on nationwide.co.uk/memberbond. Available only to those who were a member on 22 May 2024 and at the point of application. Members need to be UK resident and aged 16 or over to apply for the Bond. We
may vary or withdraw the Bond at any time.
2. T&Cs apply. Qualifying current account and either qualifying savings or mortgage required on 31 March 2024. Visit nationwide.co.uk/aboutus/fairershare/
3. To qualify you must have held a qualifying mortgage, savings or current account on 31 March 2024. More information and full terms can be found on nationwide.co.uk. We may vary, withdraw or extend this offer at any time.
4. Based on branch facetoface satisfaction within our Customer Experience Score, for the 3 months ending 31 March 2024.
5. © Ipsos 2024, Financial Research Survey (FRS), for the 12 months ending 31 March 2013 to the 12 months ending 31 March 2024. For more information, see footnote 1 on page 5.
6. Based on a study conducted by an international market research company commissioned by Nationwide Building Society. Based on total consumer responses, including noncustomers, for the 6 months ending March 2024. Financial brands
included are Nationwide, Barclays, Cooperative Bank, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, NatWest, Starling Bank and TSB.
7. Pay.UK quarterly Current Account Switch Service data, 9 months to December 2023, based on the latest available data.
13
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Looking ahead to the future
In the coming year, we will continue to deliver good value
and great customer service.
We will build on the launch of our new mobile banking
app, invest in internet banking, and continue to drive the
service advantage we have through our branch network.
In doing so, we aim to build broader, deeper and more
lifelong relationships, that meet our customers’ key
needs, through all stages of their lives.
Our Member Exclusive Bond, Nationwide Fairer Share
Payment and memberonly current account switching
incentive demonstrate our mutual difference. We also
remain committed to demonstrating our mutual good in
the communities we serve. Last year, we committed
£15.5 million
8
to charitable activities. In 2024/25, we
will launch our new social impact strategy, making a
meaningful difference on the key societal issues that
impact across a range of customer life stages, including
young people, families and older people.
In March 2024, we confirmed our offer to buy Virgin
Money. We continue to make good progress on our plans
and Virgin Money shareholders have now voted in favour
of the acquisition, with completion expected in Q4 2024,
subject to regulatory approval. We believe this deal will
strengthen Nationwide financially and offers an exciting
opportunity to create a more diverse business that
delivers even more value to our members in the future.
I wish to thank our colleagues for engaging so
enthusiastically in our new purpose, and for their passion
in delivering so much for our members.
Building on all that we have achieved, I look forward
to another exciting year ahead, and delivering on our
purpose: Banking – but fairer, more rewarding, and for
the good of society.
Debbie Crosbie
Chief Executive
Chief Executive review (continued)
8. The £15.5 million includes £13.6 million of charitable donations and £1.9 million relating to supporting activity and staff costs.
14
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
More rewarding relationships
9. Member financial benefit is the additional financial value delivered to members as a result of better pricing and incentives across our competitive mortgage, savings and banking products compared to the market average. More information
on can be found on page 69.
10. The comparative includes the value delivered through member financial benefit only, as our Nationwide Fairer Share Payment was distributed for the first time in the 2023/24 financial year.
11. CAC’s Current Account and Savings Database, Stock (February 2024 and February 2023).
12. Engaged customers have their main personal current account with us, plus either a residential mortgage of at least £100, or at least £100 in personal savings.
Deeper, broader, more lifelong relationships that provide the best value in banking.
We aim to provide our customers with the best value
in UK banking. Our mutual model is intrinsically more
rewarding than our banking peers, as we deliver value
to our customers rather than paying dividends to
shareholders. We want to extend this beyond monetary
value and to create deeper, lifelong relationships with our
customers.
Our engaged customers have deeper relationships with
us: they have their main personal current account with
us, plus either a savings balance of at least £100 or a
mortgage of at least £100. In March 2024, we had
3.53 million engaged customers. For more information,
see page 24.
Creating value for our customers
Over the year, we delivered £2,194 million in value to
our members. This included our highest ever member
financial benefit of £1,850 million (2023: £1,055 million)
from better pricing and incentives than the market
average. We delivered valuable savings products, such as
our Fairer Share Bond, which was offered exclusively to
our members. It also included our inaugural Nationwide
Fairer Share Payment of £344 million, distributed in June
2023 to 3.4 million eligible members with the deepest
banking relationships with us.
On average, we offered interest rates on deposits
(savings and current accounts) that were 38% higher
than the market average, largely driven by our savings
rates. Almost 80% of our total member financial benefit
related to our member deposits. For more information,
see page 69.
In addition, we delivered a total of £22 million of
cashback to current account customers on their
supermarket shopping in April 2023, as part of our
threemonth cashback offer that ran between February
and April 2023.
Delivered £2,194 million in value to our
members, through member financial
benefit
9
, and our Nationwide Fairer
Share Payment
(2023: £1,055 million in value from
member financial benefit)
10
Re-entered the young savers market
with our FlexOne Saver
Almost 1 in 10
11
of the UK’s current
accounts are with us
2023: 1 in 10
11
Helped 64,000 first time buyers into a
home of their own
2023: 72,000
3.53 million engaged customers, who
have their main personal current account,
and either savings or a mortgage, with us
12
Chief Executive review (continued)
15
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Encouraging more people to bank with us
Banking is core to our purpose and helps us build deeper,
lifelong relationships with our customers.
Overall, we opened 761,000 (2023: 679,000) new
current accounts, whilst achieving more net gains in
current account switches than any other brand
13
. This
was supported by our marketleading current account
switcher incentive, which ran between September and
December 2023 and offered £200 cashback to those
who switched to us
14
. Overall, we held almost one in ten
current accounts (2023: one in ten)
15
.
Alongside the launch of our current account switcher
incentive, we launched a topofthemarket Flex
Regular Saver, that had an interest rate of 8%. These
propositions demonstrate our commitment to building
more rewarding relationships with our customers and to
delivering the best value in UK banking.
Supporting those who save with us
We want to encourage good savings habits, as this can
provide customers with financial security in the long
term. We offered a competitive range of products over
the year, including our Flex Regular Saver, Nationwide
Fairer Share Bond and FlexOne Saver. We also made
saving easier through our banking app, with Impulse
Saver and Round Up tools, and Savings Goals. And
we continued to inform customers signed up to our
SavingsWatch service of our latest, and best, savings
rates and products.
Over the year, customer deposits increased by £6.3
billion (2023: £9.1 billion), supported by our competitive
fixedrate products and increased levels of accrued and
capitalised interest due to higher average savings rates.
Our market share of deposit balances reduced slightly to
9.5% (2023: 9.6%).
We also reentered the young savers market, launching
our FlexOne Saver for 11 to 17 year olds. Our FlexOne
Saver is available to our FlexOne current account
customers, offering an interest rate of 5% during the
year and no restrictions on withdrawals. It represents
one of our first key deliveries in improving our offering
for our younger customers, and we plan to broaden our
range further over time to meet a wider range of needs.
Helping people into homes
We were founded to help people into homes of their
own, and this remains important to our strategy today.
Our share of total mortgage balances increased to 12.3%
(2023: 12.2%), in a competitive market with subdued
growth. Net lending was £2.6 billion (2023: £3.3 billion),
supported by our continued focus on retention through
highly competitive products provided to existing
customers.
Our existing mortgage customers have access to rates
that are at least as good as those for new customers
remortgaging to us. We were proud to be awarded Best
Fixed Rate Mortgage Provider at the Moneyfacts Awards
2023.
We also made it easier for our customers to stay on top
of their mortgage payments with our online Mortgage
Manager service, where they could switch product or
extend their mortgage term to reduce their borrowing
costs.
We signed up to the Governments Mortgage Charter,
reinforcing our support for our mortgage customers,
and providing them with options for reducing payments
without impacting their credit score. We continued
to offer a range of tailored options to our customers
through our specialist support team.
We helped 64,000 (2023: 72,000) first time buyers
into a home of their own. Our Helping Hand mortgage
supported affordability, enabling first time buyers to
borrow more (up to 5.5 times their salary) on 5 and
10year fixed rate mortgages. It also extends to 95%
loan to value, reducing the pressure on first time buyers
of saving for a larger deposit, and we offered £500
cashback to support them further. We continued to
lend responsibly, with robust underwriting checks, but
without relying on the Government’s 95% mortgage
guarantee scheme.
The buy to let market was smaller overall, as higher
interest rates impacted landlords’ affordability and
profitability, limiting their ability to expand portfolios
or raise capital. The gross lending market share of our
buy to let subsidiary, The Mortgage Works, increased
slightly to 11.2% (2023: 10.7%
16
) as we continued to
balance our new lending volumes and pricing to preserve
an appropriate level of interest margin in a challenging
market.
We continued to enable our landlords to switch
mortgage products up to 13 weeks ahead of maturity
and offered competitive rates for existing landlords
switching products. We introduced new fee options
that offered more choice for landlords, including those
looking for larger loan sizes. In addition, we improved
our affordability and lending criteria, making us more
competitive and able to support more landlords.
Over the year, we also increased our lending to social
housing, both through new lending and the refinancing
of existing facilities, demonstrating our support for this
important sector.
Chief Executive review (continued)
13. Pay.UK quarterly Current Account Switch Service data, 9 months to December 2023, based on the latest available data.
14. To earn the £200 cashback, customers must have completed a full switch to us, from a current account held with another provider, using the Current Account Switch Service.
15. CAC’s Current Account and Savings Database, Stock (February 2024 and February 2023).
16. Comparative has been restated to reflect updates to UK Finance total industry lending data.
16
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Simply brilliant service
17. © Ipsos 2024, Financial Research Survey (FRS), for the 12 months ending 31 March 2013 to the 12 months ending 31 March 2024. For more information, see footnote 1 on page 5.
18. For more information on our customer experience score measure, see page 24.
19. According to an independent phone survey of 16,088 customers (aged 16+) of the 16 largest current account providers in Great Britain, and 5,535 customers (aged 16+) of the 11 largest current account providers in Northern Ireland,
between January 2023 and December 2023, run by Ipsos. Learn more at Ipsos.uk/personalbankingservicequality.
Personalised service you can trust, at every touchpoint.
Delivering excellent customer service
We provide customers with great value products, choice
in the way they bank with us, and the best possible
service. We aim to combine a great mobile banking
experience with modern branches, where our colleagues
provide personalised and trusted support. Through the
year, we continued to invest in our branches, telephone
and mobile banking services.
In 2024, we ranked 1st for customer satisfaction among
our peer group for the 12th year running
17
. When an
independent survey conducted by Ipsos, on behalf
of the Competition and Markets Authority, asked
personal account customers how likely they would be to
recommend their provider’s branches, we came joint first
in both Great Britain and Northern Ireland
19
.
We also measure the experience our customers have
when they interact with us in our branches, by telephone
or digitally, through our customer experience score.
This enables us to act on their feedback and improve
our services further to continue to meet our customers
needs. In March 2024, our customer experience score
of 76.8% was 0.8%pts below our target. Customers
were satisfied with the service across our channels,
particularly the support provided by colleagues across
our branches. However, our score was impacted in the
short term as customers transitioned to using our new
mobile banking app. Our key performance indicators can
be found on page 24.
Launching our new mobile banking app
In 2024, we launched our new mobile banking app,
improving our customers’ banking experience and
empowering them to take better control of their money.
The new app has a fresh look and feel aligned to our
brand, and provides new features and functionality,
including an updated navigation with easier access to the
features that customers use most.
We also gave customers the option to remove our
card reader requirements for making payments over
the banking app, through the introduction of selfie
authentication. This is a significant step in our journey
to delivering simply brilliant service to our customers
through our digital channels. Over the coming year, we
will continue to innovate and deliver regular releases
with new features we know our customers want to see in
the app.
No. 1 for customer satisfaction among
our peer group for the 12th year
running
17
. Our own customer experience
score
18
of 76.8% was 0.8%pts below our
target
Awarded Branch Network of the Year at
the Moneyfacts Consumer Awards 2024
Launched our new mobile banking app
Extended our telephone opening hours
to include later evenings and Sundays,
complementing our 24/7 chat availability
Chief Executive review (continued)
17
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
We now have almost five million (2023: 4.6 million)
customers who actively use our mobile banking app.
This represents 64% of all our active current account
customers. Payments and transfers through the banking
app increased by 13% over the year.
Extending our Branch Promise
We recognise the value that our high street branches
have for our customers, some of whom rely on our
branches, prefer to speak to us face to face, or value
choice in the way they bank.
That is why we again extended our Branch Promise
– everywhere we have a branch, we promise to still
be there until at least the start of 2028
20
. We remain
committed to our communities and to providing easy
access to cash.
As a result, we have the largest singlebrand branch
network across the UK financial services sector, made up
of 605 branches, with a branch manager in every single
branch. At the Moneyfacts Consumer Awards 2024, we
won the Branch Network of the Year award.
We have enabled our branch colleagues to serve more of
our customers in different ways, including by telephone
and through online chat, helping us increase resilience
in our customer service. As at 4 April 2024, 142 (2023:
50) of our branches were closed for one or two days each
week so our colleagues could support our customers
in these other ways. We also reintroduced facetoface
current account, credit card and personal loan opening
across around 150 of our branches, offering further
support to our customers.
We continue to make ourselves more accessible to our
customers, so that they can reach us at a time that suits
them. Over the year, we extended our telephone opening
hours to include later evenings and Sundays. Our online
and inapp chat already provides 24/7 availability, 365
days a year.
Protecting our customers in challenging
circumstances
Our dedicated cost of living helpline has now handled
over 11,000 calls. Our branches continued to provide
facetoface practical support, including free financial
healthchecks, and our online cost of living webpage
provides access to selfservice options for managing
money and budgeting.
We also make referrals to support charities, including
Citizens Advice, StepChange and PayPlan, in situations
where customers have debts across several lenders.
We work hard to protect our customers from fraud. Last
year, our fraud defence systems and specialist fraud
team helped prevent £134 million (2023: £115 million)
of attempted fraud on card and online transactions. In
addition, since its launch in 2021, our Scam Checker
Service has helped prevent around £12.9 million of
potential scams. In the Payment Systems Regulator’s
(PSR) independent benchmarking report published in
October 2023
21
, Nationwide was recognised as having
the second highest reimbursement rate for Authorised
Push Payment (APP) fraud losses across the industry
over 2022, both in terms of the value reimbursed and the
percentage of cases reimbursed. We refunded 78% of all
APP fraud losses by value in 2022.
Our specialist teams support our most vulnerable
customers, and we partner with gambling, debt
and mental health charities where customers need
assistance beyond their banking needs. Last year, we
made gambling blocks available in our banking app
and our branches, supporting customers who may be
impacted by the harms of gambling. We also rolled out
over 430 safe spaces across our branches – private
rooms where anyone experiencing domestic abuse can
come to access supporting information or discreetly
contact friends, family, charities or the police. We can
also put them in touch with our specialist support team
where appropriate.
In addition, we collaborated with Experian and six
other financial and energy service providers to create
an industryfirst: a free, digital service that enables
consumers to notify multiple organisations about their
vulnerabilities and support needs in one go, reducing the
need for repeat conversations.
20. All our 605 branches will remain open until at least 1 January 2028. Opening hours may vary. There may be exceptional circumstances outside of our control that mean we have to close a branch. But we will only do this if we do not have
another workable option.
21. Payment Systems Regulator, Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud performance report, October 2023.
Chief Executive review (continued)
18
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Beacon for mutual good
22. Based on a study conducted by an international market research company commissioned by Nationwide Building Society. Based on total consumer responses, including noncustomers, for the 6 months ending March 2024. Financial brands
included are Nationwide, Barclays, Cooperative Bank, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, NatWest, Santander, Starling Bank and TSB. Nationwide’s key performance indicator is based on noncustomer responses only.
23. Our charitable commitment of 1% of pretax profits is based on average profits over the previous three years. For 2023/24 this amounted to £15.5 million, which included £13.6 million of charitable donations and £1.9 million relating to
supporting activity and staff costs.
Famous for having a meaningful impact on customers, communities and society, by being bigger and doing better.
We have a bold social ambition and strive to have a
positive impact in communities. The power of mutuality
means we can do more together than we could each do
alone.
We measure our reputation through an independent
brand survey. This allows us to understand how
recognised we are for doing good things. In March 2024,
we were first among our peer group when ranked by
consumers as to which brands they had ‘heard good
things about’
22
. In addition, we were first among non
customers
22
, which was above our target of at least third
place. For more information, see page 25.
Having a meaningful impact in our communities
We commit at least 1% of our pretax profits
23
each year
to charitable activities. This money is split between
our own social investment programmes (including our
Community Grants programme, funding our partnership
with Shelter and the internal costs of managing
our social investment agenda) and the Nationwide
Foundation.
In 2023/24, this amounted to £15.5 million
23
(2023: £9.6 million), our highest ever commitment.
Last year, we continued to focus our charitable giving
around:
Helping people into a home
Preventing people from losing their home
Supporting people to thrive in their home environment
As part of our £15.5 million commitment, we awarded
£5.1 million (2023: £4.3 million) to support 105 (2023: 96)
charitable housing projects across the UK. The grants
were distributed through our Community Boards, under
the direction of customer and colleague volunteers,
and will benefit around 30,000 people across the UK.
Over the six years of our Community Grant giving, we
have donated £27 million, benefitting 645 housing
projects and supporting an estimated 149,000 people.
Through our Colleague Grants programme, we awarded
£945,000 to 125 registered charities.
First among our peer group when ranked
by consumers as to which brands they
had ‘heard good things about’
22
£15.5 million
23
committed to charitable
activities
2023: £9.6 million
Published our Intermediate (by 2030)
net-zero-aligned Transition Plan 2023
Continued to source 100% renewable
electricity to support our business
operations, and removed the use of gas
from over 80% of our branch network
Chief Executive review (continued)
19
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
We have partnered with the national housing charity,
Shelter, for 23 years. Last year, our colleagues and
customers raised £210,000 to support their services, on
top of the £730,000 we provided directly. Our donation
helps to fund advisers for their helpline and directly
enabled them to answer around 2,300 calls. It also funds
community engagement workers at their 11 national hubs,
broadening their reach and impact at a community level.
Over the 23 years, our funding has supported more than
155,000 people in housing need.
Last year, we made oneoff donations to charities to
support their innovative work. We donated £790,000 to
The Diana Award, to support its antibullying programme
in schools and to help with its mentoring programme.
We also donated £1.5 million to The Royal Marsden
Cancer Charity, to fund specialist teams at the forefront
of cancer research and for investment in artificial
intelligence technology and data.
Each year, at least a quarter of our charitable funding is
awarded to the Nationwide Foundation, an independent
charity. For more information on its work, see page 41.
Launching our new social impact strategy
In 2024, we are excited to be launching our new social
impact strategy – Nationwide Fairer Futures. This will
support us in delivering the Society’s new purpose and
ambitions for being a Beacon for Mutual Good. Our
investment through Nationwide Fairer Futures will have
a meaningful impact on key societal issues and help
people at different stages of their lives. Our focus will be
on helping:
young people avoid homelessness
families living in poverty
older people living with dementia
We are partnering with Action for Children, Centrepoint
and Dementia UK for the next three years to support our
ambitions.
Reducing our environmental impact
Nationwide is committed to a netzero future and
supporting the UK in achieving its ambition to be net
zero by 2050.
We are a member of the NetZero Banking Alliance and
part of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero. As
part of this, we set and disclosed intermediate (by 2030)
sciencebased emissions targets in December 2022.
In December 2023 we published our Intermediate (by
2030) netzeroaligned Transition Plan 2023, detailing
the actions, and potential actions, needed for us to
progress towards our targets.
We are proud of the progress we have made to reduce
the emissions of our own business operations. Since
2018, we have continued to source 100% renewable
electricity, and by the end of 2023, we had removed
the use of gas from over 80% of our branch network,
replacing it with electrical solutions. We are on track to
remove 100% of gas from our branches by the end of
2025. We are in the process of removing gas from our
data centres, with work expected to complete by the
end of 2024. And we are exploring the removal of gas
from our admin sites by 2030 (either by removing gas
or moving to gasfree sites). More information on our
approach and progress can be found in our Transition
Plan 2023.
We offer a range of green finance propositions and
initiatives to support our customers in making energy
efficient home improvements. Last year, we launched
a 0% interest green additional borrowing product as
a pilot. This will enable up to 5,000 households with a
Nationwide mortgage to borrow, interestfree, when
making energy efficient home improvements, such as
solar panels, air source heat pumps and insulation
24
.
At present, takeup remains limited, implying other
factors beyond access to finance are having an impact on
customers’ behaviour towards retrofitting their homes.
We will continue to monitor takeup and use our findings
to develop future green finance propositions and engage
with policymakers on practical steps to reduce the
environmental impact of housing. We also launched a
Home Energy Efficiency Tool, with the Energy Saving
Trust, supporting our customers with a personalised
energy saving action plan, including suggested
improvements, potential costs, and projected savings.
Action by government, customers and crossindustry
to date indicates that the UK is not going to achieve
the emissions reductions required to green UK
homes in line with its ambition to be net zero by 2050.
Therefore, we do not believe that our intermediate
(by 2030) sciencebased target for mortgages will be
achieved. Over the next 12 months, we will reflect on the
appropriateness of setting a more realistic intermediate
residential mortgages target. In doing so, we will give
due consideration to the current UK green homes policy
landscape, the outcome of the general election and any
policy changes that follow, and our 0% interest green
additional borrowing research.
24. Our 0% interest green additional borrowing pilot enables up to 5,000 households with a Nationwide mortgage the opportunity to borrow £5,000 – £15,000, up to a maximum of 90% loan to value across a two or fiveyear product term, to
finance a range of retrofit home improvements.
Chief Executive review (continued)
20
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Continuous improvement
Being focused, fit and fast, and delivering at pace.
Making our business operations more productive,
simplifying our processes and continuously managing
risk and improving controls helps us to deliver services
safely and efficiently for our customers. Being fit for
the future also means ensuring our ongoing financial
strength.
Our financial performance remained strong; we delivered
underlying profit of £2,003 million (2023: £2,233 million)
and statutory profit of £1,776 million
25
(2023: £2,229
million).
As a result, our leverage ratio and Common Equity
Tier 1 (CET1) ratio, which demonstrate our financial
strength by measuring our ability to withstand economic
shocks, increased to 6.5% (2023: 6.0%) and 27.1% (2023:
26.5%) respectively. Our leverage ratio is one of our key
performance indicators and more information is included
on page 25. Our financial strength means we can invest
in meeting customers’ needs and expectations, now and
into the future.
Over the year, we achieved a number of important
deliveries, focused around modernising our technology,
transforming our operating model and becoming more
data led in our approach.
Modernising our technology
We are investing in digital capability and innovation,
including improving our T platforms and simplifying
processes.
By prioritising our most important strategic change
programmes, we enabled a more focused and faster
approach to delivery.
During the year, we completed the first phase of
modernising our payments systems, which includes
moving our Faster Payments system to a secure, cloud
based platform. This is a significant step in our delivery,
and will result in a more resilient service, capable of
making a higher volume of payments safely, quickly and
securely. In 2024, we completed the initial migration of
our customer payments over to the cloudbased Faster
Payments platform.
We also made significant progress in our core banking
transformation, accelerating the migration of our
savings accounts onto a platform that will improve our
customers’ experience when opening and managing their
savings accounts.
Leverage ratio of 6.5% (2023: 6.0%)
Invested £100 million to modernise our
payments systems to provide customers
with a more stable and resilient service
Made significant progress in our core
banking transformation
Removed the need for our card reader
when making payments on our new
banking app
Simplified our processes to improve and
increase support for customers
Making our workspaces fit for the
future and investing in our branches and
customer support
Chief Executive review (continued)
25. The Nationwide Fairer Share Payment of £344 million, distributed in June 2023, accounted for the majority of the difference between underlying and statutory profit. For more information, see page 68.
21
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Our new mobile banking app is making it easier for our
customers to manage their money digitally, and we have
given customers the option to remove our card reader
requirements for making payments.
We also launched a new system for customers taking out
a personal loan, or extending their loan borrowing with
us, strengthening our digital offering and helping us to
better serve our customers. And we reinforced our fraud
detection system for payments and improved our scam
warnings, making them more targeted to reflect the
nature and circumstance of the payment being made.
For customers buying a home, we piloted shorter
mortgage advice appointments of one hour instead
of two hours. We intend to roll these out over the year
ahead, which will provide more availability to serve
more customers. We also automated more applications,
delivering faster certainty on lending decisions earlier in
the application process.
We continue to explore the latest developments in
artificial intelligence, including those that could enable
our colleagues to help our customers more quickly and
efficiently. We have refreshed our artificial intelligence
strategy, so we can take advantage of the opportunity
artificial intelligence brings, whilst ensuring any adoption
is safe, responsible and for the benefit of our customers,
and protects the Society from harm.
Colleagues in our specialist support teams are benefiting
from artificial intelligence capabilities within ChatBots,
which are providing them with key information during
conversations with customers who are experiencing
financial difficulties. We plan to expand the use of this
capability to other customer servicing teams, to support
an improved customer experience. We also continue
to explore ways to innovate our complaints process to
efficiently and effectively provide the right outcomes
for customers and provide the experience they would
expect from Nationwide.
Transforming our workspaces
We are making sure that the size and location of our
workplaces reflects how our colleagues work, reduces
our carbon footprint, and releases cost savings that
enable us to invest further in our branches and customer
support.
Last year, we reopened our Threadneedle Street
office in London. As well as bringing us closer to key
stakeholders, the move allowed us to reduce workspace
requirements elsewhere in London and will significantly
reduce our related costs in future years. In February
2024, colleagues relocated from our previous building
in Dunfermline to a smaller, more sustainable building
nearby, reducing costs and responding to our workplace
requirements.
Improving our operating models
We continue to simplify organisational structures
and strengthen controls. This is reducing complexity,
improving decision making and helping us to deliver
more value at pace.
As part of this, we streamlined some of our head
office workforce, which has resulted in around 600
colleagues
26
across the UK leaving the Society. We have
also rationalised the number of our thirdparty suppliers,
improving productivity and efficiency.
We are improving the core capabilities and skills needed
to deliver our strategy and modern mutual purpose. We
have refreshed our early career schemes for students,
graduates and career changers, aligning to the skills
we require for the future. In addition, we introduced
development programmes for senior leaders and people
managers, as described on page 30.
We aspire to be an organisation that is powered by
data. We have used data to understand what matters
most to our customers, so we can focus on making their
banking experiences better. We will continue to advance
our data capabilities to enable more timely and useful
communications and personalisation that provides
relevant, tailored and realtime offers through digital
channels.
Last year we initiated a new threeyear security strategy.
As part of this, we are investing to ensure we continue
to have the right security skills in place across our
workforce to protect our customers and their data. In
2023/24, this amounted to an additional investment
of £2.0 million, with up to £4.7 million to be invested
annually. We also strengthened our cyber defences, so we
remain cyber resilient and well placed to prevent, detect
and respond to potential security risks.
We are also streamlining our operations to drive greater
efficiency and, in February 2024, we transferred our
financial planning service to our longstanding partner,
Aegon UK, which will give our customers a broader
proposition.
Chief Executive review (continued)
26. This is the number of colleagues leaving the Society over 2023/24. Of the 600 colleagues, 370 of these departures were announced in our Annual Report and Accounts 2023.
22
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
How we performed in
2023/24 against our
key performance indicators
23
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Our key performance indicator:
Engaged customers New in 2023/24
What does it measure?
Our engaged customers measure reflects the depth of our relationship with our
customers, through the number of core products that they hold with us
1
.
How did we perform against our target over 2023/24?
We have 3.53 million engaged customers, which is above our 3.33 million target for
2023/24. Growth in this measure was supported by the strength of our competitive
products and propositions through the year, including our current account switching
incentive and Flex Regular Saver.
Engaged customers
Million
How we performed in 2023/24 against our
key performance indicators
1. Engaged customers have their main personal current account with us, plus either a residential mortgage of at least £100, or at least £100 in personal savings.
2. Our customer experience score measure is based on a 12month average score over the 12 months ending 31 March 2024, and is calculated by weighting the aggregated scores across channels reflecting the way customers interact with
us. Digital channels include our mobile banking app, internet bank, webchat and our website (nationwide.co.uk).
More rewarding relationships
Deeper, broader, more lifelong relationships that provide the
best value in banking.
Simply brilliant service
Personalised service you can trust, at every touchpoint.
Last year, we updated our key performance indicators to support more effectively the delivery of our strategy. Our four measures for 2023/24 are set
out below and on the next page.
Our key performance indicator:
Customer experience score New in 2023/24
What does it measure?
Our customer experience score is based on the feedback score customers provide
when they complete our survey after they interact with us, in our branches, telephone
and digital channels
2
. Customers are asked to rate their satisfaction with our service.
How did we perform against our target over 2023/24?
Our customer experience score of 76.8% was slightly below our target of 77.6%.
Customers were satisfied with the service across our channels, particularly the
support provided by colleagues across our branches. However, our score was
impacted in the short term as customers transitioned to using our new mobile
banking app.
Customer experience score
%
TargetActuals
3.53
2024 2024
3.33
TargetActuals
76.8%
2024 2024
77.6%
24
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
3. Based on a study conducted by an international market research company commissioned by Nationwide Building Society. Based on noncustomer responses for the 6 months ending March 2024. Financial brands included are Nationwide,
Barclays, Cooperative Bank, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, NatWest, Santander, Starling Bank and TSB.
Beacon for mutual good
Famous for having a meaningful impact on customers, communities and
society, by being bigger and doing better.
Continuous improvement
Being focused, fit and fast, and delivering at pace.
Our key performance indicator:
Heard good things about Nationwide New in 2023/24
What does it measure?
We measure our brand reputation through Kantar’s brand study, which asks
noncustomers: “Which of the brands have you heard good things about?”, with
respondents asked to rate Nationwide and peer brands from a list
3
.
How did we perform against our target over 2023/24?
We were first among our peer group when rated by noncustomers for which brands
they had ‘heard good things about. This was above our target of at least third place.
In particular, our new branding and advertising, focused on the difference of our brand
and the benefits of mutuality over our peers, has had a positive impact on improving
awareness of, and engagement with, our brand.
Heard good things about
Ranking
Our key performance indicator:
Leverage ratio
What does it measure?
Our leverage ratio demonstrates our financial strength, and our ability to withstand
economic shocks. Our financial strength helps us to progress the delivery of our
strategy. More information on the leverage ratio can be found on page 74.
How did we perform against our target over 2023/24?
Our leverage ratio of 6.5% exceeded both regulatory requirements and our own
internal minimum target threshold of at least 4.5%.
Leverage ratio
%
How we performed in 2023/24 against our
key performance indicators (continued)
TargetActuals
1st
2024 2024
3rd
TargetActuals
5.4%
2021 2024
4.5%
Actuals
5.4%
2022
Actuals
6.0%
2023
Actuals
6.5%
2024
25
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Engaging with our
stakeholders
26
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Section 172(1) statement
This section describes how the directors considered
matters set out in section 172(1) of the Companies Act
2006 (the ‘Companies Act’). It also forms the directors’
statement required under section 414CZA of the
Companies Act. Although Nationwide, as a building
society, is not required to follow the Companies Act, we
seek to apply its requirements where appropriate.
Our stakeholders
Listening to and engaging regularly with our
stakeholders is fundamental to the way we do business,
and it ensures we operate in a balanced and responsible
way, both in the short and longer term. Their views are
important to us and help to guide our decision making.
In this section, we summarise how we have engaged
with, and responded to, feedback from each of our
key stakeholder groups during the year, both at a
broader Society level and at Board level. In addition, key
decisions taken by the Board in the year, and its related
consideration of relevant stakeholders, are set out on
pages 35 to 40.
Separately, in 2024, we ran our third materiality survey,
to understand from a range of our stakeholders the
environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics that
mattered most to them. These responses will continue to
help guide our ESG ambitions, as articulated through our
Mutual Good Commitments (see pages 46 to 51).
Members and customers
As a mutual, we are here to support our customers,
including our members (who are our customers with
a current account, mortgage or savings with us). It is
important we understand their needs, now and in the
future. More information on how we have delivered
simply brilliant service and value can be found on pages
15 to 18.
Our engagement
At our Annual General Meeting (AGM), our members can
have their say and vote on important issues. Our AGM
in July 2023 was fully online, a first in the UK financial
services industry. The 2023 AGM was attended by 367
members, which was the highest in 12 years. Members
could vote online during the meeting and ask questions
to the Board via an online platform.
In addition, we engaged with members through the year
via our Member Connect online forum, which provides a
platform for them to share their views with us on a range
of subjects. It has a cohort of over 6,500 members.
Our branches also ran more than 60 digital lessons over
the year, held face to face in local branches and streamed
online, to help customers manage their money online,
safely and securely.
The themes of the topics raised at our AGM and via
Member Connect, included:
Nationwide Fairer Share
Cost of living support
Protection from fraud and scams
Mutuality and the benefits of membership
Maintaining access to branches and to cash
Our brand refresh (including the advert and logo)
Executive remuneration
Children’s accounts
Mobile banking app improvements
Acting responsibly, including our approach to climate
change and our netzero ambitions
Our response included:
Delivering value through competitive products and
propositions, including our Nationwide Fairer Share
products and payments (see page 15)
Supporting customers with our cost of living
helpline and Scam Checker Service (see page 18)
Extending our Branch Promise (see page 18)
Launching our new mobile banking app (see page 17)
Reentering the young savers market (see page 16)
Engaging with our stakeholders
27
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Board engagement
Following the success of last year, the 2024 AGM
will be hosted online again. Members will be able to
submit live questions and vote during the meeting.
The Board reviews customer service and satisfaction
data regularly and supported the extension of the
Branch Promise.
The Board and the Board Risk Committee reviewed
and challenged the approach and activity being
undertaken by the Society to ensure it was fully
prepared for the implementation of the FCAs
Consumer Duty.
Nonexecutive directors visited branches to
strengthen their understanding of customer and
colleague needs. Board directors also took part in
Closer to Customer events where they engaged with
customers on specific topics, including cost of living
challenges.
Buy to let customers
We support landlords and those who rely on the private
rented sector for their longterm housing needs. We
do this through our buy to let mortgage business, The
Mortgage Works.
Our engagement
We provided education and help through our website to
support landlords’ understanding of their responsibilities
and the provision of better homes for renters. This
benefits all types of landlords, including those running
their portfolios as a limited company.
Over the year, we extended our telephone opening hours
for landlords, to include later evenings and Saturdays.
We also emailed over a third of our customer base,
letting them know how they can reach us for support,
and highlighting our new online Help Centre
1
. And we
proactively contacted many of our landlords with their
certificate of interest, to support them with their endof
year tax returns.
We work with our research providers to gain monthly
and quarterly feedback from landlords. In 2024, we
formed our own dedicated research team to engage with
landlords on specific issues, to understand what they
find challenging and where we can better help them.
Themes discussed included:
Keeping them updated with helpful and timely
information that may impact them
Providing easier viewing of their mortgage details
Providing additional information and support at
term expiry
Support in a changing Bank rate environment
We responded with supportive initiatives:
Our new Help Centre
1
provides landlords with
relevant and timely information, to support their
understanding of the latest legislation changes and
housing market news that may affect them and their
tenants.
In April 2024, we launched a new digital platform for
landlords to have an easier view of their mortgage
details.
We emailed landlords approaching the maturity
of their fixedrate mortgage with guiding tools for
supporting their next steps.
We maintained a 13week period for landlords to
switch product ahead of product maturity, so they
could secure a new rate earlier. And we priced
competitively to support the retention of existing
landlords switching products.
Board engagement
While the Board has not engaged directly with buy to
let customers, it received regular reports on buy to let
lending and engagement and discussed the pressures
facing landlords and tenants as part of these updates.
Colleagues
Our colleagues are at the heart of serving our customers
and delivering our strategy and we want to have a
supportive and inclusive environment for them at work.
This means helping them to thrive in a culture where
they feel supported and valued, and can grow their
careers. On page 30, you can read more about how we
support our colleagues.
Our engagement
Nationwide’s strong culture remains as important as ever
to us. Following feedback from colleagues and leaders,
we introduced a new listening approach for 2023/24.
This consisted of quarterly surveys, two of which focused
on our culture in more depth. We invite all colleagues
to share their views on working at Nationwide, the
challenges they face and what works well. On average,
61% of colleagues responded to these surveys over the
year.
1. Help Centre | The Mortgage Works
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
28
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
We also gathered colleague insights and feedback
through other surveys, and through engagement with
Employee Network Groups and the Nationwide Group
Staff Union (NGSU). In addition, we answered questions
and sought feedback during webcasts, such as our
Chairman and nonexecutive director Townhall events,
that discussed important and timely topics.
Key topics raised by colleagues included:
Cost of living support
Changes to our workplaces
Our hybrid working approach (see page 31)
Leadership, strategy and organisational changes
Pay, bonuses and pensions
Resourcing, training and development
Inclusion, diversity and wellbeing
We responded to this by:
Improving our communication approach to share
more on the progress made against our strategy
and celebrating the successes of our colleagues
Continuing to engage colleagues on how we are
responding to their feedback
Providing clarity on our hybrid working policy
Strengthening our inclusion and diversity approach
to be more data driven and to provide more support
to our employee network groups
Launching our leadership development and people
manager programmes (page 30)
Partnering with Gympass, to give colleagues access
to a broader wellbeing offering.
Board engagement
The Society’s culture remains a key focus of the
Board to support the Society’s purpose and delivery
of its strategy. To ensure the Board has a strong
understanding of the Society’s culture, they received
updates on the results of colleague culture surveys.
They also met with the outgoing and incoming General
Secretaries of the NGSU where the alignment of
interests between the NGSU and the Society were
discussed.
The Board has appointed one director (Tamara Rajah)
with specific responsibility for the Employee Voice
in the Boardroom. She holds quarterly events with
colleagues across locations and job levels, to better
understand how our colleagues are feeling.
The Chairman led nonexecutive director Townhall
events, face to face and virtually, where colleagues
were able to engage with our Board.
The Board will continue to sponsor and monitor
progress in all areas of our culture in the coming year.
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
29
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
A focus on our colleagues
We aim to build a supportive and inclusive
environment for our colleagues.
In doing so, we seek to create a highperformance,
purposedriven culture where they can thrive
and develop rewarding careers.
Engaging colleagues in our new purpose, strategy
and values
In 2022/23, Nationwide approved a new strategy and
business purpose: Banking – but fairer, more rewarding,
and for the good of society. Our new simplified strategy,
with its four strategic drivers, helps us to fulfil our
purpose. To support the delivery of our strategy, we
introduced customer first behaviours. These are based
on our cultural values and inform how colleagues behave,
putting members and customers at the heart of how we
work together.
Our colleagues are integral to the delivery of
our strategy. In April 2023, we began a cultural
transformation, engaging colleagues in our new purpose,
strategy and values. We improved our performance
management approach, linking colleagues’ performance
to the delivery of our strategy and our behavioural
framework, to focus on both what we do and how we
do it. As a result, colleagues are clear on expectations
and priorities, and regular engagement with colleagues
(described on page 28) provides insight on how our
culture is evolving. Our cultural transformation is
supporting the successful delivery of our strategy.
Supporting performance and development
Our leaders and people managers are critical in driving
the culture and capabilities we need to stay relevant
and evolve. In 2023, we rolled out a new leadership
development programme for senior leaders, focused on
developing commercial and business leadership skills,
and skills for building highperforming teams. We also
launched a new people manager programme.
In addition, we introduced live data covering a range of
people measures, to enable managers to manage and
support their teams effectively.
Building our inclusive culture
We want to ensure that we have an inclusive culture
where everyone can thrive, and where our workforce
better reflects the diversity of society. Having a diverse
range of backgrounds, skills and experiences will help
us continue to serve our customers in the best way and
offer the services and products that are most relevant
to them.
Our Board and Executive Committee are committed
to progressing our inclusion and diversity approach,
with diversity measures around gender and ethnicity at
senior levels forming part of our Directors’ LongTerm
Performance Pay awards (see pages 112 to 113). Our
diversity measures (page 51) are reported each month
to the Board. In June 2023, we also made inclusion and
diversity data available to our senior leaders, to enable
better informed action.
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
30
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
A focus on our colleagues
In 2022, we began our focus on social mobility, and
partnered with Progress Together, a membership body
centred on progression, retention and socioeconomic
diversity in financial services, to benchmark our socio
economic diversity against our peers and inform our
future priorities. Their market analysis showed that,
based on colleagues who shared their socioeconomic
background with us, we show greater socioeconomic
diversity than most financial services firms who were
surveyed. In 2024, our approach will focus on prioritising
actions and initiatives that remove the barriers to
recruitment, retention, progression and inclusion.
Our 11 employee networks focus on initiatives that
support Nationwide’s ambition of being an inclusive
employer. They cover: gender; race and ethnicity;
LGBTQ+; disability; faith and belief; working carers;
working families; veterans and reservists; mental
wellbeing; social mobility and sustainability. Our
networks build awareness through Ask Me Anything
sessions, covering a diverse range of lived backgrounds
and experiences. Collaborating with our employee
networks, we introduced new supportive policies on
domestic abuse and on transitioning and change of
gender expression, and enhanced our becoming a parent
policy.
In the 2024 Financial Times’ Diversity Leaders list, we
were the highestranked UK high street financial services
provider for the third year running
2
. We were also the
highestranked UK financial services provider for female
representation on our Board of Directors in the FTSE
Women Leaders Report
3
, across 50 of the UK’s largest
private businesses.
Refreshing our hybrid working commitments
This year, we introduced our new hybrid working policy,
effective in January 2024, with a transition period
that ran until April 2024. The new policy, agreed in
conjunction with the Nationwide Group Staff Union,
combines the positive aspects of working flexibly, with
the benefits of coming together regularly in our office
spaces to share knowledge and skills, collaborate, and
strengthen working relationships, all critical to creating a
healthy and highperforming culture.
Under the policy, colleagues are expected to work
two days a week at one of our offices (or 40% of their
working hours if part time). This remains an attractive
and competitive proposition and we continue to support
a range of flexible working options, including parttime
hours and job sharing.
Understanding gender and ethnicity pay gaps
Our statutory mean gender and ethnicity pay gaps at
5 April 2023 were 22.2% (2022: 30.0%) and 5.8%
(2022: 7.4%) respectively. These take into account a
oneoff payment of £500, made as part of our annual pay
review in April 2023.
Without this oneoff payment, our mean gender pay gap
at 5 April 2023 was 27.5% (2022: 30.0%), reflecting an
improvement in our overall gender balance, although we
acknowledge more needs to be done to increase women
in senior roles. The improvement was supported by our
hiring approach, including our use of diverse interview
panels.
Without the oneoff payment of £500, our mean ethnicity
pay gap at 5 April 2023 was 6.4% (2022: 7.4%), driven
by an increase in the proportion of ethnically diverse
colleagues in midlevel roles and senior roles.
Pay gaps are different to equal pay. Equal pay compares
the pay of colleagues doing the same or similar work.
We regularly monitor pay to ensure our pay policies are
not biased. Our Gender and Ethnicity Pay Gaps report
provides more information
4
.
2. The FTStatista ranking of Europe’s Diversity Leaders is based on independent surveys of more than 100,000 employees across Europe, on their perceptions of their organisation’s diversity and inclusion practices. For the 2024 list,
the employee surveys accounted for 70% of the final score, and three new indicators accounted for 30% of the score (the share of women in management positions, the communications made in favour of diversity, and a diversity score
calculated by data provider Denominator).
3. FTSE Women Leaders Review (February 2024).
4. Pay gaps at Nationwide, nationwide.co.uk/aboutus/inclusionanddiversity/paygaps
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
31
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Mortgage intermediaries
We have around 25,000 mortgage intermediaries who
place business with us, accounting for over 80% of all the
mortgages we provide.
Our engagement
We regularly survey our mortgage brokers on their views
on our products and service. This includes using third
party firms to obtain feedback on applications submitted
and perceptions of us as a mortgage provider.
We also gathered feedback through sixmonthly and
ad hoc workshops, where brokers provided feedback on
their experiences directly to our colleagues responsible
for formulating products and policy.
Our engagement with mortgage intermediaries included
discussion on the following topics:
Improving service
Digital integration
Implementation of Consumer Duty rules
Supporting first time buyers
Supporting customers with additional support needs
or vulnerabilities
We responded to this by:
Simplifying the submission process for digital
mortgage applications.
Enabling our mortgage intermediaries to notify our
specialist support team directly of any additional
support our customers may need.
Engaging with trade bodies and having
representatives in important forums such as the
Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association so we
can influence how the mortgage industry develops.
Maintaining a constant presence in the mortgage
market, providing consistency for both our
intermediaries and our borrowers.
Board engagement
The Board has been updated on intermediary
engagement during the year, including receiving
updates on broker recommendation scores.
Communities
Our purpose: Banking – but fairer, more rewarding,
and for the good of society sets out the role we play in
the lives of our customers, communities and society as
a whole. It means having a positive impact on broader
society. That is why we commit at least 1% of our pretax
profits
5
each year to good causes. Last year, these largely
focused on supporting housing activity and our work
with community partners and charities.
Our engagement
Our Community Grants programme enables UK charities
across the UK to apply for grants that support people
and communities in housing need. We held 11 Community
Boards, where community grants were distributed under
the direction of member and colleague volunteers.
We also engaged with, and supported, our communities
through our employee volunteering programme, and our
partnership with charity Shelter.
Our engagement with communities included the
following topics:
Awareness of housing issues and emergencies
Challenges faced by local charities, particularly as a
result of cost of living pressures
Our response included:
Increasing the size of our Community Grants from
£50,000 to £60,000, in recognition of the increased
costs faced by charities.
Supporting those in housing need through our
partnership with Shelter (see page 20).
Encouraging colleagues to use their allocated
volunteering hours to help local communities, with
31,000 hours volunteered during the year.
In addition, we engaged with the local communities
near to our Oakfield housing development in Swindon,
and opened the Oakfield Park, a green space for local
people.
Board engagement
The Board received updates on our social investment
activity through the year, and on proposals around
our new social impact strategy – Nationwide Fairer
Futures – which will commence in 2024. This included
a summary of the activities, impact and learnings of
our housingrelated social investment strategy over
the past six years, and detail of the charitable activity
that the new strategy will support over the next three
years. More information on our new social impact
strategy can be found on page 20.
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
5. The 1% is calculated based on average pretax profits over the previous three years.
32
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Regulators and policymakers
Regulators and policymakers oversee our activities and
undertake consultations and policy reform. We aim for
the highest possible standards of regulatory compliance
to protect and enhance the integrity of the UK financial
system and ensure good outcomes for our customers.
Our engagement
We engaged effectively with regulators and policymakers
through the year to influence them on behalf of the
Society and its customers. Most notably, we worked with
others to secure a Private Members Bill to modernise the
Building Societies Act which, if passed into law, would
provide a more uptodate regulatory environment for
Nationwide to operate within.
We engaged through onetoone meetings, roundtable
discussions, and conferences and events, which were
attended by members of the Board, the Executive
Committee and subject matter experts. This included our
Chairman attending meetings with the Chief Secretary
to the Treasury, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury,
the Chief Executive of the PRA and the Director General
of Financial Services at HM Treasury. Our Chief Executive
was appointed to the Prime Minister’s Business Council
for 2024, attended roundtables with the Chancellor
of the Exchequer and had individual meetings with
other politicians, including the Economic Secretary
to the Treasury and the Shadow Chancellor. We gave
evidence to the Treasury Select Committee, and we also
engaged with senior Labour party members and leading
Conservative party politicians at their respective party
conferences.
At a global level, we continued to build links through the
NetZero Banking Alliance (NZBA) and Glasgow Financial
Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), contributing to reports on
transition planning and public policy frameworks.
During the year, our engagement with regulators and
policymakers included the following topics:
Modernisation of the Building Societies Act through
the Building Societies Act 1986 (Amendment) Bill
Our implementation of the FCAs Consumer Duty
The importance of mutuality through research with the
Social Market Foundation
6
Access to cash and banking hubs
Support for mortgage customers, including our
participation in the Governments Mortgage Charter
The FCAs Cash Savings Market Review and 14point
action plan on cash savings
Authorised Push Payment (APP) fraud, including our
findings from our fraud research report, produced with
the Social Market Foundation
Economic crime and operational resilience
Our branch strategy
Reform of the private rented sector via the Renters
(Reform) Bill
First time buyers
Social mobility and creating opportunities in the
workplace
Green homes and climate change
We responded through:
Answering information requests and Select
Committee inquiries on key issues of interest.
Providing input to consultations from government
departments.
Organising over 60 MP branch visits.
Engaging with the Shadow Treasury team on
financial services regulatory topics, and joining
roundtable discussions with senior Government and
Opposition policymakers, including on fraud, green
homes and mortgage support.
Board engagement
The Board received regular updates on interactions
with regulators and taxation authorities, and how
the changing regulatory environment impacts
Nationwide. This included the FCAs Consumer Duty.
Board members attended regular meetings with
regulators, and regulators attended Board meetings
to present on key topics.
Investors and rating agencies
Our wholesale funding investors support us in meeting
our funding and capital requirements. Our investors are
interested in our financial performance and sustainability
practices and use our credit and Environmental,
Social and Governance (ESG) ratings to support their
understanding.
Our engagement
We maintain an active dialogue with our investors.
This includes during the due diligence process ahead
of wholesale funding issuances and in responding to
general queries. Our Investor Relations programme
provides existing and potential investors with the
opportunity to meet senior managers and executive
directors of the Society. In the year, we updated our
investors on our latest financial performance and ESG
credentials, and on other areas of interest.
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
6. Social Market Foundation in partnership with Nationwide Building Society and Royal London – Mutuals can meet public demand for responsible business (June 2023).
33
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
To support investors’ understanding of our performance
and risk management, we continued to engage with
credit and ESG rating agencies to ensure the Society is
rated appropriately.
Key areas of interest for our investor base included:
Strategic objectives
Housing market outlook and implications for the
mortgage market
Deposit market competition, pricing and volumes
The outlook for asset quality as the UK macroeconomic
outlook evolves
Capital strength and expected wholesale funding
requirements
Approach to climate change risk and our netzero
commitment
Achievements related to our social ambitions, including
financial inclusion and social investment activity
We responded to this by:
Providing timely strategic and financial updates to
our investors, to meet their information needs.
Further enhancing our sustainabilityrelated
disclosures. In December 2023, we published our
Intermediate (by 2030) netzeroaligned Transition
Plan 2023. We also published our inaugural
Sustainability Report 2023, describing our ESG
ambitions and progress.
Board engagement
On behalf of the Board, the Chief Executive and Chief
Financial Officer engaged directly with investors
following our external results announcements.
The Chief Financial Officer led meetings with our
largest investors in the weeks following our results
announcements, and the Chief Executive hosted
an ESG investor webcast on our Mutual Good
Commitments and climate strategy.
Suppliers
Our suppliers help us run and improve our business and
deliver quality service for our customers.
Our engagement
Our initial engagement with our suppliers is through
direct negotiations or within a tender, and through our
preonboarding due diligence. Once we enter into a
relationship with a supplier, we engage with them as part
of our ongoing due diligence. To support our engagement
and monitoring, we use external industry tools to collect
information from suppliers. This includes the Financial
Services Qualification System (FSQS) for information
on a supplier’s policies and controls, and EcoVadis for
sustainability ratings and data.
We updated our suppliers on any material announcements
through email or webcast communications. This included:
Our new Blueprint for a modern mutual
The Society’s financial performance
Leadership updates
A request for suppliers to update greenhouse gas
emissions data on EcoVadis, to support our annual
upstream scope 3 emissions calculations
Outcomes of our engagement with suppliers
Through engagement with our supplier Social
Enterprise UK, we have entered into two new social
enterprise relationships over the year.
To mark AntiSlavery Day in October 2023, we reached
out to key suppliers to reinforce our expectations,
promote external resources, and ask if they wanted
support to progress their own antislavery efforts.
14% responded that they would benefit from guidance
and we plan to make this available in the coming year.
We also worked with 15 suppliers on a Skills Fair for
1,400 of our colleagues, as they supported us in
building the skills we need for the future.
Board engagement
The Board Risk Committee received updates on key
supplier relationships during the year and considered
the Societys management of its key supply chains
and the steps being taken to avoid undue risk. In the
second half of 2023, the Board was kept updated on
our response to the financial distress and insolvency
of a key supplier. Using our incident management
approach, we were able to deliver successfully
replacement solutions for each service line that had
been performed by the supplier.
The Board Risk Committee, under delegated authority
from the Board, approved the ThirdParty Risk Policy.
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
34
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Board decisions
Central to modern mutuality is engaging, consulting
with and acting in the interests of our stakeholders.
The Board is responsible for setting a clear strategy
and direction and ensuring the longterm success and
sustainability of the Society.
In October 2022, the Board discussed and approved a
refreshed strategy, comprising a set of actions to deliver
focused outcomes over a three to five year ambition. The
strategy followed a thorough assessment of the current
financial services landscape and a review of the needs
and aspirations of our members. Horizon one of the
strategy, set until 2023/24, focused on strengthening
the foundations for future execution as well as starting to
transform the value we provide for members, including
through new Fairer Share products and payments.
Horizon two, set until 2025/26, focuses on improving our
propositions and digital capabilities, while Horizon three,
set until 2027/28, will build on core strengths to further
differentiate Nationwide in the market.
When making decisions, the Board considers the
outcome for all relevant stakeholders, as well as the need
to maintain a reputation for high standards of business
conduct, the need to act fairly, and the consequences of
its decisions. The terms of reference of the Board and
Board committees (available at nationwide.co.uk) reflect
the importance of considering the requirements set
out in section 172(1) of the Companies Act. Our Board
and Board committee papers must include a section for
authors to outline how the matter directly or indirectly
impacts our key stakeholder groups. The Board reviews
this as part of its assessment to determine the relevant
stakeholder impacts.
Principal decisions are those decisions taken by the
Board, including decisions taken by or delegated to
management which the Board has oversight of, that
are of strategic importance, material to the operations
of the business and are significant to the Society’s key
stakeholders.
The following pages set out a description of the process
and approach for three of the principal decisions taken
by the Board during the year against the backdrop of its
overarching strategy.
The Board plays a pivotal role in providing strong
governance and oversight of the Society. Our goal
is not only to fulfil our statutory obligations as a
Board but also to ensure the Society is managed in
line with our mutual values. Among these values is
the strong commitment from the Board to engage
directly with our stakeholders, to listen to their
views and to consider their interests during Board
discussions and decision making.
Kevin Parry
Chairman
Members and customers
Colleagues
Communities
Suppliers
Regulators and policymakers
Mortgage Intermediaries
Investors and rating agencies
Buy to let customers
Which stakeholders were considered?
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
35
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Nationwide Fairer Share
What was the decision-making process?
At its Strategy Conference in October 2022, the Board
discussed the concept of paying a portion of profit
to members. This would present a tangible, fair and
inclusive way of rewarding members financially. The
Board was positive about the initial concept but required
further modelling around eligibility, the amount of the
distribution, and the extent to which it would enhance
member engagement. The Board also considered
whether future payments could be made within the
context of financial sustainability, operational capacity
and potential complaints which may arise.
The Board received regular updates on progress and
continued to challenge during the planning process.
At its March 2023 meeting, management set out the
proposed eligibility criteria, explained how operational
testing was progressing and updated on the marketing
campaign being developed. The Board challenged the
eligibility criteria and operational planning to ensure
these were sufficiently robust and that customer
vulnerability had been considered.
At its April 2023 meeting, the Board considered and
approved the eligibility criteria for the Fairer Share
Payment: members with a qualifying current account
and either qualifying savings or a qualifying mortgage
on 31 March 2023. These criteria strongly aligned to the
Society’s longterm strategy of growing and deepening
member relationships by encouraging more customers
to hold their current account and other products with
us. The Board also considered the needs of members
who only held deposits with Nationwide and supported
the launch of a Fairer Share Bond with a preferential
savings rate that all members could access. This would
be offered alongside the Fairer Share Payment.
At its May 2023 meeting, the Board recommended that
the Nationwide Fairer Share Payment be made to eligible
members, following due and careful consideration of
the full year financial results to ensure that the payment
was affordable. The Board intends to declare annual
distributions going forward, provided they would not be
detrimental to the financial strength of the Society.
How did the directors fulfil their
duties under section 172 and how were
stakeholders considered?
The Board considered that the Society’s strategic
ambition to grow and deepen current account
relationships was in the best longterm interests of
the Society. Achieving this ambition would in turn help
the Society provide more benefit to a wider group of
members. The Board considered that paying a portion of
profit to members in the form of the Nationwide Fairer
Share Payment, rewarding membership and loyalty and
hopefully encouraging new members, was in the long
term interests of the Society. In addition, by launching
the Fairer Share Bond, with a preferential savings rate,
the benefits of mutuality would be shared with more
members.
It was vital the Society was operationally ready to make
payments to a wide cohort of members. End to end
journeys were mapped, including consideration of direct
communications, opt outs, eligibility investigation and
complaints. The requirements of vulnerable customers
were considered. Front line colleagues were trained to
handle eligibility queries and related complaints.
Regulators were engaged on plans to reward members
loyalty throughout the process. A Member Reward
Distribution Policy was agreed by the Board in April
2023 which set out the affordability test for any future
Nationwide Fairer Share Payment.
What were the actions and outcomes?
The total Fairer Share Payment of £344 million was paid
to 3.4 million eligible members who received a payment
into their current account in June 2023 and over 116,000
Fairer Share Bonds were opened by members.
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
Colleagues
Regulators and policymakers
Investors and rating agencies
Which stakeholders were considered?
Members and customers
36
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Proposed acquisition of Virgin Money
What was the decision-making process?
In October 2023 the Board held its annual strategy
session where, amongst other things, earnings diversity
and longterm financial sustainability in a highly
competitive market and challenging macroeconomic
environment were considered. The Board considered
ways to compete with the large incumbent UK retail
banks. To do this, the reliance on mortgage income and
the sensitivity to Bank rate movements would need to
be reduced. Greater levels of earnings generated
from other product areas would also help the Society
to achieve scale. The Board reviewed business banking
case studies and Nationwide’s previous attempts to
develop a business banking proposition organically.
It noted the high costs of creating these services, the
length of time that it would take to generate scale
and the difficulties startup providers had in making
profitable returns through organic growth. It asked
management to identify target banks or building
societies to acquire when the opportunity presented
that would deliver business banking capability cost
effectively and diversify earnings more quickly than
had been delivered through historical current account
growth.
At the end of 2023 the Board met a number of times
and considered a proposal to acquire the whole of the
issued share capital of Virgin Money. The proposal would
combine two complementary businesses and bring the
resulting scale of being the second largest provider of
mortgages and savings in the UK as well as providing
greater earnings diversity through business banking and
a larger credit card book. After seeking assurances that
the requisite resource capacity and capabilities existed
within the Society to execute the transaction, the Board
began a process of initial due diligence under a formal
project framework with appropriate governance, to
consider whether the acquisition of Virgin Money would
be in the best interests of the Society and its members
as a whole, both present and future. The Board appointed
specialist financial and legal advisers to assist the Board
and management on the application of laws such as the
Building Societies Act 1986, the Society’s Rules, the deal
structure and the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers.
The Board thoroughly considered the business case and
initial due diligence and determined that the acquisition
would benefit members by bringing a profitable bank
into the Nationwide Group, allowing it to create greater
value by retaining profits that would otherwise have
been paid out to Virgin Money shareholders as dividends.
These retained profits would improve Nationwide’s
financial strength and ability to provide greater member
financial benefit and incentives, including through
better savings and mortgage rates compared to the
market average. Customer service excellence would
be maintained as the acquisition would allow more
investment in branches, digital platforms and contact
centres as well as fraud prevention and support for
vulnerable customers. The Board determined that
bringing the established business banking services of
Virgin Money into the Nationwide Group would not only
respond to some members’ demands to support small
and mediumsized businesses but also create a broader
and more diverse product range and make income more
resilient to economic changes.
The Board also considered the resulting capital strength
of a combined group and were satisfied that, following
the acquisition, Nationwide would still remain best in
class in Common Equity Tier 1 ratio compared to peers.
The Board also agreed that being a mutual would afford
Nationwide time to carefully integrate Virgin Money
and therefore it would be run as a separate entity for
a number of years, in a similar way to how Nationwide
successfully runs its buy to let mortgage business.
The Board would be able to use this period to decide
whether it is in the interests of members to combine
some systems or services. Virgin Money will retain
its own banking licence, and so the Financial Services
Compensation Scheme protection will cover up to
£85,000 of deposits per customer in each of Nationwide
and Virgin Money.
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
Colleagues
Communities
Suppliers
Regulators and policymakers
Investors and rating agencies
Which stakeholders were considered?
Members and customers
37
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
How did the directors fulfil their
duties under section 172 and how were
stakeholders considered?
A key consideration for directors was the benefits that
would flow to members and customers. The Board
carefully considered the needs of members and their
feedback on the things that are important to them.
Following appropriate due diligence and review, the
Board was confident in the quality of Virgin Money’s
assets and the opportunities the deal would bring for
members. The Board considered that the price agreed
for the Virgin Money business represented good value
and would lead to immediate financial benefits for the
Society and its members.
The Board also considered the wider community and how
Nationwide’s impact and contribution would be affected.
The Board was clear that Nationwide would continue
to be committed to remaining a building society and a
modern mutual. The acquisition would make the Society
the second largest provider of mortgages and savings in
the UK, increasing the impact it could have on customers
and wider communities by continuing to commit 1% of its
profits to charitable activities.
Board directors were guided by the City Code on
Takeovers and Mergers, which regulates public takeovers
in the UK. These rules cover directors’ responsibilities,
confidentiality, announcements, shareholdings and
dealings, and processes leading up to and following a
public announcement.
The directors considered the interests of current and
future members when considering the acquisition and
took appropriate independent legal and financial advice
on whether a member vote was required under section
92A of the Building Societies Act 1986 (the Act). The
assessment of those matters is one that is reserved to
the opinion of the Society’s directors alone and, given the
objective thresholds in the Act were not met, no member
vote was required.
A significant part of the Board’s decisionmaking
process to determine whether the acquisition was in
the best interests of current and future members was
the assessment of the value of Virgin Money. To support
this, the Board undertook two separate due diligence
processes that looked at the risks that might impact the
Board’s value assessment. This due diligence focused
on reputation risks, transaction risks, regulatory risks,
customer and conduct risks, business assumption risks
and integration risks. The Board were assured by the
support from advisers, the quality of the information
available on Virgin Money and the openness of Virgin
Money management. The Board also noted the robust
regulatory standards that Virgin Money operates within
and the financial resources that would be available to
invest in any areas requiring enhancement.
The Society’s regulators, the PRA and FCA, were briefed
at regular intervals on the proposed acquisition and their
feedback was taken into account.
The Board considered the impact on the Society’s
employees, and following the public announcement,
the CEO kept them informed of the progress of the
proposed acquisition.
What were the actions and outcomes?
In early 2024 the Board approved the initial approach to
the Board of Virgin Money, followed by approval to make
an offer which was announced publicly on 7 March 2024.
Following agreement between the Nationwide and Virgin
Money boards, it was announced on 21 March 2024 that
the terms of a recommended cash acquisition of the
entire issued and to be issued share capital of Virgin
Money by Nationwide had been agreed.
The Chairman wrote to all members twice in March
2024 to outline the proposed transaction and surveys of
members were undertaken. As at May 2024, more than
30,000 members have been surveyed and over 90% of
respondents have been positive or neutral about the
proposed deal. The Board is updated regularly on all
member feedback.
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
38
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Refreshing our Societys brand
What was the decision-making process?
In May 2023 the Chief Customer Officer outlined to
the Board the opportunities and challenges facing the
Nationwide brand. The unchanged logo and iconography
made the brand feel old fashioned and staid, limiting
the Societys appeal and ability to broaden its customer
base. Retaining what made the Society uniquely special
whilst embracing modern mutuality presented a unique
challenge, but it was proposed that improving brand
strength would leverage better member engagement,
inspire loyalty and avoid brand decay.
A proposal to modernise the appearance of the
brand and transform the effectiveness of marketing
communications was presented to the Board. A new logo
and advertising campaign was discussed. The refreshed
branding would feature a modern, premium design and
align with a revitalised advertising strategy.
The Board considered market research which had been
conducted with customers, and challenged management
on how the success of the marketing campaign would
be measured. It was informed that outcomes measuring
engagement, customer experience metrics and customer
satisfaction would all be monitored closely and reported
to the Board regularly to inform on the success of the
campaign. The rebrand would not focus exclusively on
the physical branding such as billboards and branches
but would also include a better digital member
experience.
The Board challenged that existing customers may not
recognise the new branding and therefore a strong
member communication strategy must run alongside
the changes to raise awareness. The Board recognised
that significant investment was already needed in many
branches and was satisfied that the costs associated
with the rebrand were appropriate and represented
a costeffective and responsible investment in the
Society’s future.
The refreshed branding and advertising strategy
was presented to the Board at its September 2023
meeting ahead of the relaunch on 7 October 2023. The
Board agreed that it would monitor the impact of the
brand refresh through the “Heard good things about
Nationwide” strategic measure and other key metrics.
How did the directors fulfil their
duties under section 172 and how were
stakeholders considered?
Refreshing the Society’s brand for the first time in
over 30 years was a big step forward for the Society in
distinguishing itself as a modern mutual. It presented a
tangible change, and using slogans such as “Nationwide,
a better way to bank” was a simple way of communicating
to a wide audience that Nationwide was a more rewarding
banking provider.
All customers who bank, save or have a mortgage with
Nationwide were contacted directly about the rebrand
so that they could familiarise themselves with what was
changing and how messages from the Society would
look going forward. Customers using the mobile app
were also informed of how its appearance would change
following the brand refresh.
Colleagues were invited to attend brand launch
events with Board members and senior management
before being launched externally. These provided an
opportunity for staff to ask questions about the rebrand
activity.
Regulators were consulted on the proposed changes to
ensure that they were aware of the forthcoming change.
The Procurement Team engaged with strategic partners
and suppliers to inform them of the brand changes and
involve them in scheduling updates of any materials with
the new Nationwide logo.
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
Colleagues
Communities
Suppliers
Regulators and policymakers
Investors and rating agencies
Which stakeholders were considered?
Members and customers
39
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
What were the actions and outcomes?
Following the launch of the refreshed brand on 7 October
2023 and new advertising campaign, our key brand
metrics (“Prompted advertising awareness, “Heard good
things about Nationwide” and “Spontaneous advertising
awareness”) all increased in absolute score and rank
position for Nationwide
1
amongst our peer group, when
ranked by all consumers, including noncustomers. By the
end of the 2023/24 financial year the Society was first
among its peer group when ranked by all consumers,
including noncustomers, as to which brands they had
‘heard good things about’
2
.
1. Based on a study conducted by an international market research company commissioned by Nationwide Building Society. Based on total consumer responses, including noncustomers, for the 3 months ending September 2023 vs.
3 months ending December 2023. Financial brands included are Nationwide, Barclays, Cooperative Bank, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, NatWest, Santander, Starling Bank and TSB.
2. Based on a study conducted by an international market research company commissioned by Nationwide Building Society. Based on total consumer responses, including noncustomers, for the 6 months ending March 2024. Financial
brands included are Nationwide, Barclays, Cooperative Bank, First Direct, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds, Monzo, NatWest, Santander, Starling Bank and TSB. Nationwides key performance indicator is based on noncustomer responses only,
as set out on page 25.
Engaging with our stakeholders (continued)
40
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
1. The 0.25% is calculated based on average pretax profits for the current and previous two years.
2. The 1% is calculated based on average pretax profits over the previous three years.
1. Nurturing ideas to change the housing system
This programme supports innovative solutions to change
the housing system so that more decent and affordable
homes are available for those most in need. Its work in
2023/24 included:
Continuing work with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation
and FrameWorks UK to promote the ‘How to talk about
homes’ toolkit and develop workshops for organisations
and campaigners. This project provides guidance on
the best ways for campaigners to communicate, to help
the public understand the need for more affordable
and decent homes, and to encourage support for
solutions.
Supporting and funding work by the Town and Country
Planning Association on new legislation to make sure
homes are built to benefit the health of the people who
live in them.
Funding ‘We Can Make, a pioneering project in Bristol
that provides homes for people in need, situated on
microsites around existing houses with a large amount
of surrounding space. The Foundation is working to
bring this project to more areas.
Working in partnership with the Church of England
and political representatives from the House of Lords
to create a crossparty national housing strategy for
England, which will outline a vision of what a good
housing system should look like in the longer term.
2. Backing community-led housing
Communityled housing gives communities the power to
create decent, affordable homes in the places where they
are wanted and needed. The Nationwide Foundation is a
major funder of this sector and in 2023/24 it:
Continued to advocate for the importance of
government funding to help the communityled
housing sector grow further.
Announced a new partnership with the Scottish
government to invest in two communityled housing
trusts, helping the Scottish government to deliver good
quality and genuinely affordable homes in Scotland.
Funded research to further understand the benefits
and challenges to scaling up the communityled
housing sector.
The Nationwide Foundation is an independent charity set up by the Society in 1997. We donate at least 0.25%
1
of Nationwide’s pre-tax profits to the Nationwide
Foundation – £3,870,000 in 2023/24 – as part of the 1% of pre-tax profits
2
we commit each year to good causes.
The Nationwide Foundations vision is for everyone in the UK to have access to a decent home that they can afford. It is currently focused on delivering its Decent Affordable
Homes Strategy, which is being implemented through three programmes. Through these programmes, it seeks to increase the availability of decent affordable homes for people
in need, by using the learning and evidence from the work it funds, and its own activity, to influence change to the housing system.
Nationwide Foundation
41
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
3. Transforming the private rented sector
The Nationwide Foundation campaigns and funds other
organisations to reform the private rented sector so that
it provides more affordable, secure and decentquality
homes. In 2023/24, this included:
Continuing its research into the impact of tenancy
reform in Scotland, especially on the tenants who
are most vulnerable to harm, and using the findings
to influence further reforms across the UK. This
included giving evidence to a government committee
investigating reform of the English private rented
sector.
Funding a programme of work across the UK to
support renters to have their voices heard in local and
national decision making.
Funding, and being a key member of, the Renters
Reform Coalition, a group of leading organisations
supporting private renters. The coalition has been at
the forefront of the campaign for the Government to
bring forward the Renters (Reform) Bill, and to make
sure this provides real change for renters.
The Nationwide Foundation is committed to its Decent Affordable Homes strategy until 2031. During 2024/25, the
Foundation will continue to focus on delivering this strategy, generating and using robust evidence to influence
positive change to the UK’s housing system.
Next steps for the Nationwide Foundation
Nationwide Foundation (continued)
42
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Committed to doing
the right thing
43
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Committed to doing the right thing
Statement from Debbie Crosbie, Chief Executive
We strive to do the right thing in a responsible way for
the benefit of our customers, colleagues, communities
and the environment.
In 2019, we committed to the UN Global Compact and I
am pleased to reaffirm our support for the Ten Principles
of the United Nations Global Compact, which includes
our commitment to protect and promote Human Rights,
Labour Rights, the Environment and AntiCorruption.
The social, political, economic and environmental
challenges facing the world today make it more
important than ever that we act to progress activities
that support these Ten Principles. Our Mutual Good
Commitments help us to hold true to our ethical
principles and mutual purpose, and further reinforce the
UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
We continue to integrate the principles of the UN Global
Compact into our business strategy, culture and daily
operations. Outside of our Annual Report and Accounts
2024, further information on how we are progressing
can be found in our Sustainability Report (available
at nationwide.co.uk) and on our Responsible Business
policies and statements website.
For more information on:
our alignment with the UN Sustainable
Development Goals, see page 45.
our Mutual Good Commitments, see page 46.
Our broader Environmental, Social and
Governance (ESG) disclosures can be found on
our investor relations website. These include our:
Sustainability Report 2023.
Principles for Responsible Banking 2024.
Climaterelated Financial Disclosures 2024.
Intermediate (by 2030) NetZero Ambitions 2022:
Basis of Preparation.
Intermediate (by 2030) netzeroaligned Transition
Plan 2023.
44
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
UN Sustainable Development Goals
Being a responsible business is part of our mutual heritage. We remain committed to doing business in a way that positively impacts our customers, employees and communities.
As a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking, we are committed to a strategic alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and to our
netzero ambition. Our Mutual Good Commitments, as set out on the next page, are most closely aligned to the SDGs listed below.
SDG 1 No poverty
We take positive action against homelessness, and to enhance financial inclusion and
wellbeing, and support and protect our customers’ money.
SDG 5 Gender equality
We promote gender equality and are working towards equal representation of women in
our leadership population by 2028.
SDG 7 Affordable and clean energy
Since 2018, we have sourced 100% of our electricity for our own operations from
renewable sources.
SDG 8 Decent work and economic growth
We are a Real Living Wage employer, promote positive work practices and take action to
enhance the wellbeing, diversity and inclusion of our people.
SDG 10 Reduced inequalities
We are working to reduce economic inequality in our communities and seek to ensure
everyone has access to good and secure housing, finances and work opportunities.
SDG 11 Sustainable cities and communities
Our social investment programme helps us give back to our communities. And we work
on solutions to create affordable, accessible and sustainable homes.
SDG 12 Responsible consumption and production
We divert as much waste as possible from landfill, recycle our office equipment and
source food locally. Sustainable considerations are also built into our procurement and
supply chain management processes.
SDG 13 Climate action
We are part of the NetZero Banking Alliance, committing to a netzero future by 2050.
We have published intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased targets and our Intermediate
(by 2030) netzeroaligned Transition Plan 2023. Our green propositions are intended to
encourage our customers to improve the energy efficiency of their homes.
Committed to doing the right thing (continued)
45
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Our Mutual Good Commitments
Our ESG ambitions are embedded within our Society strategy, and are focused in areas where we believe we can make the most significant, positive impacts for our members and
customers, our communities and society as a whole. Our ESG ambitions are articulated through a set of Mutual Good Commitments, which demonstrate how our business aligns to,
and supports, the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and our netzero ambitions. Our Mutual Good Commitments are overseen by the Executive Committee and the Board,
and the measures that support them are set out over the following pages.
Our strategic drivers
More rewarding relationships
Deeper, broader, more lifelong
relationships that provide the
best value in banking.
Simply brilliant service
Personalised service you can
trust at every touchpoint.
Beacon for mutual good
Famous for having a meaningful impact on customers, communities
and society, by being bigger and doing better.
Continuous improvement
Being focused, fit and fast,
and delivering at pace.
Our mutual good commitments
We will help more people into
safe and secure homes, both our
customers who have relationships
with us and more broadly.
More on our measures can be found
on page 47.
We will offer customers a choice in
how they bank with us, and support
their financial resilience.
More on our measures can be found
on page 48.
We will make a positive difference
for our customers, communities and
society as a whole.
More on our measures can be found
on page 49.
We aim to build a more sustainable
world by supporting progress
towards a greener society.
More on our measures can be found
on page 49 and pages 53 to 61.
We will enhance our performance by
better reflecting the diversity of our
society.
More on our measures can be found
on pages 50 to 51.
UN Sustainable Development Goals supported by our mutual good commitments
SDG 1
No poverty
SDG 10
Reduced inequalities
SDG 11
Sustainable cities and
communities
SDG 1
No poverty
SDG 8
Decent work and economic
growth
SDG 10
Reduced inequalities
SDG 1
No poverty
SDG 11
Sustainable cities and
communities
SDG 7
Affordable and clean energy
SDG 11
Sustainable cities and
communities
SDG 12
Responsible consumption and
production
SDG 13
Climate action
SDG 5
Gender equality
SDG 8
Decent work and economic
growth
SDG 10
Reduced inequalities
Committed to doing the right thing (continued)
46
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
More rewarding relationships
Deeper, broader, more lifelong relationships that provide the best value in banking.
We will help more people into safe and secure homes, both our customers who have relationships with us and more broadly.
Our measures Our progress
By 2025, we will help 250,000 people,
through our first time buyer proposition,
to buy a home
1
.
We continue to focus on helping people, through our first time buyer proposition, into homes.
We are working to address the two main challenges that first time buyers face – raising a
deposit and being able to borrow enough to afford a property. Since setting our target in
November 2020, we have helped 260,000 people into a home, ahead of both our cumulative
target for 2024 and our 2025 target. This reflected a stronger overall mortgage and first
time buyer market in 2021 and 2022, having set our target in a more subdued market in
2020. It also reflects the continued success of our Helping Hand mortgage, which launched
in 2021 (see page 16).
As a result, we will uplift our cumulative March 2025 target to help 300,000 people to buy
a home.
We will ensure 100% of our new buy to
let lending on rental properties meets
our minimum standards, which are
informed by and exceed the Decent
Homes Standard
2
Over a fifth of the 4.6 million households that rent privately in England endure the poor
conditions associated with substandard housing
3
. With many of our customers in rented
accommodation, we seek to enable a private rented sector that works for the mutual good
of both landlords and tenants. We ensure that the buy to let properties we lend on meet
our minimum standards, which are informed by and exceed the Decent Homes Standard
4
recommendations, so that tenants can live in safe and decent homes. Assessments against
our minimum standards are undertaken by Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RCS)
qualified valuers.
We inspect the buy to let properties we originate new loans to. Properties that do not meet
these conditions must complete remedial work prior to us lending on the property.
By 2025, we will have provided £1 billion
of new lending to support the social
housing sector
5
.
Our target demonstrates our support for the social housing sector, benefiting those in more
vulnerable housing situations. Since our target began in March 2022, we have provided
£1.7 billion of new lending to the sector, ahead of both our cumulative target for 2024 and
our 2025 target. This has reflected the evolution of our lending criteria, which has enabled us
to become more competitive and support a broader range of customers with their financing
requirements.
As a result, we will uplift our cumulative March 2025 target to provide £2 billion of new
lending to the social housing sector.
TargetActuals
260,000
Original
2025
target
Revised
2025
target
2024 2024 2025 2025
200,000
250,000
300,000
TargetActuals
£1,700m
Original
2025
target
Revised
2025
target
2024 2024 2025 2025
£600m
£1,000m
£2,000m
1. Set against a baseline of 30 November 2020. Nationwide’s definition of first time buyers is set out in the Glossary for the Annual Report and Accounts, available on nationwide.co.uk.
2. We inspect the buy to let properties we originate new loans on, to ensure they meet our minimum standards, which are informed by and exceed the Decent Homes Standard.
3. Reforming the Private Rented Sector: Government’s response to the Committees Fifth Report of Session 202223  Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee (parliament.uk).
4. A Decent Homes Standard in the private rented sector: consultation (www.gov.uk).
5. Set against a baseline of 31 March 2022.
Committed to doing the right thing (continued)
47
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Simply brilliant service
Personalised service you can trust at every touchpoint.
We will offer customers a choice in how they bank with us, and support their financial resilience.
Our measures Our progress
Our Branch Promise: Everywhere we
have a branch, we promise to still be
there until at least the start of 2028
6
.
In March 2024, we extended our Branch Promise again, providing reassurance to our
customers who rely on our branches, or prefer to speak to us face to face. We now have the
largest singlebrand branch network across the UK financial services sector, with a branch
manager in every branch. We won the Branch Network of the Year award at the Moneyfacts
Consumer Awards 2024.
In April 2023, we closed one branch, which was in close proximity to another and was in
keeping with the wording of our Branch Promise at the time. Since this time, we have further
strengthened and extended our Branch Promise to at least the start of 2028, committing to
no further closures.
By 2025, we will protect 750,000
customers with our Scam Checker
Service
7
.
We strive to protect our customers from fraud.
In 2021, we launched our Scam Checker Service. This enables our customers to check
their payments with us before they make them, if they have concerns, providing additional
support and reassurance. Since our target began in March 2022, we have protected 967,000
customers through this service, ahead of both our cumulative target for 2024 and our 2025
target. Usage was higher than expected, supported by more people using our branches
(which is the main channel for use of our Scam Checker Service), and by our advertising
approach, which increased visibility and awareness of our service.
As a result, we will uplift our cumulative March 2025 target to protect 1.4 million customers
through our Scam Checker Service.
6. All our 605 branches will remain open until at least 1 January 2028. Opening hours may vary. There may be exceptional circumstances outside of our control that mean we have to close a branch. But we will only do this if we do not have
another workable option.
7. Set against a baseline of 31 March 2022. We protect our customers by enabling them to check their payments with us before they make them, if they have concerns it could be a scam. If a customer has used the service and the payment
does not appear suspicious, but later turns out to be a scam, our promise is to refund the customer every penny, unless we advised them not to make the payment.
Committed to doing the right thing (continued)
TargetActuals
967,000
Original
2025
target
Revised
2025
target
2024 2024 2025 2025
500,000
750,000
1,400,000
48
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Beacon for mutual good
Famous for having a meaningful impact on customers, communities and society, by being bigger and doing better.
We will make a positive difference for our customers, communities and society as a whole.
Our measures Our progress
We will commit at least 1% of our pretax profits
8
to charitable
activities each year.
We met our target in 2023/24, committing £15.5 million
8
(2022/23: £9.6 million). More information can be found on page 19.
We aim to build a more sustainable world by supporting progress towards a greener society.
Our measures Our progress
We aim to reduce our scope 1 emissions that we control across
our own business operations, in line with our 2030 scope 1
sciencebased target.
In December 2022, Nationwide published its intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased targets. Our Mutual Good Commitment
measures reflect these. More information about our targets can be found in our Intermediate NetZero Ambitions 2022: Basis of
Preparation and our Intermediate (by 2030) netzeroaligned Transition Plan 2023. More on our progress towards our intermediate
(by 2030) sciencebased targets can be found on pages 53 to 61 of our Climaterelated Financial Disclosures 2024.
We are proud of the progress we have made to reduce the emissions of our own business operations. Since 2018, we have continued
to source 100% renewable electricity, and by the end of 2023, we had removed the use of gas from over 80% of our branch network,
replacing it with electrical solutions.
We have also built climate change considerations into our thirdparty processes to support a greener supply chain. We offer a range
of green finance propositions and initiatives to support our customers in making energy efficient home improvements, as described
on page 20. Scope 1 and 2 emissions are included in our directors’ longterm variable pay targets. More information can be found on
page 128.
We do not believe that, at present, our intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased target for mortgages can be achieved under
current government policies in connection with the UK’s housing stock. Therefore, over the next 12 months, we will reflect on the
appropriateness of setting a more realistic intermediate residential mortgages target, giving due consideration to the current
UK green homes policy landscape, the outcome of the general election and any policies announced by the new government, and
the outcome of our 0% interest Green Additional Borrowing research. Nevertheless, we continue to take action to seek to reduce
emissions from our mortgages book.
We aim to continue to source 100% renewable electricity for
our own operations, in line with our 2030 scope 2 science
based target.
We will aim to reduce our scope 3 emissions for our
mortgages, other secured lending activity, and our supply
chain, by taking steps to reduce those emissions within our
control and encouraging our customers and suppliers to do
the same, in line with our 2030 scope 3 sciencebased target.
8. The 1% is calculated based on average pretax profits over the previous three years. The £15.5 million includes £13.6 million of charitable donations and £1.9 million relating to supporting activity and staff costs.
Committed to doing the right thing (continued)
49
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Continuous improvement
Being focused, fit and fast, and delivering at pace.
We will enhance our performance by better reflecting the diversity of our society.
Our measures Our progress
By 2028, our people will better reflect the wider society that
we represent.
This includes seven measures that span across gender,
ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation, as set out on the
next page.
We achieved five of our seven measures to meet by 2024. These measures are set out on the next page.
Of the two remaining measures, we made positive progress in the ethnically diverse representation across our leadership
population; however, the proportion of women in our leadership population reduced. In the coming year, we will focus on the
attraction and retention of diverse talent, with targeted interventions to support progression into senior roles. We will improve
diverse representation and progression through processes, policies and practices that enable inclusion by design. This includes
through our approach to talent identification, succession, development, leadership and people management, performance
management and change processes, that will enable us to better help our colleagues reach their potential. Through a datadriven
approach, we are sharing inclusion and diversity data with key decision makers to inform action.
We continue to partner with the 10,000 Interns Foundation and support their Black Interns programme; last year we supported
around 70 interns. Over 2024, we will broaden the programme to include students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. We will
also launch our Nationwide Scholarship programme, providing financial support to students from low socioeconomic backgrounds
through their university degree.
For more information on the work we are doing to progress inclusion and diversity, including our gender and ethnicity pay gaps, see
pages 30 to 31.
Diversity measures are also included in our directors’ longterm variable pay targets. More information can be found on page 128.
Committed to doing the right thing (continued)
50
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Committed to doing the right thing (continued)
9. Gender – Figures reflect female representation. Gender is as recorded in Nationwides HR system.
10. Leadership population – A targeted and broader leadership population comprising around 1,000 of our leaders.
11. All data as at 4 April 2024, and based upon headcount not FTE (fulltime equivalent value) of employees directly employed by Nationwide Building Society.
12. Ethnicity – Figures reflect Black, Asian, mixed and other. Excluded from the calculation are white majority and minority.
13. The percentage of colleagues meeting this diverse characteristic is based on their selfdeclaration recorded in Nationwides HR system, which states that they consider themselves to belong to this characteristic.
14. Disability – Figures reflect those identifying as disabled or as having a longterm health condition.
15. Sexual Orientation – Figures reflect those identifying as bisexual, gay man, gay woman, lesbian and other. Excluded from the calculation are those identifying as heterosexual.
16. Statutory measures – We have presented additional measures that are not part of our Mutual Good Commitment targets but are statutory measures based on the Companies Act. Figures are based upon headcount and percentage
headcount of each population. Senior manager figures reflect the Companies Act definition of an employee who has responsibility for planning, directing or controlling the activities of an entity or a strategically important part of it, which
includes our executive population comprising the Executive Committee and their direct reports.
Gender
9
Ethnicity
12,13
All employees 60.4% (10,825 females) 15.0%
Senior managers
16
34.1% (31 females) 4.4%
We also report on other statutory diversity measures
16
separately to our Mutual Good Commitments. These are as below:
Gender
9
Actuals
11
Target Target
2024 2024 2028
35.7%
38.0%
50.0%
Leadership population
10
Ethnicity
12,13
Actuals
11
Target Target
2024 2024 2028
15.0%
13.2%
15.0%
All employees
Actuals
11
Target Target
2024 2024 2028
8.1%
8.7%
12.0%
Leadership population
10
Disability
13,14
2024 2024 2028
Actuals
11
Target Target
8.3%
7.2%
12.0%
Actuals
11
Target Target
2024 2024 2028
7.6%
5.9%
8.0%
All employees Leadership population
10
Sexual Orientation
13,15
Actuals
11
Target
2024 2024
4.3%
3.8%
All employees
Actuals
11
Target
2024 2024
3.2%
2.7%
Target
2028
4.0%
Leadership population
10
Target
2028
4.0%
51
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
This statement provides an overview of topics and related reporting references as required by Sections 414CA
and 414CB of the Companies Act 2006. Nonfinancial and sustainability (environmental, social and governance)
information is integrated across the Strategic report and other publications and we have used crossreferencing in
the table on the right to avoid duplication.
Non-nancial and sustainability
information statement
For further information on non-financial and
sustainability matters, please see our separate
reporting on nationwide.co.uk:
Climaterelated Financial Disclosures 2024
Intermediate NetZero Ambitions 2022: Basis of
Preparation
Intermediate (by 2030) netzeroaligned Transition
Plan 2023
Sustainability Report 2023
Principles for Responsible Banking 2024 report
Modern slavery statement
Responsible business webpages (for information on
our ESG policies and statements)
Supporting our colleagues with disabilities
It is the Society’s policy to provide equal access
to training, career development and promotion
opportunities (with appropriate adjustments made to
processes if required) to all colleagues, regardless of
their gender, race and ethnicity, gender reassignment,
sexual orientation, age, religion or belief, disability,
marriage or civil partnership, or socioeconomic
background.
We are a Disability Confident Leader, the highest level
under the Disability Confident scheme introduced by the
Governments Department for Work and Pensions. We
support colleagues with disabilities and longterm health
conditions with appropriate workplace adjustments and
access to occupational health support if needed. Should
colleagues become disabled while employed, the Society
will, wherever possible, make appropriate adjustments to
support them in their existing role or redeploy them to a
more suitable alternative role. We also have an active and
supportive disability employee network group, which all
colleagues are welcome to join.
Reporting
requirements
Section of Annual
Report and Accounts
Page
Business model Our difference is our
mutual ownership model
6
Key performance
indicators
How we performed in
2023/24 against our key
performance indicators
23
Governance Governance 75
Stakeholders Engaging with our
stakeholders
26
Social matters Committed to doing the
right thing
43
Key risks and their
management
Risk overview
62
Colleagues Our key policies and statements
of intent are set out on our
Responsible Business webpages
on nationwide.co.uk, and are
in place to ensure consistent
governance in respect of our
colleagues, environmental
matters, human rights and
economic crime and anti
corruption.
Environmental
matters
Human rights
Economic crime
and anticorruption
For more information on how we support our
colleagues more generally, see page 30.
Non-financial and sustainability
information statement
52
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Climate-related
nancial disclosures
53
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Climate-related financial disclosures
Ambition and overview
Environmental and climate consciousness are aligned to our mutual purpose of Banking – but fairer, more rewarding and for the good of society.
This compels us to take meaningful action by limiting the environmental impact of our business operations, helping customers to green their homes
(so that they are warmer, healthier, more comfortable places to live, and more cost effective to heat in the long term), and better managing the impacts
of a more unpredictable climate. In doing so, we can demonstrate our mutual difference, that extends beyond our own customers, and positively
impacts our communities as well as wider society.
Climate change presents a risk to Nationwide and its customers, and so managing the
risk from climate change, and aiming to build a more sustainable world by supporting
progress towards a greener society, is core to Nationwide being a responsible business.
In 2023/24, Nationwide has further embedded climaterelated risk management across
the organisation and continues to consider climate change as a cause to its principal
risks, increasing internal capabilities to manage the impact climate change has on the
Society and its customers. The impacts of naturerelated risks are in the early stages
of being considered as a causal factor in our Enterprise Risk Management Framework
(ERMF).
Pages 55 to 58 below outline how we have aligned to the four categories of the Task
Force on Climaterelated Financial Disclosures (TCFD’s) recommendations
1
(Strategy,
Governance, Risk management, and Metrics and targets) and recommended disclosures,
and aligns with the Financial Conduct Authority’s Listing Rules (9.8.6R(8)). Across these
categories are 11 subcategory headings which we have used to present our activities
for this year, along with ongoing and future activity. Page number references have been
provided to indicate where additional detail can be found in Nationwide’s full Climate
related Financial Disclosures 2024.
Nationwide’s full Climate-related Financial Disclosures 2024
can be found at nationwide.co.uk
1. Nationwide follows the TCFDs Annex: Implementing the Recommendations of the Task Force on Climaterelated Financial Disclosures (October 2021).
54
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Strategy – The actual and potential impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities on Nationwide, our strategy, and financial planning Disclosures:
pages 4-15
The climate-related risks and opportunities Nationwide has identified over the short, medium, and long term Disclosures:
pages 411
Activity in 2023/24
Reevaluated the risks and opportunities across the short, medium, and long term, to support the UK’s ambition to achieve netzero by 2050 and explored these as part of our climate strategy and
green finance proposition development.
Published our Intermediate (by 2030) netzeroaligned Transition Plan 2023, expanding upon our 2022 intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased targets disclosure, detailing the actions, and
potential actions, across the short to medium term, the anticipated impact these will have, and the level of control and challenges faced.
Requested some of our larger third parties (those with a minimum spend of £3 million, and a minimum contract tenure of 12 months) sign up to EcoVadis, set and disclose sciencebased targets for
scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, and publish their own climate change transition plan.
Ongoing and future activity
Continue to embed climate change considerations into Nationwides strategy and proposition development processes, including the identification of additional climaterelated risks and
opportunities.
Continue to actively engage with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) rating agencies to ensure Nationwides credentials are fully understood and appropriately reflected in our ratings.
Reflect on the appropriateness of setting a more realistic intermediate residential mortgages target, giving due consideration to the UK green homes policy landscape.
Continue to work with policymakers, and crossindustry, to encourage the development of policies which support the greening of UK homes.
Consider how to integrate naturerelated risks and opportunities into our climate strategy.
Continue to invite thirdparty suppliers to join the EcoVadis platform, disclose their carbon emissions, and set emissions reduction targets.
The impact of climate-related risks and opportunities on Nationwide’s businesses, strategy, and financial planning Disclosures:
pages 57, 1015
Activity in 2023/24
Further embedded climate change into our strategic planning and financial planning processes, including consideration of the insights and financial outputs generated by our internal climate
change scenario analysis activity within our FRS9 provisions process.
Launched the 0% interest Green Additional Borrowing to existing eligible members with a Nationwide mortgage. The loan supports customers in making energyefficient home improvements,
such as a boiler upgrade, solar panels, air source heat pumps, cavity wall insulation, or double glazing.
Launched Nationwide’s Home Energy Efficiency Tool to support customers in understanding the benefits of retrofitting their homes and helping them make better choices when considering
different retrofit options.
Maintained our participation in crossindustry forums, to understand new and emerging risks and opportunities across the financial sector, including continuing to campaign for further green
home policy through engagement with policymakers.
Removed the use of gas from over 80% of our branch network, replacing it with electrical solutions, and continued to source 100% renewable electricity for all our business operations.
Ongoing and future activity
Continue to explore further green finance opportunities and propositions to support our customers in the greening of their homes and help progress towards our intermediate (by 2030)
sciencebased targets.
Continue to convene and participate in crossindustry working groups to drive real change, including raising awareness of the challenges of greening UK homes and encouraging further
government action that supports greener homes.
Undertake an outcome review of our 0% interest Green Additional Borrowing pilot, to understand the impact on customer behaviour in the greening of their homes. This will support future policy
influencing and green finance proposition development.
Climate-related financial disclosures (continued)
Nationwide’s full Climaterelated
Financial Disclosures 2024 can
be found at nationwide.co.uk
55
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
The resilience of Nationwide’s strategy, taking into consideration different climate-related scenarios, including a 2°C or lower scenario Disclosures:
pages 1315
Activity in 2023/24
Completed an internal climate change scenario analysis exercise in 2023, including the use of a dynamic balance sheet and two different scenarios (including a 2°C or lower scenario), to quantify
better the financial risks arising from the physical and transitional impacts of climate change.
Considered climaterelated risk as part of this year’s Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (CAAP) and Internal Liquidity Adequacy Assessment Process (LAAP).
Incorporated climate change risk as a consideration when undertaking reverse stress testing, as part of Nationwide’s stress testing framework.
Ongoing and future activity
Further enhancements to our climate change scenario analysis capabilities, and how we use it to manage climaterelated risks.
Governance – Nationwide’s governance over climate-related risks and opportunities Disclosures:
pages 16-19
The Board’s oversight of climate-related risks and opportunities Disclosures:
pages 1617
Activity in 2023/24
The Board continues to have ultimate accountability for all climaterelated risk matters at Nationwide. In 2023/24 members of the Board engaged with a number of climaterelated topics,
including:
The Board approved the delivery of Nationwide’s Intermediate (by 2030) netzeroaligned Transition Plan 2023, including actions, and potential actions, to progress towards our intermediate
(by 2030) sciencebased targets
Board Risk Committee noted and discussed the outcomes of our internal climate change scenario analysis activity
Audit Committee reviewed and recommended Nationwide’s Transition Plan for Board approval, and reviewed and approved the Society’s Climaterelated Financial Disclosures.
Ongoing and future activity
Continue to engage the Board on progress towards our intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased targets as part of our Mutual Good Commitments.
Continue to evolve and optimise the climate risk governance model to ensure even greater focus at Board level.
Management’s role in assessing and managing climate-related risks and opportunities Disclosures:
pages 1819
Activity in 2023/24
Ownership for responding to climate change sits with Nationwide’s Director of Strategy, Performance, and Sustainability, who reports to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), whilst Senior Managers
Regime accountabilities sit with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). In 2023/24, management engaged with a number of climaterelated topics, including:
Our directors’ long term incentive arrangement continued to be aligned with Nationwides scope 1 and scope 2 carbon emission targets, which are captured within a wider ESG measure, with a
defined weighting of 10%
Members of the Executive Committee (ExCo) supported the governance of Nationwides Intermediate (by 2030) netzeroaligned Transition Plan 2023.
The Responsible Business Committee is now an executive managementlevel committee.
Ongoing and future activity
Continue to engage management on progress towards our intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased targets and transition plan.
Engage management on the integration of naturerelated risk within our climate change risk governance approach.
Climate-related financial disclosures (continued)
Nationwide’s full Climaterelated
Financial Disclosures 2024 can
be found at nationwide.co.uk
56
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Risk Management – How Nationwide identifies, assesses, and manages climate-related risks Disclosures:
pages 20-23
Nationwide’s processes for identifying and assessing climate-related risks Disclosures:
pages 2123
Activity in 2023/24
Reassessed the impacts of climate change against Nationwide’s principal risks in line with our Enterprise Risk Management Framework (ERMF) and identified potential impacts over the short,
medium, and long term.
Updated and improved the Society’s climate change risk standard, including stakeholders’ roles and responsibilities, and the inclusion of naturerelated risk, ensuring the standard remains a
robust key control of climaterelated risk.
Continued to leverage physical risk assessment capabilities, through the Nationwide Property Risk Hub
2
, while internal capabilities continue to be enhanced to assess transition risk across the
Societys residential mortgages and social housing lending portfolios.
Updated our Housing Finance Credit Standards, which apply to our registered social landlord (RSL) borrowers, to include clear recommendations for borrowers to have an ESG strategy aligned to
netzero. We continued to encourage RSL borrowers to improve the energy performance composition of their portfolios.
Ongoing and future activity
Consider further incorporating climate factors into Nationwides business as usual financial forecasting activity.
Monitor progress of our suppliers to set and disclose sciencebased targets and supporting transition plans.
Continue to develop understanding of naturerelated risk and how it applies to Nationwide’s business model.
Nationwide’s processes for managing climate-related risks Disclosures:
pages 2021
Activity in 2023/24
Delivered a refreshed climaterelated risk implementation plan to further embed climaterelated risk capabilities to meet future disclosure recommendations.
Submitted a report to the PRA in response to a thematic review request regarding climaterelated risk, detailing how we have further embedded the requirements of SS3/19 and evolved our
climate scenario analysis capabilities.
Ongoing and future activity
Consider the management of naturerelated risk as part of our climate risk assessments.
Continue to review our lending policy to ensure customers are not unduly exposed to physical and transition risks.
How Nationwide’s processes for identifying, assessing, and managing climate-related risks are integrated into the Societys overall risk management Disclosures:
pages 2021
Activity in 2023/24
Climate change continued to be embedded as a cause within our existing ERMF. We are considering how naturerelated risk is embedded into the ERMF as a causal factor.
Enhanced our climate change risk standard which aids the embedding, monitoring, and management of climaterelated risk as a cause to the Society’s most significant risks.
Ongoing and future activity
Further broaden understanding of climaterelated risk through continued development of Nationwides scenario analysis approach.
2. Nationwide’s Property Risk Hub assesses all mortgage applications for several physical risks at the decision in principle stage of a mortgage application. More information on our Property Risk Hub can be found in the Strategy section of
Nationwide’s Climaterelated Financial Disclosures 2024, on page 12.
Climate-related financial disclosures (continued)
Nationwide’s full Climaterelated
Financial Disclosures 2024 can
be found at nationwide.co.uk
57
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Metrics and Targets – The metrics and targets used to assess and manage relevant climate-related risks and opportunities Disclosures:
pages 24-41
The metrics used by Nationwide to assess climate-related risks and opportunities in line with our strategy and risk management process Disclosures:
pages 3841
Activity in 2023/24
Continued to utilise a robust set of metrics to assess climaterelated risks and opportunities. These include:
Physical risk data, including flood, subsidence, coastal, and storm risk
Transition risk data, such as Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) exposure of our mortgage book
Data that shows the takeup of our green finance propositions.
Enhanced internal climate change Management Information (M) which supports better decision making by management and the Board.
Incorporated naturerelated metrics into our M dashboard, including waste and water usage data.
Ongoing and future activity
Continue to enhance our climate change metrics and data that support our climaterelated risk management.
Continue to review climate ambitions, targets, and transition plan progress, in line with future changes to strategy, propositions, scenario analysis and climate science.
Nationwide’s scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and targets, and the related risks Disclosures:
pages 2437
Activity in 2023/24
Continued to disclose progress against the Society’s intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased targets, for scopes 1, 2, and 3 carbon emissions, aligned to the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) protocol and
industry bestpractice.
Enhanced our internal controls for monitoring the methodologies used to calculate scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
Ongoing and future activity
Continue to calculate our scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions aligned to the GHG protocol and industry bestpractice, disclosing annually within our Climaterelated Financial Disclosures, and measuring
progress against our intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased targets.
Continue to refine and enhance Nationwide’s approach to calculating scope 3 emissions, reflecting improvements in data availability, coverage, and industry understanding.
The targets used by Nationwide to manage climate-related risks and opportunities, and performance against these targets Disclosures:
pages 27, 29, 32, 35, 37
Activity in 2023/24
Continued to evolve Nationwide’s internal climate change M to track better our climate change ambitions and support management decisionmaking.
Calculated and disclosed metrics that support progress towards our scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions targets, within our Climaterelated Financial Disclosures.
Continued to track physical risk data (for example flood exposure) and transition risk data (such as EPC composition) of our mortgage book.
Continued to track the takeup of our green finance propositions, and progress of government policy related to the greening of UK homes, to understand progress towards our scope 3 mortgages
target.
Ongoing and future activity
Continue to enhance climate metrics and targets, including the consideration of naturerelated metrics, in line with changes to strategy, propositions, scenario analysis and climate science.
Continue to enhance our climate metrics and data that support us in measuring our progress towards our climaterelated Mutual Good Commitment, and our intermediate (by 2030)
sciencebased targets.
Continue to monitor performance against Nationwide’s climaterelated targets and Mutual Good Commitment – aiming to build a more sustainable world by supporting progress towards a
greener society – and update our Climaterelated Financial Disclosures accordingly.
Climate-related financial disclosures (continued)
Nationwide’s full Climaterelated
Financial Disclosures 2024 can
be found at nationwide.co.uk
58
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Nationwide is committed to a netzero future; it is our ambition to support the UK in
achieving its target to be netzero by 2050. This ambition is embedded into our strategy
through our Mutual Good Commitment; we aim to build a more sustainable world by
supporting progress towards a greener society, aligned to our intermediate (by 2030)
sciencebased targets.
As a building society, Nationwides focus is on providing banking products and services
for our customers. We have very limited corporate lending through small, closed
commercial real estate and private finance initiative portfolios, and lending to registered
social landlords. Nationwide does not lend to any other industries.
In December 2022 we set and disclosed intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased
emissions targets
3
, across scope 1, 2, and 3, and in December 2023, we published our
inaugural Intermediate (by 2030) NetZeroaligned Transition Plan 2023
4
, detailing the
actions and potential actions needed for us to progress towards our targets.
Our scope 1 and 2 sciencebased targets are within our control due to our ability to
manage our operational energy usage, actions underway to reduce or remove gas usage
from our buildings, and the continued procurement of renewable electricity. We remain
confident in achieving our scope 1 and 2 intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased targets.
We have very limited influence over practical measures to reduce emissions from
properties which are owned by our borrowers, and no control over government policy
needed to green UK homes and social housing. Whilst we always considered our
intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased targets to be challenging, the UK’s progress
towards netzero, particularly the greening of homes (which has been described in the
Climate Change Committees (CCC’s) Progress in Reducing Emissions: 2023 Report
to Parliament as ‘worryingly slow’), has been much slower than anticipated and has
not been at the pace needed to deliver the emissions reductions required to support
progress towards our sciencebased mortgages target.
Therefore, we now do not believe that our intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased target
for mortgages will be achieved. Considering this, over the next 12 months, we will reflect
on the appropriateness of setting a more realistic intermediate residential mortgages
target, giving due consideration to the current UK green homes policy landscape, the
outcome of the general election and any policies announced by the new government,
and the outcome of the 0% interest Green Additional Borrowing research. For more
information, please see our Climaterelated Financial Disclosures 2024.
We continue to disclose our carbon emissions in line with the Government’s Streamlined
Energy and Carbon Reporting regulation requirements
5
.
Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions assurance
Nationwide appointed Ernst and Young LLP (EY) to provide limited independent
assurance over our scope 1, 2 and 3 carbon emission disclosures for the year ended
4 April 2024. This includes scope 1 and 2 emissions for the year ended 4 April
2024, scope 3 upstream emissions for the 12month period ended 31 December
2023, and scope 3 financed (investments) emissions for the 12month period
ended 31 December 2023. Assured metrics and KPs are indicated throughout.
The assurance engagement was planned and performed in accordance with the
International Standard for Assurance Engagements (SAE) (UK) 3000 (July 2020),
Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial
Information. A limited assurance report was issued and is available on Nationwide’s
website
6
. This report includes details of the scope, respective responsibilities,
work performed, limitations and conclusion.
Nationwides carbon emissions
3. Intermediate NetZero Ambitions 2022: Basis of Preparation
4. Intermediate (by 2030) netzeroaligned Transition Plan 2023
5. Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting requirementsGOV.UK(www.gov.uk). Detail of the Society’s energy efficiency action can be found in the Strategy section in Nationwides Climaterelated Financial Disclosures 2024.
6. EY emissions assurance report 2024
Climate-related financial disclosures (continued)
Nationwide’s full Climaterelated
Financial Disclosures 2024 can
be found at nationwide.co.uk
59
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Nationwide’s scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions (see table on page 61)
Nationwide’s scope 1 emissions have continued to decrease in comparison to previous
years. This is due to our ongoing efforts to reduce our operational emissions, such as the
removal of gas from our branch network. Nationwide will continue to reduce its scope 1
emissions, aligned to its sciencebased target ambitions.
We use a marketbased approach
7
for calculating our scope 2 emissions. 100% of our
scope 2 energy consumption is attributed to renewable sources, through a solar power
purchase agreement (PPA) which produces emissionsfree energy, and use of green
tariff electricity. Our scope 2 emissions are associated with purchased electricity only,
as we do not purchase any steam, heat, or cooling. We also disclose our absolute
(locationbased
8
) scope 2 emissions which have risen this year as we embed new ways
of working (with increased office presence) and replace gas with electrical solutions
throughout our business operations.
We remain aware that the pace of emissions reduction may vary over the coming years
as working behaviours adapt, but we are committed to reducing scope 1 emissions
associated with our business operations in line with netzero.
Nationwide’s scope 3 upstream carbon emissions (see table on page 61)
We have calculated our scope 3 emissions for upstream activities across purchased
goods and services, capital goods, and upstream transportation and distribution, which
account for around 91% of our total scope 3 upstream emissions.
Our upstream emissions have been calculated using publicly disclosed thirdparty
supplier emissions data (covering scopes 13) from responses submitted to CDP, and
revenue from the most recent publicly available annual reports, where available. Data
gaps were supplemented using industry average emissions contained within the Scope
3 Evaluator tool, made available by the GHG Protocol and Quantis.
Our total scope 3 upstream emissions in 2023 have remained the same compared to
2022, due to an increase in spend on goods and services, and a decrease in supplier
specific emissions for capital goods.
Nationwide’s scope 3 downstream emissions – residential mortgages,
registered social landlords, and commercial real estate (see table on
page 61)
Nationwide continues to disclose the emissions associated with its mortgage, registered
social landlord (RSL), and commercial real estate (CRE) portfolios. In 2023 we used
our EPC model to calculate the emissions for both our mortgage and RSL portfolios.
Aligned to the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF) GHG Accounting
and Reporting standard, publicly available EPC data is interpolated across the book to
estimate carbon emissions, where valid EPC certificates are not available.
We have calculated both the absolute and LTV weighted emissions for our mortgage,
RSL, and CRE portfolios. The absolute emissions have been weighted by loan to value
(LTV) to calculate the proportion of emissions financed by Nationwide. This is in line with
PCAF’s methodology.
The UK’s progress towards netzero, particularly the greening of homes, has not been
at the pace needed to deliver the emissions reductions required to support progress
towards our intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased mortgages target. Therefore, we now
do not believe that our intermediate (by 2030) sciencebased target for mortgages will
be achieved.
Our LTV weighted carbon intensity for our residential mortgage portfolio has reduced in
comparison to last year. This is due to an improvement in the average energy efficiency
of the book.
Our absolute scope 3 RSL emissions and total floor area have reduced this year, due to a
decrease in the number of properties in the RSL portfolio. Due to an increase in overall
lending and an increase in average LTV, LTV weighted carbon intensity has increased
slightly in comparison to last year.
Our absolute scope 3 CRE emissions, and LTV weighted emissions and intensity,
have reduced in comparison to last year, due to the continued managed runoff of the
portfolio.
Information on how scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions have been calculated is in our Climate
related Financial Disclosures 2024.
7. A marketbased approach allows flexibility to utilise marketbased measures such as renewable energy to achieve netzero.
8. A locationbased approach doesn’t factor in marketbased measures and considers operational absolute emissions only.
Climate-related financial disclosures (continued)
Nationwide’s full Climaterelated
Financial Disclosures 2024 can
be found at nationwide.co.uk
60
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
A summary of Nationwide’s scope 1, 2, and 3 carbon emissions data
9
The key movements in the carbon emissions data table below are explained on the previous page.
We recognise certain limitations in climate data affecting climate metrics and targets, and their usefulness in strategic decision making. For more information on scope 1, 2, and 3 data
scores and data limitations, see pages 26, 28, 30, 33 and 36 in Nationwide’s Climaterelated Financial Disclosures 2024.
Scope 1 and 2 emissions data Year to 4 Apr 2024* Year to 4 Apr 2023 (Baseline) Year to 4 Apr 2022
Scope 1 – Energy and travel (tCO
2
e/y)
1,792 2,361 3,002
Scope 2 – Electricity (tCO
2
e/y)
14,042 12,774 14,972
Total gross Scope 1 and 2 emissions (tCO
2
e/y)
15,834 15,135 17,974
Absolute carbon outturn – less PPA carbon reduction and green tariff electricity (tCO
2
e/y)
1,792 2,361 3,002
Total carbon dioxide in tonnes per full time employee (FTE)
0.13 0.17 0.19
Total energy usage – Electricity and gas (MWh)
76,650 76,781 86,417
Scope 3 upstream emissions data – purchased goods and services, capital goods, upstream
transportation and distribution
Year to 31 Dec 2023* Year to 31 Dec 2022^ (Baseline) Year to 31 Dec 2021
Total upstream scope 3 carbon dioxide emissions (tCO
2
e/y)
157,000 157,000 230,000
Scope 3 emissions data – residential mortgages Year to 31 Dec 2023* Year to 31 Dec 2022^ (Baseline) Year to 31 Dec 2021
Absolute carbon emissions on whole book using interpolated EPC data (tCO
2
e/y)
6,077,000 6,021,000 6,187,000
LTV weighted carbon emissions using interpolated EPC data (tCO
2
e/y)
2,807,000 2,766,000 2,795,000
LTV weighted carbon intensity using interpolated EPC data (kgCO
2
e/m
2
/y)
18.27 18.65 19.03
Scope 3 emissions data – registered social landlords Year to 31 Dec 2023* Year to 31 Dec 2022 (Baseline) Year to 31 Dec 2021
Absolute carbon emissions on whole book using interpolated EPC data (tCO
2
e/y)
439,000 466,000 747,000
LTV weighted carbon emissions using interpolated data (tCO
2
e/y)
218,000 222,000 346,000
LTV weighted carbon intensity using interpolated data (kgCO
2
e/m
2
/y)
20.61 20.01 22.36
Scope 3 emissions data – commercial real estate Year to 31 Dec 2023* Year to 31 Dec 2022 (Baseline) Year to 31 Dec 2021
Absolute carbon emissions on whole book using proxy EPC data (tCO
2
e/y)
110,000 138,000 259,000
LTV weighted carbon emissions using proxy EPC data (tCO
2
e/y)
32,000 45,000 96,000
LTV weighted carbon intensity using proxy EPC data (kgCO
2
e/m
2
/y)
25.40 31.28 46.39
9. Notes for the carbon emissions data table are detailed in Nationwide’s Climaterelated Financial Disclosures 2024.
* Nationwide’s emissions and financed emissions are subject to independent limited assurance by EY, with exception of total energy usage. Further information is available in Nationwide’s Climaterelated Financial Disclosures 2024 on page 37.
^ Comparative amounts have been restated due to improvements in emissions calculation methodology.
Climate-related financial disclosures (continued)
Nationwide’s full Climaterelated
Financial Disclosures 2024 can
be found at nationwide.co.uk
61
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Annual Report and Accounts 2024
Strategic Report (continued)
Risk overview
T
he Board recognises that effective risk management is essential to Nationwide’s ongoing strength and the delivery of our strategic objectives. We adopt a prudent approach to risk
management, keeping our customers’ money safe and secure by ensuring that the risks we take in support of our strategy are controlled through a robust risk framework. We operate a
relatively simple business model and operate in lower risk markets to serve our customers and protect their money. We only take risks we understand and can manage well.
How risk is managed at Nationwide
N
ationwide uses a Board-approved Enterprise Risk Management Framework (ERMF) to ensure risks are managed in a consistent and rigorous way. The ERMF defines how risks are managed
and sets out the risk management responsibilities of all colleagues within an industry-standard three lines of defence model. It also ensures that all risks are appropriately and consistently
identified, assessed, managed, monitored, and reported. Independent oversight and challenge of the Society’s risk management practices are provided by the Society’s independent Risk
function, led by the Chief Risk Officer, whilst the Internal Audit function provides assurance of the effectiveness of our control environment for the Board.
T
hrough the ERMF, the Board formally sets its risk appetite, articulating how much risk it is prepared to take in the pursuit of its objectives. A comprehensive suite of policies and
standards translates this appetite into the localised risk management activities and controls that our colleagues operate on a day-to-day basis to protect our customers and their money.
The Board and management receive regular reporting on the Society’s risk profile and key risk metrics to support them in monitoring our position relative to risk appetite. We also
continuously review the risks to which Nationwide is exposed and strengthen both the framework and controls we rely upon to mitigate these risks. Further information on the ERMF and
its key components can be found in the Managing risk section of the Risk report on page 144.
Principal risks and uncertainties
T
he ERMF sets out eight principal risks, encompassing all of the different types of risk which are relevant to Nationwide’s business model and achievement of its strategic objectives. This
ensures we understand and manage all risks to which we are exposed in a comprehensive and consistent way. Further information on these risks can be found in the Risk report as indicated
below.
Principal risk
Key developments
Further detail
Credit risk The risk of loss as a result of a customer or counterparty
failing to meet their financial obligations.
The external environment remained uncertain during the year, with high but falling inflation
and the higher interest rate environment contributing to pressure on customers’ finances,
impacting both the housing market and mortgage trading volumes. Arrears rates increased,
with residential lending cases more than three months in arrears now representing 0.41%
(2023: 0.32%) of the total portfolio. Some customers are also taking up measures offered
under the Mortgage Charter. Despite this increase in arrears, credit performance remained
within expectations and appropriate provisions are in place.
Page 149
Liquidity and funding risk Liquidity risk is the risk that Nationwide is
unable to meet its liabilities as they fall due and maintain member and
other stakeholder confidence. Funding risk is the risk that Nationwide
is unable to maintain diverse funding sources in wholesale and retail
markets and manage retail funding risk that can arise from excessive
concentrations of higher risk deposits.
Nationwide maintained a strong liquidity and funding position throughout the year, with a
Liquidity Coverage Ratio of 191% (2023: 180%) and a Net Stable Funding Ratio of 151% (2023:
147%).
Page 187
Capital risk The risk that Nationwide fails to maintain sufficient
capital to absorb losses throughout a full economic cycle and sufficient
to maintain the confidence of current and prospective investors,
members, the Board, and regulators.
Nationwide maintained capital resources comfortably above both regulatory and internal
minima throughout the year. The Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio increased to 27.1% (2023:
26.5%) and leverage ratio increased to 6.5% (2023: 6.0%).
Page 199
62
Annual Report and Accounts 2024
Strategic Report (continued)
Risk overview (continued)
Principal risk
Key developments
Further detail
Market risk The risk that the net value of, or net income arising from,
the Group's assets and liabilities is impacted as a result of market price
or rate changes. Nationwide does not have a trading book; therefore
market risk only arises in the banking book.
Nationwide’s market risk exposure primarily arises from fixed rate mortgages and savings,
and changes in the market value of the treasury liquidity portfolio. Whilst economic conditions
impacted the Group, market volatility was comparatively lower this year and market risk
continued to be managed prudently, resulting in a low level of exposure to interest rate risk.
Page 205
Pension risk The risk that the value of the pension schemes’ assets
will be insufficient to meet the estimated liabilities, creating a pension
deficit.
Following the finalisation of the Fund’s latest Triennial Valuation, no employer deficit
contributions were required, and none are scheduled for the year ending 4 April 2025 as the
valuation indicated a funding surplus. Nationwide actively engages with the Trustee to ensure
broad alignment on investment objectives and implementation.
Page 212
Business risk The risk that volumes decline, margins shrink, or losses
increase relative to the cost or capital base, affecting the sustainability
of the business and the ability to deliver the strategy due to external
factors (macroeconomic, geopolitical, industry, regulatory or other
external events) or internal factors (including the development and
execution of the strategy).
Competition from incumbent banks and digitally-focused new entrants remained strong, with
enhanced service and product propositions being used to attract and retain customers.
Nationwide’s strategy is focused on providing a simply brilliant service and continuous
improvement, promoting enhanced efficiency and productivity. Furthermore, continual
reviews of customer propositions maintain the Society’s competitive position in the core
mortgage, savings, and personal current account markets in which it operates.
Page 214
Operational and conduct risk The risk of impacts resulting from
inadequate or failed internal processes, conduct and compliance
management, people and systems, or from external events.
Nationwide has continued to mature its operational and conduct risk management processes
and capabilities, with a particular focus on change management, economic crime risk
capabilities and strengthening the technology control environment.
Page 215
Model risk The risk of adverse consequences from model errors or
the inappropriate use of modelled outputs. Model outputs may be
affected by the quality of data inputs, choice and suitability of
methodology and the integrity of implementation. The adverse
consequences include financial loss, poor business or strategic decision
making, or damage to Nationwide’s reputation.
A number of models have been redeveloped to improve performance and compliance with
new Internal Ratings Based (IRB) roadmap regulations.
Model risk management and governance capabilities have been enhanced in response to
changing regulation, including the Prudential Regulation Authority’s (PRA) supervisory
statement 1/23 ‘model risk management principles for banks’ and implementation of the
Basel 3.1 standards.
Page 219
63
Annual Report and Accounts 2024
Strategic Report (continued)
Risk overview (continued)
Emerging risks
Emerging risks are specific risks which have the potential to materially impact Nationwide’s financial results and delivery of its strategic objectives, and often impact across several
principal risks. The most significant of these are described below, together with key developments, a summary of actions we are taking to reduce the risk, and the principal risks which are
most likely to be impacted.
Risk
How we mitigate this risk
Related principal risks
Climate change
Nationwide is exposed to both physical risks arising from climate
change (such as damage to UK housing stock and property) and
transitional risks (such as lower economic growth and government
policy impacts on property values) as the country moves towards net-
zero emissions. These threats continue to evolve as government policy
develops and technologies mature.
We invest in sustainable business practices and proactively review lending criteria to limit
the impact our activities have on climate change and to mitigate potential credit risk.
We continue to develop our processes to reflect potential changes in macroeconomic
conditions and the housing market as we transition to a low-carbon economy, and
complete internal and external stress testing for climate change.
Credit risk
Model risk
Operational and
conduct risk
Cyber
The threat of cyber attacks remains heightened, with ongoing
geopolitical tensions posing a threat to Nationwide, our staff, and our
customers.
We continuously monitor the cyber threat level and invest in our cyber defences to ensure
we are able to respond appropriately.
Operational and
conduct risk
Emergent Technologies
(note i)
The emergence of viable generative artificial intelligence, as well as the
continued development of quantum computing and associated
technologies, creates new risks and opportunities as they are adopted
internally, across the industry and potentially by malicious organisations
or individuals.
We only use generative artificial intelligence for specific activities aligned to defined
principles and subject to high levels of control and oversight, including human
intervention where required.
We continually develop and refine our risk management approach and control framework
for advanced and emerging technology, reflecting industry best practice.
Operational and
conduct risk
Model risk
Geopolitical environment (note ii)
The geopolitical environment remains volatile with ongoing conflicts in
Ukraine and Gaza, and a range of global tensions. This uncertainty
impacts the macroeconomic environment. Conflicts and disputes also
have the potential to disrupt supply chains and increase cyber and
economic crime.
We prepare for a range of economic outcomes and continually assess the risks arising
from these.
Whilst our retail lending is restricted to the UK, we actively control our exposure to
volatile sectors to mitigate the risks arising from geopolitical events.
We work with suppliers to understand and manage exposures to geopolitical events,
whilst protecting services through enhanced due diligence and diversification.
Credit risk
Operational and
conduct risk
Liquidity and
funding risk
Macroeconomic environment
(note ii)
Nationwide is inherently exposed to fluctuations in economic
conditions and the UK housing market. The economic environment
remains uncertain with high but falling inflation and Bank rate
impacting customer finances as well as the performance of other
institutions and counterparties.
We maintain strong capital and liquidity levels in excess of regulatory minima, and we
regularly undertake both internal and regulatory stress tests to ensure our financial
resources are sufficient under a range of severe but plausible scenarios.
We continuously review and adjust our credit policies so they remain appropriate for the
prevailing economic conditions and continue to support customers who may experience
financial difficulty.
We only have exposures to highly rated banking counterparties; these consist primarily of
fully collateralised derivatives and covered bonds for liquidity management.
Credit risk
Capital risk
Liquidity and
funding risk
Technology and resilience
The combination of a rapidly evolving and increasingly complex
technological environment alongside the increasing importance of
services being available when customers need them, increases both the
potential for, and the impact of, outages and system failures.
We have prioritised strategic investment in our systems and simplified and modernised
our technology estate.
We continue to strengthen our internal control environment to improve resilience,
proactively balancing continued service provision with the need to update and develop
our systems to meet the current and future needs of our customers.
Operational and
conduct risk
Key (change in underlying risk to Nationwide in year)
Increased level of risk Stable level of risk Decreased level of risk
Notes:
i. Not reported as a separate emerging risk in the Annual Report and Accounts 2023.
ii. Reported as combined macroeconomic and geopolitical environment risk in the Annual Report and Accounts 2023.
64
Governance
Chairman’s introduction to the Corporate
Governance report 76
Your Board 77
Governance at Nationwide 81
Statement of compliance with the UK Corporate
Governance Code 2018 81
Audit Committee report 97
Board Risk Committee report 104
Nomination and Governance Committee report 108
Report of the directors on remuneration 112
Directors’ report 139
75
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Annual Report and Accounts 2024
Nomination and Governance Committee report (continued)
How the Committee works
Committee purpose
The Committee provides oversight and advice to the Board on the succession planning for the Board and its committees and executive level appointments. It also reviews the Board’s
governance arrangements ensuring they are consistent with best practice and oversee the implementation of the Society’s inclusion, diversity and wellbeing (ID&W) strategy and
objectives. More detail on the duties and responsibilities of the Committee can be found in its terms of reference, available at nationwide.co.uk.
The Committee comprises the Society Chairman (who chairs the Committee except when his own succession is being considered) and three independent non-executive directors,
including the Senior Independent Director. Details of the skills and experience of the Committee members can be found in their biographies on pages
77 to 80.
In addition to the members, regular attendees of the Committee include: the CEO, Chief People Officer, and the Society Secretary.
Committee meetings
The Committee meets at least twice a year and otherwise as required. During the year, the Committee held six scheduled meetings. The attendance record of Committee members is
set out on page
82.
Committee performance, skills and expertise
The performance of the Committee is reviewed annually, along with the Committee’s terms of reference and its activities over the previous year.
The purpose of this review is to confirm that the terms of reference align with the Committee’s remit and purpose, and continue to reflect all applicable governance codes, guidelines,
legislation and best practice. The 2023 performance review was undertaken by the Society’s Secretariat with the assistance of Lintstock Limited, as part of the three-year Board and
committee performance review process agreed in 2021. Feedback on the performance and effectiveness of the Committee was provided to both the Committee and the Board. The
results of the review indicate that Committee members are satisfied with the performance and effectiveness of the Committee. The 2023 performance review, including Board actions
and next steps that the Committee is monitoring, is described on pages
94 to 95.
What the Committee did in the year
Executive resourcing, leadership, talent, and succession
A key focus of the Committee has been to ensure the Society’s leadership has the talent needed for the future.
The Committee received regular updates on the Society’s executive succession management, including reviews of emergency succession plans and talent management development
plans for longer-term succession. This provided the Committee with a view of the talent pipeline of potential leaders as well their key strengths and development areas. There is a
continued focus on encouraging diversity to senior roles. It was noted that longer-term succession planning requires early focus to address capability requirements and diverse
representation.
The Committee received deep dives from each of the Society’s individual business functions during the year. Function leaders reported on the challenges and opportunities faced by their
functions in resourcing, capability, diversity and succession planning and the work which was ongoing to address these challenges and opportunities.
109
Risk report
Introduction 144
Managing risk 144
Principal risks and uncertainties 148
Credit risk 149
Overview 149
Residential mortgages 154
Consumer banking 170
Commercial lending 178
Treasury assets 182
Liquidity and funding risk 187
Capital risk 199
Market risk 205
Pension risk 212
Business risk 214
Operational and conduct risk 215
Model risk 219
143
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Financial statements
Independent auditor’s report 221
Income statements 235
Statements of comprehensive income 236
Balance sheets 237
Statements of movements in members’
interests and equity 238
Cash flow statements 240
Notes to the financial statements 241
Note 1 – Statement of accounting policies
Note 2 – Judgements in applying accounting
policies and critical accounting estimates
Performance
Note 3 – Interest receivable and similar income
Note 4 – Interest expense and similar charges
Note 5 – Fee and commission income and expense
Note 6 – Other operating income
Note 7 – Gains/losses from derivatives and hedge
accounting
Note 8 – Administrative expenses
Note 9 – Employees
Note 10 – Impairment charge and provisions on
loans and advances to customers
Note 11 Taxation
Financial assets and liabilities
Note 12 – Classification and measurement
Note 13 Investment securities
Note 14 – Loans and advances to customers
Note 15 Derivative financial instruments
Note 16 – Deposits from banks and similar
institutions
Note 17 – Other deposits
Note 18 – Debt securities in issue
Note 19 – Subordinated liabilities
Note 20 – Subscribed capital
Note 21 – Fair value hierarchy of financial
assets and liabilities held at fair value
Note 22 – Fair value of financial assets and
liabilities held at fair value – Level 3
portfolio
Note 23 – Fair value of financial assets and
liabilities measured at amortised
cost
Note 24 – Offsetting financial assets and
financial liabilities
Other assets and investments
Note 25 – Intangible assets
Note 26 – Property, plant and equipment
Provisions, contingent and other liabilities
Note 27 – Provisions for liabilities and charges
Note 28 – Leasing
Note 29 – Contingent liabilities
Note 30 – Retirement benefit obligations
Capital and equity instruments
Note 31 Core capital deferred shares (CCDS)
Note 32 – Other equity instruments
Scope of consolidation
Note 33 – Investments in Group undertakings
Note 34 – Structured entities
Other disclosure matters
Note 35 – Related party transactions
Note 36 – Notes to the cash flow statements
Note 37 – Capital management
Note 38 – Registered office
Note 39 – Events after the balance sheet date
220
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Other information
Annual business statement 317
1. Statutory percentages
2. Other percentages
3. Information relating to directors at 4 April 2024
Country-by-country report 320
Underlying profit 321
Forward-looking statements 321
Glossary 321
316
Strategic report Risk report Financial statements Other informationGovernanceAnnual Report and Accounts 2024
Nationwide Building Society
Head Office: Nationwide House, Pipers Way, Swindon, Wiltshire SN38 1NW.
nationwide.co.uk
AGMAR&A2024 (June 2024)
322
549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-052024-04-04549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-052023-04-04549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-052024-04-04ifrs-full:SeparateMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-052023-04-04ifrs-full:SeparateMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822024-04-04549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-04549300XFX12G42QIKN822024-04-04ifrs-full:SeparateMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-04ifrs-full:SeparateMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-04NAT:CoreCapitalDeferredSharesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-052024-04-04NAT:CoreCapitalDeferredSharesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822024-04-04NAT:CoreCapitalDeferredSharesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-04ifrs-full:AdditionalPaidinCapitalMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-052024-04-04ifrs-full:AdditionalPaidinCapitalMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822024-04-04ifrs-full:AdditionalPaidinCapitalMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-04NAT:RetainedEarningsAndMiscellaneousOtherReservesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-052024-04-04NAT:RetainedEarningsAndMiscellaneousOtherReservesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822024-04-04NAT:RetainedEarningsAndMiscellaneousOtherReservesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-04ifrs-full:RevaluationSurplusMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-052024-04-04ifrs-full:RevaluationSurplusMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822024-04-04ifrs-full:RevaluationSurplusMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-04ifrs-full:ReserveOfCashFlowHedgesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-052024-04-04ifrs-full:ReserveOfCashFlowHedgesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822024-04-04ifrs-full:ReserveOfCashFlowHedgesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-04ifrs-full:ReserveOfChangeInValueOfForeignCurrencyBasisSpreadsMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-052024-04-04ifrs-full:ReserveOfChangeInValueOfForeignCurrencyBasisSpreadsMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822024-04-04ifrs-full:ReserveOfChangeInValueOfForeignCurrencyBasisSpreadsMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-04NAT:ReserveOfGainsAndLossesOnFinancialAssetsMeasuredAtFairValueThroughOtherComprehensiveIncomeAndReserveOfGainsAndLossesFromInvestmentsInEquityInstrumentsMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822023-04-052024-04-04NAT:ReserveOfGainsAndLossesOnFinancialAssetsMeasuredAtFairValueThroughOtherComprehensiveIncomeAndReserveOfGainsAndLossesFromInvestmentsInEquityInstrumentsMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822024-04-04NAT:ReserveOfGainsAndLossesOnFinancialAssetsMeasuredAtFairValueThroughOtherComprehensiveIncomeAndReserveOfGainsAndLossesFromInvestmentsInEquityInstrumentsMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-04NAT:CoreCapitalDeferredSharesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-052023-04-04NAT:CoreCapitalDeferredSharesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-04ifrs-full:AdditionalPaidinCapitalMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-052023-04-04ifrs-full:AdditionalPaidinCapitalMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-04NAT:RetainedEarningsAndMiscellaneousOtherReservesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-052023-04-04NAT:RetainedEarningsAndMiscellaneousOtherReservesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-04ifrs-full:RevaluationSurplusMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-052023-04-04ifrs-full:RevaluationSurplusMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-04ifrs-full:ReserveOfCashFlowHedgesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-052023-04-04ifrs-full:ReserveOfCashFlowHedgesMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-04ifrs-full:ReserveOfChangeInValueOfForeignCurrencyBasisSpreadsMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-052023-04-04ifrs-full:ReserveOfChangeInValueOfForeignCurrencyBasisSpreadsMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-04NAT:ReserveOfGainsAndLossesOnFinancialAssetsMeasuredAtFairValueThroughOtherComprehensiveIncomeAndReserveOfGainsAndLossesFromInvestmentsInEquityInstrumentsMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-052023-04-04NAT:ReserveOfGainsAndLossesOnFinancialAssetsMeasuredAtFairValueThroughOtherComprehensiveIncomeAndReserveOfGainsAndLossesFromInvestmentsInEquityInstrumentsMember549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-04549300XFX12G42QIKN822022-04-04ifrs-full:SeparateMemberiso4217:GBP