Nationwide cheers ‘outstanding' year after completing Virgin Money takeover
Nationwide Building Society has posted a 30% jump in annual profits after an 'outstanding' year that saw it complete the takeover of Virgin Money.
The mutual reported pre-tax profits of £2.3 billion for the year to March 31, up from £1.8 billion the previous year, which came despite it handing out a record £2.8 billion in value to members including £1 billion in rewards.
On an underlying basis, pre-tax profits fell to £1.9 billion from £2 billion as it said it focused on offering competitive interest rates to customers.
Debbie Crosbie, group chief executive of Nationwide Building Society, said: 'Nationwide has had an outstanding twelve months.
'We returned a record £2.8 billion in value to our members and recorded our highest ever year for growth in mortgage lending and retail deposit balances.'
She added: 'The Virgin Money performance was strong in the six months since our acquisition, with improvements in customer service and a return to growth in mortgage lending.'
It announced on Thursday it would pay out its third Fairer Share payout to members, working out to £100 each.
The firm completed the £2.9 billion takeover of Virgin Money last year, which has seen it become the UK's second largest mortgages and savings provider.
The group said integration of the acquisition was 'progressing well'.
It is pencilling in modest growth in the wider UK economy of 1.4% this year and said borrowers remain resilient.
'The global economic outlook remains highly uncertain, but UK households and the UK-focused businesses we support appear generally well placed for potential shocks,' it said.
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