🔔 Nationwide completes Virgin Money takeover - what does it mean for savers?

Both Nationwide and Virgin Money are names that many people will be familiar with and may have opened a savings account with them. So, what does the recent news that Nationwide has completed its buyout of Virgin Money mean - and how will this affect those holding savings accounts with either one or more importantly both providers?

Nationwide had announced the £2.9billion deal in March this year, and it was a controversial decision as Nationwide members did not get a vote. Virgin shareholders on the other hand voted 89% in favour to accept the takeover.

The buyout means that together, Nationwide and Virgin Money will have assets worth around £336.3bn and lending of approximately £283.5bn, making it the second largest savings and mortgage provider in the UK.

Will my money be protected if I have savings with both brands?

This is always an important question when providers merge. And the good news in this case is that yes, for the time being at least. Virgin Money has stated “For now, it's very much business as usual – there's no impact to Virgin Money (or Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank) products and services. Customers who have savings with both Virgin Money and Nationwide will continue to benefit from the maximum protection offered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme on each of their Virgin Money and Nationwide accounts.”

There will be no changes to sort codes, account numbers or any account features either.

Of course, it’s likely that this will change at some stage, but there’s been no indication of if and when the two licences will merge.

Another positive move is that all Virgin Money branches will be included in Nationwide’s Branch Promise, which means that everywhere there is a Nationwide or Virgin Money branch, they promise it will remain until at least the start of 2028.

That said, for the time being customers will not be able to make Nationwide transactions in Virgin Money branches – although the mutual has stated that it expects to broaden its range of services over time.

Virgin Money’s new CEO, Chris Rhodes, has warned customers of both brands to be alert to scammers who may approach them during this time. He said “Just so you know, fraudsters often take advantage of times of change to try and persuade people to share personal or financial information. We’ll never ask you for security details, whether over the phone, by email or via any other channel, so if someone does – please don’t share this information with them.”

Kevin Parry, chair of Nationwide, said: “As we integrate Nationwide and Virgin Money carefully over time, the impact we have in communities across the UK, and the benefits we offer to members and customers, will only increase.” 

Debbie Crosby, chief executive of Nationwide, added: “All Virgin Money profits will be retained for the benefit of customers and, for the first time in the UK, a full-service business bank will be part of a large and modern mutual.” 

We’ll have to wait and see how this actually manifests. As far as high street providers go, Nationwide does offer savers more than the High Street Banks, although you can still earn more elsewhere. Virgin Money offers new customers some pretty competitive rates, but as I have pointed out on numerous occasions, Virgin also still pays appalling rates of as little as 0.10% on some older closed accounts, so we’ll see if there’s any improvement made to these as part of this new modern mutual. But I wouldn’t hold my breath. If you have money in any of these accounts, make sure you move your cash.