Nationwide Building Society is a major UK building society that has its headquarters in Swindon, England. It has approximately 13 million members, 20 million accounts and employs 19,000 people across the UK. It is the only UK building society to clear its own cheques, and the only UK financial institution to offer completely fee-free transactions (both electronic and cash withdrawals) worldwide with their VISA branded debit cards.
Nationwide Building Society provides financial services both directly, and through approximately 680 branches and 200 agencies. Nationwide is a major provider of both mortgages and savings in the UK, as well as personal banking and commercial lending.
The Society's dual origins lie in Northampton (1848) and within the co-operative movement in London (1883) respectively. Over a hundred mergers later — most notably the merger between the Nationwide and the Anglia Building Societies in 1987 — they are now the UK's second largest mortgage lender and savings provider. More significantly, it is the largest building society in the world and committed to staying mutual. The company is keen to emphasise that it does not have "shareholders", it has "members".
On 12th September 2006 the Society announced plans to merge with Portman Building Society, creating a mutual body with assets of more than £160bn. This merger completed successfully on 28th August 2007.
