Overview

• Nationwide has proposed increasing CEO Debbie Crosbie’s maximum annual pay package by 43% to £7 million ahead of its July 23 AGM advisory vote.
• Member and customer groups have criticised the scheme as emblematic of weak governance and limited ownership rights in mutual societies.
• Edwin Fisher of the Building Societies Members Association labelled Nationwide the “most controversial” with “lowest standards of corporate governance,” and Prem Sikka urged members to vote against all director pay.
• Nationwide defends the package by citing over 94% member support at the last AGM, record member financial value, top customer satisfaction rankings and leading current account growth.
• Robin Fieth of the Building Societies Association emphasises Nationwide’s role as a domestically systemic institution whose governance choices carry sector-wide implications.