Nationwide Building Society is under growing scrutiny after revealing plans to boost chief executive Debbie Crosbie’s pay package by 43%, potentially taking her total remuneration to as much as £7 million—without offering members a binding vote on the proposal.
Campaigners argue the move leaves Nationwide’s members with fewer rights than shareholders at publicly listed UK banks and exposes a significant governance “loophole” in the rules that govern building societies. Critics say the lack of binding accountability risks undermining mutual values.
The controversy comes in the wake of Nationwide’s £2.9 billion acquisition of Virgin Money, after which the board claimed Crosbie’s remuneration must be aligned with executive pay at major banks such as Lloyds and NatWest.
However, unlike listed companies, which must legally hold binding votes on executive pay policies at least once every three years, Nationwide is offering members only an advisory vote at its Annual General Meeting on 25 July.
This means the board can proceed with the new pay deal even if a majority of members oppose it.
While legislation requires listed firms to revert to previous pay plans if shareholders reject a policy and to propose a revised package within 12 months, such rules do not apply to building societies.
Nationwide maintains that it is already exceeding statutory obligations under the Building Societies Act, which mandates binding votes only for board appointments.
A Nationwide spokesperson stated: “As part of our commitment to member engagement and transparency, Nationwide voluntarily puts the remuneration policy to the membership on an advisory basis at the AGM and we currently have no plans to change this approach.”
This marks the first time Nationwide has proposed such a substantial pay rise for a chief executive. If approved, Crosbie’s remuneration could rival that of senior figures in the high street banking sector—such as NatWest CEO Paul Thwaite, who was granted a £7.7 million pay package in April.
Luke Hildyard, Director of the High Pay Centre thinktank, criticised the move, calling it “a loophole in the governance of building societies.”
“Mutuals are meant to be more community-oriented than commercial banks,” he said. “But while listed banks must amend rejected pay policies and explain votes above 20% opposition, building societies can essentially ignore their members. The Nationwide case highlights the urgent need to close this governance gap.”
Some Nationwide customers have taken to social media to express anger and confusion. One user on X (formerly Twitter) wrote: “I’m a Nationwide customer and didn’t know about this? Please send me a voting form immediately.” Another commented: “Building societies are supposed to be the good guys. The apple has fallen far from the tree.”
Sara Hall, co-executive director of the campaign group Positive Money, said: “Nationwide hiking its CEO’s pay simply to keep up with the big banks goes against everything building societies are supposed to represent.”
As the AGM approaches, the row over executive pay continues to ignite debate over fairness, accountability, and the future of mutual values in Britain’s financial sector.
