An online petition demanding a vote on Nationwide’s deal to buy Virgin Money has surged past 1,000 signatures.
The building society, which is owned by its 16m customers, plans to bolt on the lender to create Britain’s second biggest savings and loans group. Nationwide insists that City takeover rules preclude the mutual from giving its members a vote on the £2.9billion deal.
But campaigners say buying the bank is risky and will weaken Nationwide’s strong balance sheet. It is also unclear what is in it for members, they add.
Risky: Nationwide insists that City takeover rules preclude the mutual from giving its members a vote on the £2.9billion deal
‘Nationwide is trying to keep discussion to a minimum, but why are they so afraid of a vote?’ said petition organiser Mikael Armstrong. ‘Their approach seems to be ‘trust us’ – it’s an odd way to run a mutual.’
Armstrong has handed in the change.org petition to the society’s headquarters in Swindon – with the 500 signatures Nationwide’s rules say are needed to call a special members’ meeting to discuss the deal.
Nationwide maintains that any member ballot would be ‘advisory’ and ‘non-binding’.
News Related-
Up to 40 Tory MPs ‘set to rebel’ if Sunak’s Rwanda plan doesn’t override ECHR
-
Country diary: A tale of three churches
-
Sunak woos business elite with royal welcome – but they seek certainty
-
Neil Robertson shocked by bad results but has a plan to turn things round
-
Tottenham interested in move to sign “fearless” £20m defender in January
-
Bill payers to stump up cost of £100m water usage campaign
-
Soccer-Venue renamed 'Christine Sinclair Place' for Canada soccer great's final game
-
Phil Taylor makes his pick for 2024 World Darts Championship winner
-
Soccer-Howe aims to boost Newcastle's momentum in PSG clash
-
Hamilton heads for hibernation with a word of warning
-
Carolina Panthers fire head coach Frank Reich after 1-10 start to the season
-
This exercise is critical for golfers. 4 tips to doing it right
-
One in three households with children 'will struggle to afford Christmas'
-
Biden apologised to Palestinian-Americans for questioning Gaza death toll, says report