Committee publication · Correspondence · 7 January 2026
Letter from Nationwide to the Chair dated 1 December 2025 concerning the Affordability of Home Ownership
From: Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee
Inquiry: Affordability of Home Ownership
Summary
Letter from Nationwide Building Society's Group Director of Mortgages to the Housing Committee Chair, responding to a request for details of recent branch closures. Nationwide reports closing 24 branches since January 2022, compared to 2,165 closures by competitor banks. The society reiterates its Branch Promise commitment to keep all 696 branches open until at least 2030, citing importance to customers and communities.
Key findings
- Nationwide closed 24 branches between 1 January 2022 and the letter date; competitor banks closed 2,165 branches over the same period
- Branch Promise extended on 12 November to guarantee all 696 Nationwide and Virgin Money branches remain open until at least 2030
- Nationwide will not participate in the Banking Hub model but customers can access Post Office services for basic banking transactions
- Four branch relocations occurred within the same town; closures only occur when circumstances beyond control (e.g. lease expiry enforced by landlord) leave no other option
- Detailed list provided of all Nationwide branches in committee members' constituencies, all committed to remain open until 2030
Tone
ProceduralTopics
Key actors
Nationwide Building Society, Florence Eshalomi MP, Henry Jordan, Cash Access UK, Post Office, LINK, Virgin Money
Notable line
“We have maintained this commitment as we know how important branches are to our customers, to communities and to the health of our high streets.”
Key Quotes
“Nationwide has closed 24 branches. To put this in context, over the same period our peers have closed 2165 branches”
“O n 12 November we further extended Branch Promise to keep all our 696 Nationwide and Virgin Money branches open until at least”
“We have maintained this commitment as we know how important branches are to our customers, to communities and to the health of our high streets.”
“As we believe we can best serve our customers through our branch network we are not part of the Banking Hub model, run by Cash Access UK .”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗