Profits soar at building society soar thanks to high interest rates

Nationwide Building Society made a £989m profit in the first six months of thanks to higher interest rates.

The Swindon bases lender’s statutory pre-tax profit for the six months to September was up from £969m in the same period of 2022.

The building society reported an underlying pre-tax profit of £1.bn for the six months to September, up from £980 the year before.

The group is owned by its members and has no shareholders. Nationwide paid out £344m to its members in May, in the form of £100 payments to eligible customers.

Nationwide said credit impairment charges were down at £54m from £108m in the first half of the previous year.

But the building society also warned that borrowers still face ‘higher interest rates, continued inflationary pressures and the uncertain economic outlook’.

Chief executive Debbie Crosbie said: “Nationwide is performing strongly, and our strategy is to safeguard the future strength of the society and provide a good way to bank for customers.

“We are the main challenger to shareholder-owned banks and use our mutual status to make a meaningful impact on communities and improve society.’