Nationwide criticised over misleading TV advert
Swindon building society Nationwide has had its knuckles rapped over misleading claims in a television advert.
The advert featuring actor Dominic West claimed the building society was not closing branches has since been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The watchdog said in fact that Nationwide had been closing branches.
One of the complaints against the ads had been made by rival lender Santander.
The bank had been referenced in the ads but said it had closed fewer branches than Nationwide in the year before the campaign.
The Nationwide ad campaign featured Dominic West as the boss of a fictional big bank who mocks customers while planning branch closures.
The advert criticised Lloyds Banking Group, which includes Bank of Scotland and Halifax, as well as Natwest, Barclays, Santander and HSBC.
The advert had 281 complainants, including from Santander.
Nationwide said: “The investment we have made to keep branches open means we now have more than any other brand and are the last one standing in more than 90 communities.”
A spokesperson added that the building society was “delighted to have the opportunity to make even clearer our now extended branch promise to keep every branch open until the start of 2028”.
