Nationwide is facing accusations of staging an “unfair fight” against a member seeking to become the first board candidate elected by members in nearly 25 years.
James Sherwin-Smith is running for a seat on Nationwide’s board, but the building society has declined to formally recommend his candidacy ahead of its annual general meeting.
The AGM, held on June 8, will retain Nationwide’s ‘Quick Vote’ system, which allows the building society’s more than nine million members to instantly back only board-approved candidates.
Sherwin-Smith said: “The use of the Quick Vote mechanism is particularly concerning — setting this election up as an unfair fight — and creates a dangerous precedent for future elections at Nationwide and in other similarly governed organisations.”
He added: “Whatever the outcome, this is not about one candidate. It is about whether Nationwide Members retain meaningful democratic choice in the governance of their Society.”
Nationwide pushed back firmly, stating that Sherwin-Smith did not have “any relevant or practical experience of board-level governance” and “does not have experience of representing a broad and diverse membership base.”
The building society further stated that he “would not contribute effectively to board considerations, challenge or oversight on strategy.”
Kevin Parry, Chairman of Nationwide, said: “No board, regardless of whether it is of a mutual or public company, should ever recommend the appointment of a director who does not have the skills and experience necessary to do the job.”
Sherwin-Smith said his decision to run for a board seat was driven largely by concerns over a lack of transparency, particularly surrounding the building society’s £2.9bn takeover of Virgin Money.
The deal, first unveiled in 2024, caused significant surprise across the City and stoked controversy after Nationwide members were not given a vote on the acquisition.
Speaking on City AM’s Business as Usual podcast, Sherwin-Smith said: “If this was a PLC, I think the equity analysts would be pouring over the details of this… I can’t think of another retail bank integration of this scale in recent times that has been less scrutinised.”
Nationwide’s annual results, published last week, revealed a 22 per cent jump in total income to £6.4bn, rising from £5.2bn in the previous year.
The building society attributed the strong performance to a more diverse balance sheet, boosted by growth in consumer lending and a larger share of the mortgage market.
Consumer lending increased to £11.6bn from £11.1bn, with credit card balances rising to £8.1bn in the last financial year, up from £7.8bn the year before.