Wider considerations
As well as maximising value for our members, we contribute to the national economy and local communities in a number of other ways.
Payroll benefits and taxes
Acting responsibly as a retail financial service provider and as an employer includes the paying of taxes. During the year we paid taxes of just under £800 million on behalf of the Nationwide Group, employees and members. We also paid salaries to our employees of over £385 million and contributed over £90 million by way of pension cost.
Affordable housing funding
Our funding to housing associations and other institutions has reached record levels and is helping to deliver much-needed homes for present and future generations, including key workers. Read more about affordable housing.
back to topCommunity investment
The financial strength of the Society also allows it to give something back to the communities in which it operates by way of charitable donations. In summary, we invested £3.8 million (just over 0.5% of our pre-tax profits) in a variety of programmes. Read about some of the outcomes of our community investment.
Supply chain
Our group expenditure with third parties amounted to £656 million in 2006/07. Read more about responsible purchasing.
Access to our products and services
While there has been much debate about bank charges and free banking, we offer a current account which is free for day-to-day use. This provides a high degree of accessibility to qualifying customers, including those on low incomes. Read more about our basic bank account.
Nationwide as an investor
Unlike high street banks, the vast majority of our lending is to individuals to buy property. Our Commercial Division focuses on lending to three sectors:
- UK registered social landlords (Housing Associations)
- commercial and residential property investors
- private Finance Initiatives (PFI) funding new schools, hospitals and social housing projects
We are required by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to hold some of our assets in 'liquid' form to ensure that funds are always available if members wish to withdraw money from their accounts. The FSA, our regulator, provides rules and guidance on what financial instruments we can use. We primarily invest in mainstream financial institutions and do not generally invest in equities, although 3% of our total assets are invested in some UK and overseas corporate bonds. We continue to keep the question of investment policy under review.