Nationwide & Portman to Merge!!!

ED

Fascinating! Thanks for the link, Milarky, and looking forward to the mortgage thread, ReportInvestor. Shocking, and now I begin to understand the lousy savings rates reason...

ReportInvestor

Converging the Nationwide / Portman mortgage rates in 2006/7 will no doubt provide the necessary cover to enable Nationwide to put right the damage more quickly .

Especially if there are a few interest rate changes in between.

I wonder if this is a reason for the long period before the merger is completed?

wellsie82

Milarky wrote:

You don't get anything I'm afraid. No bonus and no say in it. I am in the same position also. Let's not be churlish about this but Nationwide is the one paying for the Portman's generosity to its own customers.

A fairer way to have brought about a merger between the two sets of customers would be to have offered higher rates in the new society for (say) three years afterwards. For instance a commitment to pay 2%pa (of average balances) - and maybe 1% off mortgage balances - for 3 years irrespective of account type held (effectively 6 percent of balances). Let me go on an suggest they could even have arranged for it to be tax free provided that an ISA was opened in the first year. (I'm thinking that if you have £10000 say in a taxable account and £3000 say in any ISA there is nothing as far as I am aware to prevent the interest based on the larger balance being paid into the ISA - could be wrong about that of course)

That would have rewarded customers in direct proportion to their commitment to the new company and, moreover would have rewarded customers from both societies equally. But by paying out £500m now straight from Nationwide's reserves in effect that's £500m you won't able to share in (either a a saver or as a borrower) at Nationwide

i understand as nationwide customers we wont get anything in terms of bonuses, payouts etc but with someone who has savings with them, current accounts and our mortgage what kind of impact (if any) will that have on joe bloggs like me?

Joe_Bloggs

Portman are still calculating interest annually on some of their mortgage products. Perhaps they have only one quill pen for this purpose. There must be all sorts of stuff to do behind the scenes.
Nationwide took over Westminster, Whitehall and the Church of England. Very many of their conquests had the word permanent in their titles. If you have to say it then you probably arn't.
J_B.
Nationwide have a new mortgage fees and charges page. This has changed my terms and conditions regarding early repayment as far as I can tell.

wellsie82

have just seen this on fool.co.uk....

http://www.fool.co.uk/news/comment/2006/c060914a.htm?source=ioowftxt0010011

still fail to see any benefits to being a NW customer

ReportInvestor

I normally rate Cliff D'Arcy but there are a couple of howlers in this article .

It's not good for the Fool's credibility.

A cheap attempt to tag a ride on the Nationwide/Portman merger story.

gt94sss2

wellsie82 wrote:

i understand as nationwide customers we wont get anything in terms of bonuses, payouts etc but with someone who has savings with them, current accounts and our mortgage what kind of impact (if any) will that have on joe bloggs like me?

You won't notice much change at all - apart from having more Nationwide branches across the country.

At the same time though, you won't be any worse off than you are now...

Regards
Sunil

wellsie82

gt94sss2 wrote:

You won't notice much change at all - apart from having more Nationwide branches across the country.

At the same time though, you won't be any worse off than you are now...

Regards
Sunil

so looking at interest rates etc for mortgage and accounts we'll be no better off, not too fussed then but just wanted to ask anyway, thanks :wave:

Milarky

Anyone can send a comment ('suggestion') to Nationwide (which they will feel honour bound to ignore and/or reply with Mr Cutnpaste answers)

[Who knows you can even say 'well done - keep it up' - but I had in mind constructive suggestions how NW can do even better in its enlarged form]

Suggestion form:

Meanwhile their next online feedback will be 13 December:

future Feedback dates:

MarkyMarkD

ReportInvestor wrote:

Looks good to me, Milarky. MMD is, unusually, wrong in this case - although correct in principle re several past BS mergers.

Thanks for the "unusually".

I think that my figures (or approach at least) might stack up more if you divide by the number of relevant members, rather than the headline number of members. But I'm basing it on hearsay from a friend, not expert understanding, in this case.