VOTE now! Proposed take over of Virgin Money - Nationwide members should be given a vote

Middle_of_the_Road

114 votes.

eskbanker

Middle_of_the_Road said:

eskbanker said:

Middle_of_the_Road said:

97 signatures so far. Seems like there are people not happy with this proposal.
Vote or not, they will do as they please, but good to see members challenging this already bloated society.

So about 0.0006% of the society's members, about a week after the petition was started - it's not exactly storming the barricades, is it?

No, it's not, but as in most scenarios like this the majority of those that dislike the proposal feel their voice will have no influence on the outcome, so remain silent. I do doubt though, that around 16 million members are all in favour, but we'll never know as Nationwide hasn't asked.  
It will be interesting to see what the Nationwide response will be when the 500 vote threshold is reached. 

112 votes 0.0007%

My understanding is that the petition isn't actually empowered to demand a member vote on the VM acquisition as such, but to try to persuade 500 members to part with £50 in order to organise a special general meeting, so I believe that Nationwide's response will be to arrange that meeting within 63 days of the formal request being received.

Presumably at that meeting they'd simply reiterate their legal advice about not holding a vote....

TheBanker

My view as a member of Nationwide is that I would have prefer to be able to vote on this. It is a material change. However I accept that there are good reasons why this isn't possible. Unlike many on here, I would probably vote in favour, although I'd want to do more research before making a final decision.

But I'm not bothered enough to start signing petitions or paying £50 to try to force a vote. There are more important hills to die on. Maybe it will work out, maybe it won't. If it doesn't then there are other Building Societies that I can join. 

26left

eskbanker said:

My understanding is that the petition isn't actually empowered to demand a member vote on the VM acquisition as such, but to try to persuade 500 members to part with £50 in order to organise a special general meeting, so I believe that Nationwide's response will be to arrange that meeting within 63 days of the formal request being received.

Presumably at that meeting they'd simply reiterate their legal advice about not holding a vote....

Re the £50 per member, I've had one person offer to put up the £25K themselves - it's refundable.

Hoenir

26left said:

Hoenir said:

I'd suggest you attend the AGM and address these points to the board directly. No doubt there's a raft of other considerations in their thinking. 

They haven't called an AGM - perhaps to avoid these types of questions.  I expect they will wait to call one until after the deal is completed. Turkeys don't vote for Christmas.

Hence the petition to call for a Special General Meeting before the deal completes.

Seek election to the board if you believe you've the skill set and qualifications to run a multi billion pound banking enterprise.  In what is a rapidly changing environment. 

happybagger

As a NW member, I'm not that bothered. I'd have been happier if it demutualised in the 1990s as it doesn't really offer much better than plc's do. The oft-repeated "mutual dividend" is nonsense.

As a member of the public who often saves in VM accounts I'm more disappointed, as those regularly sit near the top of the best buys and they will likely disappear under NW ownership.

dgpur

26left said:

I'm really unhappy about Nationwide management running roughshod over their members (we the customers own the building society as it's a mutual), trying to push through a deal to buy Virgin Money.
…

Thank you!

Hmmm…

No.

Money_Grabber13579

Section62 said:

Money_Grabber13579 said:

I really don’t understand why there is such annoyance about this. Yes, members might, in theory, own Nationwide however in practical terms, this means nothing.....

It isn't a "theory".

It is a matter of fact that mutual building societies are owned by their members in accordance with the rules and memorandum of the society.

Or in Nationwide's own words - "Unlike the banks we are owned by our members, not shareholders."

https://www.nationwide.co.uk/about-us/

Yes, but I said in theory because it doesn’t mean much in practice. I can’t sell my membership interest to someone else, nor did I pay anything to acquire that interest. So it is a completely different kind of ownership, compared with owning shares in a bank.

PosterBoy77

eskbanker said:

Middle_of_the_Road said:

eskbanker said:

Middle_of_the_Road said:

97 signatures so far. Seems like there are people not happy with this proposal.
Vote or not, they will do as they please, but good to see members challenging this already bloated society.

So about 0.0006% of the society's members, about a week after the petition was started - it's not exactly storming the barricades, is it?

No, it's not, but as in most scenarios like this the majority of those that dislike the proposal feel their voice will have no influence on the outcome, so remain silent. I do doubt though, that around 16 million members are all in favour, but we'll never know as Nationwide hasn't asked.  
It will be interesting to see what the Nationwide response will be when the 500 vote threshold is reached. 

112 votes 0.0007%

My understanding is that the petition isn't actually empowered to demand a member vote on the VM acquisition as such, but to try to persuade 500 members to part with £50 in order to organise a special general meeting, so I believe that Nationwide's response will be to arrange that meeting within 63 days of the formal request being received.

Presumably at that meeting they'd simply reiterate their legal advice about not holding a vote....

They might try to just reiterate their legal advice, but the Nationwide management would come under increasing pressure to hold a vote and explain in far more detail why members should support the move.

Hoenir

mikael said:

eskbanker said:

Middle_of_the_Road said:

eskbanker said:

Middle_of_the_Road said:

97 signatures so far. Seems like there are people not happy with this proposal.
Vote or not, they will do as they please, but good to see members challenging this already bloated society.

So about 0.0006% of the society's members, about a week after the petition was started - it's not exactly storming the barricades, is it?

No, it's not, but as in most scenarios like this the majority of those that dislike the proposal feel their voice will have no influence on the outcome, so remain silent. I do doubt though, that around 16 million members are all in favour, but we'll never know as Nationwide hasn't asked.  
It will be interesting to see what the Nationwide response will be when the 500 vote threshold is reached. 

112 votes 0.0007%

My understanding is that the petition isn't actually empowered to demand a member vote on the VM acquisition as such, but to try to persuade 500 members to part with £50 in order to organise a special general meeting, so I believe that Nationwide's response will be to arrange that meeting within 63 days of the formal request being received.

Presumably at that meeting they'd simply reiterate their legal advice about not holding a vote....

They might try to just reiterate their legal advice, but the Nationwide management would come under increasing pressure to hold a vote and explain in far more detail why members should support the move.

The finer detail would fly well above ordinary members heads. Unlikely that the board will openly discuss matters of a commercially sensitive nature either.