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

PosterBoy77

Section62 said:

Nationwide not providing a genuine opportunity for members to have a say will probably have the effect of increasing the feeling of unease and disquiet among those members who see Nationwide (and other mutuals) as more than just a bank.  Folks resorting to namecalling as a means of trying to silence member voices are not doing Nationwide the favour they presumably think they are doing, and from my own experiences within Nationwide, that sort of approach is totally alien to the way the majority of Nationwide staff feel and act.

Totally agree. 

26left

Section62 said:

Foxhouse said:

I worked for Nationwide when the carpetbagging frenzy was at its worst. The greed, hostility, intimidation and outright harrassment our staff faced was utterly demoralising and on too frequent occasions, threatening.

I bet you that at least some involved are hoping for a demutualisation payday; these people haven't gone away.

These folk getting their proverbials in a twist about this deal - it's a shame they don't use their energy tackling some of the more serious problems in the world today. But then that's not in their self(ish) interest.

So yes, count me a cynic about the motivation of some of the folk behind this 'petition'.

That's awful, but hopefully today Nationwide's policy on harassment would mean those members would quickly lose their membership, so such actions would be very counterproductive.

The question is, does what happened in the past justify calling people who want to express an opinion on Nationwide's decisions and strategic direction things like "carpetbaggers", "moaners", "greedy" and "selfish"?  I don't think so.  Two wrongs and all that.

Nationwide not providing a genuine opportunity for members to have a say will probably have the effect of increasing the feeling of unease and disquiet among those members who see Nationwide (and other mutuals) as more than just a bank.  Folks resorting to namecalling as a means of trying to silence member voices are not doing Nationwide the favour they presumably think they are doing, and from my own experiences within Nationwide, that sort of approach is totally alien to the way the majority of Nationwide staff feel and act.

Thank you. It’s always interesting to me how quickly a rationale, reasonable back-and-forth debate dissolves on the internet. This forum, and thread, is thankfully better than most. 

PosterBoy77

boingy said:

Whilst there may be a handful of carpetbaggers still intent of making noises at every opportunity I think it's more likely that a few disgruntled folks who missed out on the "fairer share" thing are wanting to cause a bit of disruption. It won't make any difference at all, even if they do manage to force a vote.

I don't think people who missed out on the fairer share money are any more likely to object to the purchase of Virgin Money. I object to the purchase but did receive the fairer share money. It would make no difference to me and I think most people objecting are doing so for far more sensible reasons.

TheBanker

PosterBoy77 said:

boingy said:

Whilst there may be a handful of carpetbaggers still intent of making noises at every opportunity I think it's more likely that a few disgruntled folks who missed out on the "fairer share" thing are wanting to cause a bit of disruption. It won't make any difference at all, even if they do manage to force a vote.

I don't think people who missed out on the fairer share money are any more likely to object to the purchase of Virgin Money. I object to the purchase but did receive the fairer share money. It would make no difference to me and I think most people objecting are doing so for far more sensible reasons.

I'm the opposite - I missed out on (un)Fairer Share, but I don't particularly object to the purchase of Virgin Money. 

Millyonare

Nationwide is vastly overpaying for a struggling second-tier bank that's seen better days.

Surprised the millions of Nationwide members are not being more vocal about it!

We all know how the Co-op / Britannia "supermutual" merger turned out...

Hoenir

Millyonare said:

Nationwide is vastly overpaying for a struggling second-tier bank that's seen better days.

Views of City anaylsts are that the NW are paying well below book value for the assets.  On top there'll be cost savings as the longer term restructuring takes effect. 

Millyonare

Hoenir said:

Millyonare said:

Nationwide is vastly overpaying for a struggling second-tier bank that's seen better days.

Views of City anaylsts are that the NW are paying well below book value for the assets.  On top there'll be cost savings as the longer term restructuring takes effect. 

The City is banking vast fees from the takeover. Of course, they will talk it up.

The City also backed the Co-op-Britannia merger...

Virgin Money's PE ratio at sale today is a huge 50-200% higher than most other UK-led banks, such as Lloyds or Natwest. It's a colossal premium above the average market value. The sting from PPI for the bank in the past decade was bad. Virgin Money's profit slumped at the end of last year. It missed forecasts. It recently increased provisions for bad loans by six-fold. Its mortgage lending is falling. It has an expensive highstreet presence to pay for until at least 2026. It has a sprawling portfolio of 4 legacy banking brands. It looks a lot like they've paid big money for a small bank.

Londonlisa12

Hoenir said:

Millyonare said:

Nationwide is vastly overpaying for a struggling second-tier bank that's seen better days.

Views of City anaylsts are that the NW are paying well below book value for the assets.  On top there'll be cost savings as the longer term restructuring takes effect. 

The forecasted cost of merging IT systems alone is well over a £billion. 

The only people who will benefit long term  are the CEO and directors in huge bonuses and salary increases.
The customers/ owners will still see pathetic rates they currently offer.

26left

Londonlisa12 said:

Hoenir said:

Millyonare said:

Nationwide is vastly overpaying for a struggling second-tier bank that's seen better days.

Views of City anaylsts are that the NW are paying well below book value for the assets.  On top there'll be cost savings as the longer term restructuring takes effect. 

The forecasted cost of merging IT systems alone is well over a £billion. 

The only people who will benefit long term  are the CEO and directors in huge bonuses and salary increases.
The customers/ owners will still see pathetic rates they currently offer.

I expect the IT bill to integrate VM will be big too. Do you have a source for the forecast? The Computer Weekly article was the best I’ve seen on this topic so far but didn't suggest a number. 

PosterBoy77

Hoenir said:

Views of City anaylsts are that the NW are paying well below book value for the assets.  On top there'll be cost savings as the longer term restructuring takes effect. 

If that were really true, then the market would have valued it more than it did before Nationwide proceeded to announce its intended purchase.

With regard to cost savings, they will be a very long time coming. Nationwide would need to spend a further billion at least integrating the IT systems which are currently totally disjointed. In addition they will need to take on the pension liabilities and deal with the branch network and staff redundancy costs.

It is a recipe for disaster for Nationwide members.