Nationwide grabs 202k customers from rivals

CURRENT account customers are flocking to Nationwide as rivals shut branches – but the lender has taken a hit on mortgage lending.

Britain’s biggest building society picked up another 202,000 current account customers in the second quarter of 2017, better than the 173,000 who switched in the same period last year.

Chief executive Joe Garner has repeatedly stressed the importance of a branch network. But although the figures catapulted Nationwide to the top of the list for new account customers, mortgage lending dropped by £500m to £8.1bn and its share of this market fell from 15pc to 13pc.

This was largely due to a steep fall in demand for buy-tolet mortgages after customers rushed to buy property ahead of a hike in stamp duty this time last year.

The money lost on borrowers unable to pay back their loans more than doubled to £36m – although bosses stressed that the proportion of people behind on their payments was holding steady and remained very low.

Garner said that the public was becoming less optimistic about the British economy, but that families did not expect their personal finances to be hit by the fallout from the Brexit vote.

He added it was important for rivals to lend ‘in a responsible way’, following growing fears that Britain is trapped in a debt bubble. It came as Nationwide unveiled a 20pc fall in profits to £322m.