Nationwide buys Dunfermline and keeps brand

Nationwide has confirmed that it is to buy the Dunfermline Building Society’s branches, sound loans and deposits.

Nationwide intends to keep the Dunfermline brand for the 34 high street branches and the business will continue to trade as Dunfermline Building Society. The latter was put up for sale after reporting losses of £26 million.

Nationwide also takes over £2,353 million of retail deposits and Dunfermline’s £1,022 million prime mortgage lending book. The acquisition joins the other regional brands operating in Nationwide’s group, such as Cheshire Building Society and Derbyshire Building Society.

Nationwide, a mutual building society, recently appointed Chris Rhodes as its group marketing and product director with a boardroom seat. He joined from the position of director of retail distribution for Alliance & Leicester and replaced sales and marketing director John Sutherland.

The company has just leapfrogged Halifax in the annual Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brands survey to take the top position in the mortgage lender category

Head of brand strategy at Nationwide Peter Gandolfi left in November shortly after he called an advertising agency pitch . The pitch was put on hold.

The Treasury is to take over more than £1 billion of commercial property loans and certain acquired portfolios of mortgages.