Nationwide’s great rush to buy Virgin Money risks incurring its members’ wrath, says ALEX BRUMMER

Debbie Crosbie is a busy general manager.

Nationwide boss fears that if the mutual lender is prevented from making its bid for Virgin Money within 28 days, a deadline prescribed by the City’s arbiter, the Takeover Panel, the opportunity of a lifetime for the mutual sector could be lost.

Since revealing its offer for Virgin Money on March 7, Nationwide has come under pressure to give a voice to the building society’s estimated 16 million members.

The funding behind the deal will come from domestic resources and, technically, this money could be used to improve benefits for existing members in the form of better interest rate returns, more competitive loan rates and bonuses.

Instead, those who will get richer from the deal will be billionaire Richard Branson with 14 per cent of Virgin Money worth £400 million and executives entitled to £6 million in payouts .

Nationwide estimates that it would be impossible to give voice to 16 million members within a tight deadline.

There is no public company with such a long line of private investors. If it were to give voting rights to members, it could mean a six-month absence during which economic conditions could change or another buyer would arrive.

Crosbie and his team are seeking to gauge member opinion using surveys, which so far show no evidence against the deal.

The view within Nationwide is that this is a special opportunity to bring Northern Rock’s joint assets back into the sector and increase its reach into business lending.

Benefit dilution will be resolved over time when the assets, bought for 60p per pound, lose money.

The case for continuing the work is compelling and Nationwide is committed to the fact that thorough due diligence has been carried out.

The determination to see the deal through contrasts with Nationwide’s call for patience and caution when integrating Virgin Money.

No one wants a repeat of the chaos and fraud seen when Spanish bank Sabadell moved TSB customers onto its platform.

A larger and more competitive mutual sector would be a wonderful choice. But the risks of a transaction without the consent of the ultimate owners should not be taken for granted.

Hail to Sir Patrick

Reaching 100 is an achievement for everyone. In the case of Sir Patrick Sergeant, it is a landmark that reminds us of his achievements.

As editor of the Daily Mail from 1960 to 1984, he transformed financial journalism by making it accessible to readers, providing insights from his experiences on the London Stock Exchange and unrivaled access to the big and the good , including to each chancellor. from Derick Heathcoat-Amory to Nigel Lawson.

Unusually for a financial commentator, Sergeant possessed the panache and skills of an entrepreneur.

He recognized the need of Daily Mail readers for advice on how to save, buy a house and spend money wisely, creating Money Mail.

The section was imitated in Fleet Street with similar personal finance pages.

He was among the first to recognize London’s rise as a banking capital of the world and persuaded its owner, the late Vere Harmsworth, to support his idea for Euromoney, a brilliant and brilliantly well-informed magazine serving the world’s banks. From these beginnings, an information center was created.

As one of Sergeant’s successors as City Editor (I inherited this position upon the retirement of the late Andrew Alexander in 2000), I have the pleasure of wishing Patrick many returns happy on behalf of our city, financial and business editors and all readers who have benefited from wisdom that has been passed down through the generations.

False economy

It is good to see British defense contractor Chemring win a £57m EU contract to ease bottlenecks in Ukraine’s munitions supply.

Imagine how much better UK defense companies, their exports and profits would have been if so many innovators had not been sold off to private investors and overseas buyers.