Research by Nationwide Building Society showed that 44 per cent of its members are in favor of its £2.9bn merger with Virgin Money.
Another 48 percent said they were “neutral” about the plan, but hoped Nationwide would not change their service or mutual status.
Of the 10,499 members surveyed, 8 percent opposed the acquisition.
Virgin Money merger: Some of those against the deal are campaigning for Nationwide to hold a special meeting to give members a voice.
The figures come from a survey carried out by Nationwide this weekend. The merger announced last month would create a lender with 25 million customers and 700 branches.
But some disgruntled customers have called on the building society to allow its 16 million members to vote on the deal. They say refusing to give them a voice betrays Nationwide’s principles of mutual ownership.
Those members were concerned about Virgin Money’s reputation, the impact of the merger on customer service, Nationwide’s ethics as a building society and not having the option to vote on the deal.
“My perception is that Virgin Money has a bad reputation and this acquisition has not been put before members for a vote,” said one member who opposes the deal. “This goes against the principles of our building society and is simply wrong.”
Some of those against the deal are campaigning for Nationwide to hold a special meeting to give members a voice.
A petition demanding a meeting had received nearly 3,000 signatures as of Friday. Meanwhile, even those who were neutral on the merger expressed concern that customer service could suffer and that “expanding is not always the right thing to do.”
But one customer in favor of the acquisition said: “Anything that ensures a secure future by preserving the integrity of Nationwide and its ability to provide excellent customer service, including branch availability, gets my vote.”
As part of the deal, Nationwide has committed to keeping all of its branches open until at least 2028, as well as all 91 Virgin Money sites.
Nationwide will continue to use the Virgin Money brand until at least 2030, but eventually the Virgin Money name will disappear from the high street.
