The announcement was made 25 years to the day after ABC joined the society.
During this time he has worked across a number of product areas, most recently focusing on mortgages and savings – though previously including banking, pensions, insurance and investments, personal loans and specialist lending.
Henry Jordan, Nationwide’s head of mortgages, said: “Andrew has made a tremendous contribution to Nationwide over the last 25 years. He is well known and respected across the mortgages and savings world, having represented us at a wide range of industry meetings and events.
“He will be missed by everyone at the society and we wish him all the best for the future.”
Baddeley-Chappell said: “All good things come to an end and I have thoroughly enjoyed my career with Nationwide. A change is as good as a rest and after exactly 25 years with Nationwide – the ‘typical’ life of a mortgage, now is the right time to look for something new. This is an exciting time to be around housing and mortgage lending.”
On his highlights at Nationwide, ABC said: “I am particularly proud of Nationwide’s support for first- time buyers. We were the first major high street lender to return to low-deposit lending starting with our Save to Buy Product, which can be seen as the forerunner of the Help to Buy: ISA. Nationwide continues to punch above its weight in this market supported by great products, and great support including seminars and more recently webinars to help guide buyers through the homebuying process.”
Other highlights include overtaking Santander for the number two spot in the mortgage market, supporting those trapped in negative equity, and working on the development of schemes to enable more new homes to be built.
Asked whether he had any regrets, ABC noted that “it was important that the industry did not allow itself to repeat the market excesses in the noughties when mortgage lending doubled but the number of mortgages fell. We should aspire to lend more, but on the back of helping more people into a home of their own. We need more homes to be built and to do that we all need confidence in good sales practices from builders.”
As to next steps, ABC said he continued to examine the raft of options available.
“I am as passionate now as I have ever been about the capability of our industry to help as many as possible achieve their dreams and aspirations. The more I have done, the more I have found I want to do. We can innovate more, we can be more transparent, we can better serve smaller markets, we can help more and better houses to be built, and we can help more people have a greater stake in their home.
“There is lots than can be done, and I hope to play my part,” he added.
