The three brands will cease to offer new mortgages from 9 July, resulting in about 26 redundancies across 125 branches. Low mortgage business levels from the merged brands prompted the decision along with the cost of keeping compliant systems in place.
Nationwide merged with Dunfermline in March 2009 and Derbyshire and Cheshire in September 2008 and the three brands combined bring in less than 1% of Nationwide’s total mortgage business.
Derbyshire’s IFA service has now been extended to Dunfermline and Cheshire branches in the past five months, offering whole-of-market advice on products excluding mortgages. Customers looking for a mortgage will now be referred to Nationwide.
Jeremy Hicks, senior corporate affairs manager of regional brands at Nationwide, said: “The three brands will be savings and investment lead propositions. While they lose mortgages, they gain independent financial advice, which Nationwide does not offer. We have no plans to introduce this in Nationwide, but will consider anything that produces revenue and benefits customers.”
Gemma Harle, managing director of Tenet Lime, said: “The cost and challenge of individual registration will make lenders look at their business models. Consumers need specialist advice and this is an area that lenders have always struggled with. I hope they will look to work more effectively with intermediaries in future.”
