Its 2014/15 full year results showed that statutory profits jumped 54%, rising from £677m the previous year to a record £1.044m for the lender.
The building society is now the second largest mortgage provider in the UK and helped almost 46,000 first-time buyers secure a mortgage last year.
Beale, who has been CEO of Nationwide since 2007, will retire at or around the date of the firm’s AGM in July 2016. He joined Anglia Building Society in 1985, which later merged with Nationwide, as a chartered accountant.
He was also chairman of the Building Societies Association (BSA) between May 2009 and May 2010, and remains a member of the BSA’s executive council and a director of the British Bankers Association.
Beale said the “death of the branch has been greatly exaggerated” and Nationwide planned to invest £500m in its branches over the next five years.
Nationwide said the investment will enable more face-to-face conversations with members and will also offer a new seminar based help and information service. It will introduce new self-service technology for customers and increase access with new locations and opening hours.
‘Lender attack’
This week, Association of Mortgage Intermediaries chief executive Robert Sinclair, warned that lenders were preparing an attack on the intermediary market share using developments in technology.
Nationwide’s chief executive Graham Beale said: “This is one of the strongest sets of results we have ever announced, demonstrating that, yet again, it is possible to build a successful business by doing the right thing. We have reached a level of profitability that will allow us to continue to invest in our business to improve our members’ experience and also to strengthen our balance sheet.”
Beale explained that Nationwide members were saying they still wanted to speak to someone face-to-face in branch.
“We are transforming the look and feel of our branches so that they provide the right space and environment for members to discuss their financial affairs with our consultants, as well as providing the latest technology whenever they want to serve themselves.”
Nationwide’s chairman Geoffrey Howe added: “I would like to thank Graham for his enormous contribution to the success of this organisation. He has led the society safely through the worst financial crisis in living memory and at the same time created a truly modern mutual, with the needs of our members at the forefront of all that we do.”
