Nationwide announced the completion of a banking business transfer scheme, transferring the entire Virgin Money business, except for a small number of products, contracts and arrangements. This was completed on 2 April.
As a result, Rhodes will retire as an executive director from the Nationwide, Virgin Money and Clydesdale Bank boards on 21 May, after sitting on the Nationwide board since 2009. He will retire from Nationwide entirely in September.
Rhodes was appointed chief executive of Virgin Money in 2024 after it was acquired by Nationwide, succeeding David Duffy. Before this, he was CFO at Nationwide.
Dame Debbie Crosbie DBE, group CEO, said: “I would like to thank Chris for his exceptional service to UK financial services. Chris’s impact across Nationwide and Virgin Money has been immense. He has been with Nationwide since 2009, and he steadied and strengthened the Virgin Money business as its CEO over the past 18 months.
“As a result, we are very well-positioned for the future.”
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Further, Alan Keir will retire as non-executive director and chair of the board risk committee in July, after Nationwide’s annual general meeting. Phil Rivett, non-executive director and current chair of the audit committee, will succeed Keir, subject to regulatory approval.
Guy Bainbridge will become chair of the audit committee after the annual general meeting, subject to regulatory approval.
Kevin Parry OBE, chair, said: “I would like to express my thanks to Alan for his outstanding service and leadership as chair of the board risk committee, and for the considerable expertise he has brought to the board through a period of significant organisational change.
“I am pleased to welcome Phil as the next chair of the board risk committee, who will provide continuity as governance responsibilities evolve.”
What this means for Virgin’s mortgage borrowers
Virgin Money said it wrote to its mortgage customers ahead of the transfer to inform them of how changes might affect them.
For mortgage brokers, the bank said any offers issued before or after the transfer on 2 April would be binding and would not be removed or withdrawn. There will also be no changes made to mortgage documents.
Any applications completed before 2 April will complete as a mortgage by Virgin Money or Clydesdale Bank, while cases after this date will complete as a mortgage by Nationwide.
Mortgage clients will not need to change how they make payments, and account details will remain the same.
Communications will say ‘Nationwide’ at the bottom, and mortgages will still be branded by Virgin Money or Clydesdale.
Brokers should continue to use the Virgin Money and Clydesdale application systems to submit new applications and manage existing cases. Business development managers (BDMs) will maintain their contact details.
