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| Version 4 | Version 5 |
|---|---|
| Nationwide and Portman to merge | Nationwide and Portman to merge |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| The Nationwide and Portman building societies have announced that they are to merge, creating the UK's second-largest mortgage lender. | The Nationwide and Portman building societies have announced that they are to merge, creating the UK's second-largest mortgage lender. |
| Nationwide is currently the UK's largest building society, while Portman is the third biggest. | Nationwide is currently the UK's largest building society, while Portman is the third biggest. |
| The merged group will have more than 800 branches across the UK and more than 13 million members. | |
| Nationwide chief executive Philip Williamson told the BBC that the merger would mean some job losses. | |
| He said it was too early to give an exact figure, but that the aim was for any compulsory redundancies to be kept to a minimum. | |
| 'Tough marketplace' | |
| The merged business will take the Nationwide name, with the deal expected to be completed by September 2007. | |
| Joining together gives us a lot of synergies, such as being able to borrow at a cheaper rate and some cost savings Philip Williamson, Nationwide chief executive | |
| The societies said the new body - which will have assets of more than £150bn - would continue as a mutual society, owned and run for the benefit of its members. | The societies said the new body - which will have assets of more than £150bn - would continue as a mutual society, owned and run for the benefit of its members. |
| Mr Williamson said the deal was definitely a merger rather than his company taking over the smaller Portman. | |
| He said both firms realised they needed to be bigger to better complete in a competitive marketplace. | He said both firms realised they needed to be bigger to better complete in a competitive marketplace. |
| "We feel the same way that the market place is not going to get any easier," he said. | "We feel the same way that the market place is not going to get any easier," he said. |
| "Joining together gives us a lot of synergies, such as being able to borrow at a cheaper rate and some cost savings." | "Joining together gives us a lot of synergies, such as being able to borrow at a cheaper rate and some cost savings." |
| New boss | New boss |
| The Nationwide's existing head office in Swindon will become the head office of the enlarged society. | The Nationwide's existing head office in Swindon will become the head office of the enlarged society. |
| The Portman name is to disappear | |
| Portman's current head office in Bournemouth will become "a key business centre within the enlarged society and will remain a significant employer in that region". | Portman's current head office in Bournemouth will become "a key business centre within the enlarged society and will remain a significant employer in that region". |
| Nationwide's group finance director, Graham Beale, is due to replace Mr Williamson as chief executive of Nationwide next April. | |
| He will then take up the top position of the combined group following the completion of the merger. | He will then take up the top position of the combined group following the completion of the merger. |
| The merger still requires confirmation by the Financial Services Authority and approval by the Office of Fair Trading. | The merger still requires confirmation by the Financial Services Authority and approval by the Office of Fair Trading. |