Nationwide hands customers billions as FTSE 100 banks up shareholder payouts
Nationwide returned billions to customers in 2024 whilst the FTSE 100 banking juggernauts used excess capital to up payouts for shareholders.
The building society handed customers £2.8bn in the last year through a combination of reward schemes that offered better rates on savings and loans.
Meanwhile, listed banks used their extra cash to give big cash rewards to shareholders.
Natwest hiked its dividend 26 per cent from 2023, to 21.5p per share and distributed a hefty £4bn to shareholders.
Its peers Barclays and Lloyds delivered £3bn and £3.6bn to investors.
Nationwide’s income jumped to £5.2bn for 2024, up from £4.7bn, after a boost in first time buyers rushing to beat the stamp duty deadline.
The firm had netted £2.3bn from its landmark takeover of Virgin Money last year and used the cash to give customers a saving boost.
After the acquisition, Nationwide issued a £50 payment to over 12 million members, in what it dubbed ‘The Big Nationwide Thank You’ as a gesture of appreciation to its members.
Nationwide also handed £100 to 3.85m members as part of its ‘Fairer Share Programme’ and returned over £1bn to members through improved savings rates and other incentives, including a two-year fixed-rate bond offering 4.75 per cent interest.
Banking sector leads FTSE 100 dividends
HSBC, Barclays and Natwest made up up half of the £10.7bn in FTSE 100 dividends in April as the banking sector continued to flaunt its shareholder appeal.
FTSE 100 lenders cashed in on the market turmoil of the first-quarter as income from trading equity soared.
Barclays and Natwest followed, booking £2.7bn and £1.8bn respectively, each surpassing analysts expectations.
The ‘Big Five’ banks – HSBC, Natwest, Lloyds, Barclays and Standard Chartered – booked an all-time high of £50.3bn in profit in 2024 and returned £35bn to investors.
The UK’s banking behemoths will begin reporting half-year results at the end of July.