The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) have given “requisite consent” to the merger between Nationwide and Virgin Money.
In an update today, the regulator said that the acquisition will “require any immediate changes to the capital structure of the Virgin Money Group or the combined group as a whole”.
The PRA added that it intends to apply select prudential requirements to Virgin Money until 2028, which means that the “outstanding externally held own funds issued by Virgin Money will, subject to applicable deductions, be eligible to meet the consolidated capital requirements applicable to the combined group”.
The Bank of England said it will also exercise discretion to treat “outstanding externally held eligible liabilities” issued by Virgin Money as eligible to meet “consolidated MREL requirements” until 2028.
Nationwide and Virgin Money added that they “intend to simplify and align their capital structures over time as part of broader integration planning”.
Nationwide has appointed Muir Mathieson as CFO and executive director of Nationwide, effective immediately, and Chris Rhodes will step down from the Nationwide board effective immediately and will prepare to become chief executive of Virgin Money.
The acquisition is expected to come into force by 31 January 2025, according to the announcement.
Nationwide confirmed in March that it had struck a potential takeover of Virgin Money for around £2.9bn.
Brokers at the time said that the merger would “create another Goliath”, but the merger was cleared by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in July.
Anna is currently the deputy editor for Mortgage Solutions and editor for Specialist Lending Solutions. She has worked as a journalist since 2019, having secured her Gold Standard NCTJ diploma from News Associates in a fast-track six-month course.
She started her career as a report at specialist publication The Insurance Insider covering a wide range of areas before joining Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions in 2021.
In her role, she helps put together and structure the news agenda for the day and writes up press releases, reports, interviews, analyses and exclusives across both titles. She also commissions blogs for Specialist Lending Solutions and hosts online masterclasses and in-person events across the business.
She has been shortlisted for three journalism awards, which include BIBA Journalist and Media Awards Scoop of Year Award in 2020, Headline Money Mortgage Journalist of the Year Award (B2B) in 2022 and 2023.
Prior to being a journalist, Anna worked in ecommerce across Snow + Rock, Cycle Surgery and Runners Need websites, and before that worked at specialist financial PR firm Rostrum.
In her spare time, Anna enjoys reading, seeing live music, and cooking for friends and family. When she gets a chance, she also enjoys hiking, skiing and indoor rock climbing.
