Following yesterday’s news that the Dunfirmline Building Society is going bust, we’ve since found out that Nationwide is to takeover the more “stable” areas of the business, whilst yet again us tax payers will bear the risk of the dodgy toxic mortgages Dunfirmline polluted its otherwise decent business with.
Many commentators, as well as those in the industry, see this solution as the best of a bad bunch, but it should mean that the Dunfirmline branches will remain open, although there could be some job losses in their headquarters. But what does it mean to its 350,000 customers?
Savers
Nationwide says there will be no immediate change, as the Dunfermline brand will not be disappearing, and most of their branches will remain, except perhaps where both a Nationwide and Dunfirmline branch are in close proximity. Savers with Nationwide will not be able to use Dunfirmline branches and vice versa – things are remaining very much the same as they were before the takeover.
FSCS Compensation
As Nationwide are intending to keep the brands and their FSA licences seperate, at least for a while, then there is no change in the compensation arrangements under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Whilst the licences are seperate, the £50,000 limit will remain for both Nationwide and Dunfermline accounts, so there is no need to spread your money around if you have over £50,000 in savings with the 2 societies. This  situation may change in September, so keep an eye on this in case it changes though.
Mortgages
The majority of mortgage holders with Dunfirmline will become members of Nationwide, but the mortgages themselves will not change. Those with sub-prime mortgages will see their mortgages taken over by the Government.
