The Financial Conduct Authority has fined Nationwide Building Society £44,078,500 for anti-money laundering control failures spanning nearly five years, from October 2016 to July 2021. The penalty, announced on 12 December 2025, represents a discounted figure: Nationwide received a 30% reduction from the original proposed sanction of £62,969,297 by agreeing to settle at an early stage of the FCA's enforcement proceedings, a standard mechanism within the regulator's framework for incentivising cooperation.
The FCA found that Nationwide had breached Principle 3 of its Principles for Businesses, which requires firms to organise and control their affairs responsibly and effectively, along with SYSC 6.1.1R and SYSC 6.3.1R — the specific Handbook rules governing a firm's financial crime systems and controls.
FINANCIAL CRIME CONTROL FAILURES
The FCA's investigation found that Nationwide's AML systems and controls were inadequate during the relevant period. A key factor identified by the regulator was that the building society operated without business current accounts throughout the period in question. Nationwide knew from at least October 2016 that some customers were using personal current accounts for business activity in breach of its terms, but it lacked adequate processes to identify and monitor that activity; the FCA cited a case in which a customer received 24 fraudulent furlough payments totalling some £27.36 million.
Specific deficiencies identified included shortcomings in customer due diligence procedures for existing customers, incomplete financial crime risk assessments, and an inability on Nationwide's part to identify comprehensively all customers who should have been categorised as high-risk for AML purposes.
The period under review — October 2016 to July 2021 — stretches across nearly five years and predates Nationwide's acquisition of Virgin Money, which was announced in 2024. The FCA said Nationwide has invested significantly in remedial steps and in enhancing its financial crime framework since the end of the relevant period, and that it cooperated fully with the investigation.
SETTLEMENT DISCOUNT
The 30% settlement discount, reducing the fine from £62,969,297 to £44,078,500, reflects the FCA's policy of rewarding firms that resolve enforcement matters early.
Nationwide is the UK's largest building society and one of the country's biggest mortgage lenders, serving millions of personal customers.