Virgin Money Credit Rating
Virgin Money is not a bank in its own right: it is a trading name of Nationwide Building Society (FCA firm reference 106078), part of Nationwide. Credit rating agencies rate the licence holder, not the brand, so Virgin Money has no rating of its own. Nationwide Building Society currently holds a blended long-term credit rating of A+, which is investment grade; that is the rating shown on this page. Virgin Money was the main brand of Clydesdale Bank PLC until 2 April 2026, when substantially all of Clydesdale Bank's business transferred to Nationwide Building Society under a Part VII scheme, eighteen months after Nationwide's £2.9 billion takeover of Virgin Money UK PLC. Virgin Money is now a trading name of Nationwide and the brand is to be phased out. A credit rating is an opinion on an institution's ability to meet its obligations, not a guarantee, and it is separate from deposit protection.
Nationwide Building Society credit ratings by agency
| Agency | Long-term rating | Outlook | Last confirmed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fitch Ratings | AA- | Stable | 10 Jul 2026 |
| Moody's | A1 | Stable | 10 Jul 2026 |
| S&P Global Ratings | A+ | Stable | 19 Jul 2026 |
Rating History Chart
Rating History
| Date | Rating | Agencies |
|---|---|---|
10 Jul 2026 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
10 Jul 2026 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
15 Nov 2020 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
15 Jun 2018 |
S&P, Moody's, Fitch | |
15 Jan 2016 |
Fitch |
Service record: complaints, incidents and customer survey
Complaints: in the FCA's 2025 H2 file (April 2025 to September 2025), Nationwide Building Society received 63,947 banking and credit-card complaints, 1.94 per 1,000 accounts. The bank upheld 52% of those it closed and closed 51% within three days. The previous period was 1.92 per 1,000, so complaints rose. Compare all banks.
Outages and incidents: Virgin Money reported
2 major operational or security incidents to the FCA in the quarter to 30 June 2026 and 3 in the 12 months to 30 June 2026 (mobile app 0, online banking 0, telephone 0)
Customer survey (CMA / Ipsos, August 2026): share of Virgin Money's own customers who would recommend it.
| Measure | Market | Would recommend | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Branch services | Great Britain | 64% | 6 of 13 |
| Online and mobile banking | Great Britain | 60% | 16= of 17 |
| Overall service quality | Great Britain | 49% | 16 of 17 |
| Overdraft services | Great Britain | 52% | 16 of 16 |
| Branch and business centre services (business) | Great Britain | 64% | 3 of 12 |
| Online and mobile banking (business) | Great Britain | 65% | 12 of 17 |
| Overall service quality (business) | Great Britain | 62% | 8 of 17 |
| Relationship and account management (business) | Great Britain | 60% | 9= of 17 |
Market signals, ownership and group accounts
Takeover:Nationwide Building Society's offer period for Virgin Money UK plc began 7 March 2024; it completed on 1 October 2024.
From the Takeover Panel's daily Disclosure Table of live offer periods (2019 onwards), via the RNS archive.Latest News
Is Virgin Money safe? What the record shows
The agency ratings above are opinions. What follows is the verifiable record behind them: each statement is taken from the source named beneath it, last checked 15 October 2026. It is information, not advice.
Banking licence
Since 2 April 2026 Virgin Money has been a trading name of Nationwide Building Society (FCA firm reference 106078). Until then it was a brand of Clydesdale Bank PLC (firm reference 121873), whose business, apart from a small excluded part, transferred to Nationwide at 23:59 that day under a Part VII banking business transfer sanctioned by the High Court on 23 February 2026. Clydesdale Bank was renamed Clydesdale Bank Limited on 28 July 2026, no longer takes customer deposits and now exists to issue Scottish banknotes.
Source: Clydesdale Bank PLC annual report and accounts, year ended 31 March 2026, 31 Mar 2026Ownership and funding
Nationwide Building Society completed its all-cash acquisition of Virgin Money UK PLC on 1 October 2024, valuing the company at about £2.9 billion, after FCA and PRA approval on 6 September 2024 and court approval on 27 September 2024; Virgin Money's shares were delisted from the London Stock Exchange. Nationwide is a member-owned mutual with no shareholders.
Source: Virgin Money: Virgin Money is now part of Nationwide, 1 Oct 2024Nationwide has said customer migration to the Nationwide brand will begin in 2026, that Virgin Money customers with a personal current account, savings or mortgage became Nationwide members on 2 April 2026, and that the Virgin Money brand will be phased out, with the first branch rebranding expected in 2028. Clydesdale Bank stopped offering new mortgages on 1 July 2026.
Source: Nationwide Building Society preliminary results, year ended 31 March 2026, 21 May 2026Size
On its last balance sheet before the transfer, at 31 March 2026, Clydesdale Bank PLC had £72.7 billion of customer deposits, £69.1 billion of customer loans (including £54.2 billion of mortgages) and total assets of £91.0 billion, serving around 6.5 million customers through 91 branches. Within Nationwide's results, Virgin Money retail deposits were £53.8 billion at 31 March 2026, and the combined group had total assets of £382 billion.
Source: Clydesdale Bank PLC annual report and accounts, year ended 31 March 2026, 31 Mar 2026Profitability
Clydesdale Bank PLC made a profit before tax of £191 million in the twelve months to 31 March 2026, after £188 million in the preceding 18-month period (which absorbed a £275 million one-off brand licence fee). As Virgin Money UK PLC it made statutory profits before tax of £558 million in the year to 30 September 2024 and £345 million in the year before. Its owner, Nationwide, made a statutory profit before tax of £1,490 million in the year to 31 March 2026 (underlying £2,026 million).
Source: Clydesdale Bank PLC annual report and accounts, year ended 31 March 2026, 31 Mar 2026Capital strength
Because Virgin Money deposits are now liabilities of Nationwide, the relevant capital position is Nationwide's: a Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) ratio of 19.1% and a leverage ratio of 5.3% at 31 March 2026, against requirements of 12.3% and 4.3%. On its own final balance sheet at the same date, Clydesdale Bank PLC reported a CET1 ratio of 14.3%, a total capital ratio of 19.3% and a leverage ratio of 6.3%.
Source: Nationwide Building Society preliminary results, year ended 31 March 2026, 31 Mar 2026Regulatory record since 2020
No FCA final notice against Clydesdale Bank or Virgin Money dated after 1 January 2020 was found; an FCA final-notice search for either name returns no results. The last fine was £20,678,300 in April 2015 for PPI complaint handling. Nationwide Building Society itself, which now holds Virgin Money deposits, was fined £44,078,500 by the FCA on 11 December 2025 for anti-financial-crime control failings on personal current accounts between October 2016 and July 2021.
Source: FCA news search, final notices, "Virgin Money", 15 Oct 2026Credit ratings
Virgin Money deposits now carry Nationwide Building Society's ratings: S&P A+ (stable), Moody's A1 (stable) and Fitch AA- (stable), Fitch having upgraded Nationwide from A to AA- on 12 May 2026 after revising its bank rating criteria. Before the transfer, Clydesdale Bank PLC was rated A1 (deposits) by Moody's, A by S&P (upgraded from A- on 1 October 2024 after the acquisition) and A by Fitch. Virgin Money UK PLC, now a non-operating holding company, is shown on its investor page at BBB+ (S&P) and A (Fitch).
Source: Nationwide Building Society investor relations: credit ratings, 15 Oct 2026Deposit protection
From 2 April 2026 Virgin Money and Nationwide are treated as one provider by the FSCS. Eligible deposits held across Virgin Money, Clydesdale Bank, Yorkshire Bank and Nationwide accounts are protected up to a combined £120,000 per person (£240,000 for a joint account), where before the transfer Virgin Money and Nationwide each had a separate £120,000 limit. Customers who held money with both were allowed penalty-free withdrawals between 24 February and 1 June 2026 to bring their total under the limit.
Source: Virgin Money: FSCS protection, your questions answered, 3 Apr 2026Operational incidents
On payday, 28 June 2024, Virgin Money customers were among those unable to access online and mobile banking or seeing delayed payments during an outage that also affected HSBC and Nationwide; on 2 September 2024 its app and internet banking went down again for part of the day. No Virgin Money outage, data incident or remediation programme in 2025 or 2026 was found in press searches.
Source: Irish News (PA): HSBC and Virgin Money among banking customers facing pay-day outages, 28 Jun 2024Frequently asked questions about Virgin Money
Is Virgin Money safe?
Virgin Money operates under Nationwide Building Society's banking licence, and Nationwide Building Society holds a blended long-term credit rating of A+, which is investment grade. A rating is an independent opinion on the institution's ability to meet its obligations; it is not a guarantee and can change. Separately, eligible deposits with UK-authorised banks and building societies are protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person per banking licence. This page is information about published credit ratings, not financial advice.
What is Virgin Money's credit rating?
Virgin Money has no rating of its own. Its licence holder, Nationwide Building Society, has a blended long-term credit rating of A+ from S&P, Moody's, Fitch; the per-agency figures are shown above.
Which bank is Virgin Money part of?
Virgin Money is a trading name of Nationwide Building Society, FCA firm reference 106078, part of Nationwide. Virgin Money was the main brand of Clydesdale Bank PLC until 2 April 2026, when substantially all of Clydesdale Bank's business transferred to Nationwide Building Society under a Part VII scheme, eighteen months after Nationwide's £2.9 billion takeover of Virgin Money UK PLC. Virgin Money is now a trading name of Nationwide and the brand is to be phased out.
Does Virgin Money share an FSCS limit with Nationwide or Clydesdale Bank or Yorkshire Bank?
Yes. Virgin Money and Nationwide and Clydesdale Bank and Yorkshire Bank all sit under Nationwide Building Society's licence, so money held across them counts towards one £120,000 limit per person, not one limit each.
Is Virgin Money a real bank?
Since 2 April 2026 Virgin Money has been a trading name of Nationwide Building Society (FCA firm reference 106078). Until then it was a brand of Clydesdale Bank PLC (firm reference 121873), whose business, apart from a small excluded part, transferred to Nationwide at 23:59 that day under a Part VII banking business transfer sanctioned by the High Court on 23 February 2026. Clydesdale Bank was renamed Clydesdale Bank Limited on 28 July 2026, no longer takes customer deposits and now exists to issue Scottish banknotes.
Is Virgin Money profitable?
Clydesdale Bank PLC made a profit before tax of £191 million in the twelve months to 31 March 2026, after £188 million in the preceding 18-month period (which absorbed a £275 million one-off brand licence fee). As Virgin Money UK PLC it made statutory profits before tax of £558 million in the year to 30 September 2024 and £345 million in the year before. Its owner, Nationwide, made a statutory profit before tax of £1,490 million in the year to 31 March 2026 (underlying £2,026 million).
Has Virgin Money been fined by the FCA?
No FCA final notice against Clydesdale Bank or Virgin Money dated after 1 January 2020 was found; an FCA final-notice search for either name returns no results. The last fine was £20,678,300 in April 2015 for PPI complaint handling. Nationwide Building Society itself, which now holds Virgin Money deposits, was fined £44,078,500 by the FCA on 11 December 2025 for anti-financial-crime control failings on personal current accounts between October 2016 and July 2021.
Who owns Virgin Money?
Nationwide Building Society completed its all-cash acquisition of Virgin Money UK PLC on 1 October 2024, valuing the company at about £2.9 billion, after FCA and PRA approval on 6 September 2024 and court approval on 27 September 2024; Virgin Money's shares were delisted from the London Stock Exchange. Nationwide is a member-owned mutual with no shareholders.