‘March of the Mutuals’ speech, Kevin Parry OBE

28 October 2025

Kevin Parry OBE
Chairman Nationwide Building Society and Chairman, Mutual and Co-operatives Sector Business Council (MCSBC)
BCCM Taste of Australia Dinner, Thursday, 23 October 2025, Adelaide

Introduction

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to be invited here to speak at the dinner of this year’s Business Council of Co-operatives and Mutuals Leaders’ Summit.

And, I would like to thank everyone involved in the organisation that has been so welcoming and diligent in their briefing for this mid-October conference.  There is however one minor issue that I feel in the interests of mutual learning I should just mention and that is timing.  If this conference was in mid-December – it would be just before the third test when I have no doubt England will go three up in the series and win back the Ashes.

But alas, no cricket on this tour probably because Australia has been concentrating on world cup football.

Congratulations are due to the Socceroos for qualifying for next year’s world cup – the sixth time in a row that they have done so.

It was particularly impressive this time round that they saw off so many titans of World football: Saudi Arabia (ranked 58^th in the world); Palestine (ranked 101^st in the world) as well as the all-conquering Bangladesh (ranked 183 in the world).

Bangladesh is one point higher in the world rankings than tiny Andorra. Doubtless if you had drawn them, you would have seen them off too, but England had that duty and we absolutely thrashed them… winning 1-0. But tonight, I am addressing you on winning in mutuals.

I consider Australia to be one of the leading examples of achievements through a coordinated approach. Your Council has already delivered impressive results:

• The Mutual Value Measurement Framework has helped co-ops and mutuals showcase their contributions to people and communities.
• The Bunya Fund has supported the development of new and emerging co-operatives.
• Legislative change in 2019 enabled mutuals to raise growth capital through Mutual Capital Instruments (MCIs) while retaining autonomy.
• Your sector’s climate action policy and sustainability strategy have positioned mutuals as leaders in ESG.

It’s the people in this room who made all of this happen and you should rightly be very proud of those achievements.

I look forward to using this summit to learn from each other for our mutual benefit.

Mutual co-operation

I have the honour to chair Nationwide Building Society.  Nationwide has always been at the forefront of the mutuals movement in the UK, advocating for the important role that mutuals, and specifically building societies play in the economy and wider society.

And I was pleased to welcome CEOs from Australian mutuals to Nationwide in September to learn more about our journey to becoming a modern mutual and how we are using our purpose and scale to provide an alternative to the big banks for day-to-day banking.

International cooperation is not new in our sector and it’s not the first time our two countries have done a mutual exchange of ideas.

In early 1976, Mr Leonard Williams, Nationwide’s then chief executive visited Australia at the invitation of the Australian Building Societies.

He travelled to Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane and met not just with building societies but also with Federal Government Ministers and officials.

Later that year, we welcomed the general manager of the Permanent of Australia Building Society to our head office to learn more about our business and see our operations in person.

So it’s only fitting that in the International Year of Coops, we are replicating what previous generations have done before us.

Nationwide’s journey

In 1976, Nationwide opened 380,000 savings accounts and 63,000 mortgages, with total assets of just over £2.2 billion.

Today, with assets of £368 billion, we’re connected to one in three people in the UK.

However, more important than our increase in scale, is the impact we are having in society and on the financial services landscape in the UK.

In 1976, building societies were important if you wanted to own your own home, but little else. And unlike our European neighbours, business customers had little choice but to turn to retail banks.

Now, Nationwide is one of the largest providers of personal current accounts. Last year, more than 50,000 people chose to switch their everyday banking to Nationwide, making us the top performer in the UK’s net switching league.

That’s not just a number, it’s a signal. People are actively seeking alternatives that reflect their values.

And for the first time in decades, UK business banking customers will have the choice to bank with a mutual following Nationwide’s acquisition of Virgin Money – an institution whose history is intertwined with the National Australia Bank I might add – as well as Coventry Building Society’s acquisition of Co-Op Bank.

Together, we’ve opened the door to a future where businesses can bank with institutions that prioritise purpose over profit.

Young people’s attitudes to mutuals

But we’re not resting on our laurels, we know there is more we need to do.

In order for mutuals to be successful in the future, they need to appeal to younger generations.

To connect with Gen Z, we launched NationFried, a pop-up chicken shop takeover that toured university campuses during Freshers Week. Fronted by TikTok stars, it served up fried chicken and the perks of our FlexStudent account.

The campaign didn’t just talk about banking, it spoke their language. Through social media influencers and takeaway culture, we offered £100 cash and £120 in Just Eat vouchers – Menu Log to Australians – turning a student account into something students actually wanted to talk about.

And it worked. We saw queues around the block and a surge in account openings, proving that when mutuals meet students where they are, online, on campus, and on their terms, they respond.

And the result is that we have grown our share of the student market and now hold a quarter of all student account openings, trebling the number of accounts we would normally open.

The large shareholder owned banks and some fintechs are wondering how a sleepy old building society has managed to become more popular with young people than they are.

We have modernised our brand and how we talk about ourselves and the value we can bring to society. This has really positive implications for our business and I would like to play you just one example of our recent work, which hopefully shows you that mutuals can be modern, relevant, and yes – even a bit funny.

Incidentally, that advert is part of a series of ads with the same characters that has been described by the research company, Kantar, as the most memorable ad for a financial services provider of all time.

Member benefit

But we also know that to be successful we need to continue to demonstrate member benefit. This isn’t just about better rates or good service – it’s about sharing our success with our members.

Last year, Nationwide returned a record £2.8 billion in value to our members, including £1 billion through initiatives like the Fairer Share Payment and The Big Nationwide Thank You.

The Fairer Share Payment is our way of recognising loyalty and rewarding members who choose Nationwide for their everyday banking, savings or mortgage needs. In 2025 alone, over 4 million members received £100 each.

And following our acquisition of Virgin Money, we launched The Big Nationwide Thank You, a one-off £50 payment to over 12 million members, acknowledging the role they played in building the financial strength that made the acquisition possible.

These aren’t just financial gestures – they’re expressions of our purpose: banking that’s fairer, more rewarding and for the good of society.

Scale

But to truly meet customers’ expectations, we must evolve – not just in how we communicate, but in what we offer. Relevance requires reach, and reach requires scale.

Scale enables:

• investment in technology,
• resilience in the face of regulatory pressures,
• and the ability to deliver meaningful value to members.

That’s why Nationwide’s acquisition of Virgin Money and Coventry’s acquisition of Co-operative Bank marks a pivotal moment – not just for our organisations, but for the UK’s mutual sector more broadly.

For us, it’s a bold step towards becoming a full-service mutual banking provider of scale, capable of delivering the kind of modern, values-led experience that customers increasingly demand.

Diversifying our product range will also make our income more resilient to interest rate volatility in normal economic times. This will help to protect the interest rates we offer our customers on savings and mortgages.

By doing this, we demonstrate how modern mutuals can deliver sustainable and equitable economic growth.

Mutuals Council

And it’s also essential that we learn best practice from our global peers and, in particular, Australia to build a stronger voice for the mutuals sector as a whole.

We’ve seen first-hand how difficult it can be to lobby effectively when mutuals operate within their own verticals – whether that’s finance, retail, housing, or healthcare. Fragmented voices often struggle to be heard, especially when competing with shareholder-driven giants.

Taking inspiration from your Business Council of Co-Operatives and Mutuals, the UK’s largest mutuals across sectors have now come together to establish a Mutual and Co-operative Council. It’s a strategic move to unify our voice, amplify our impact and advocate for mutual solutions to society’s biggest challenges – whether that’s housing, energy, or social care.

Australia has shown us what’s possible. Now it’s our turn to follow through.

Role of government

But for mutuals to thrive, we also need Government support.

Australia is way ahead of the UK in delivering positive legislative change, but the UK Government does have ambition and has a made a manifesto commitment to double the size of the mutual sector. That’s not just a policy, it’s a signal. A signal to investors, entrepreneurs and communities that mutuals are central to the future of inclusive growth.

Australia can send that signal too. Imagine what we could achieve with a national growth target for mutuals. Imagine if capital raising for co-operatives was as seamless as it is for start-ups. Imagine if government procurement actively prioritised mutuals in social care and community banking.

We have the talent. We have the models. What we need now is a coordinated strategy – one that brings together policy, procurement, education and innovation. One that says: mutuals are not just legacy institutions, they are engines of the future.

Let’s work together to make Australia and the UK the best places in the world to start, grow and scale a co-operative or mutual enterprise.

Australian outlook

Periods of uncertainty often present the greatest opportunities for mutuals and co-operatives. These organisations have long been built to withstand change – emerging from the industrial revolution, adapting through economic cycles, and remaining rooted in community values.

But today, thriving means more than surviving – it means evolving with purpose and scale.

Australia’s mutual and co-operative sector is already a quiet powerhouse. It is extraordinary that eight in ten people are members of at least one co-operative or mutual. That’s a remarkable figure, and a powerful reminder that mutuality is deeply embedded in the Australian way of life. It shows that when mutuals are visible, relevant and trusted, people respond.

And with over 14.4 million members and a combined turnover exceeding AUD 71 billion, the sector contributes 7–8% of national GDP.

From social care to agriculture, housing and retail, Australian mutuals are delivering real value in some of the most critical areas of society.

Those numbers are impressive, and they speak to the strength, reach and relevance of mutuality in Australia. But I’d like to offer a challenge: how do you grow this even further? How do you move from a quiet powerhouse to visible national force?

At Nationwide, we’ve learned that scale matters. It’s what allows us to invest in technology, navigate regulatory complexity and deliver meaningful value to our members. It’s also what enabled us to acquire Virgin Money, not just to grow, but to expand our reach and relevance.

In Australia you already have a powerful tool in Mutual Capital Instruments (MCIs), a mechanism that allows mutuals to raise growth capital while preserving member ownership.

MCIs should be used not just to stabilise, but to scale through:

• funding shared digital infrastructure across the sector;
• supporting strategic acquisitions that expand reach and relevance;
• investing in innovation that helps mutuals compete in new markets; and
• making it easier for smaller mutuals to issue MCIs, by reducing complexity and upfront costs.

In the UK, we’ve seen how consolidation – when done with purpose – can protect mutuality and extend its benefits. But growth doesn’t always mean merging. It can mean joining forces, sharing platforms, or building new ventures together.

So, the question isn’t whether mutuals can thrive. It’s how will we choose to grow?

Conclusion

As we look ahead, the role of mutuals in shaping a fairer, more inclusive economy, has never been more vital. We stand at a crossroads, where tradition meets transformation and where values must be matched by vision.

Modern mutuals must extend the benefits of mutuality to more people, not just through better products, but through bold ambition. We must embrace collaboration, and where necessary, consolidation, to ensure our sector remains resilient and relevant. The pressures we face, from regulatory demands to digital disruption, are real. But so too is our potential.

Nationwide’s journey, from 1884 to our acquisition of Virgin Money, shows what’s possible when mutuals think big. We’ve proven that scale and purpose can coexist. That mutuality is not a relic of the past, but a blueprint for the future.

Australia’s mutuals have shown remarkable leadership, and with the right support from government, from policy and from each other, this sector can become a cornerstone of national prosperity.

So let us march forward, not just as institutions, but as a movement. Let us be ambitious, be courageous and be united in our belief that mutuals can solve the biggest challenges of our time.

The opportunity is here. The time is now. Let’s make mutuality matter, more than ever before.