Is Carpet bagging dead now?

[didds]

About 20 years or so agio AIUI there was a concept of "carpet bagging" - where one would open an account at a mutualised building society in the hope that it would becolme a PLC, making the account holders shareholders, and typically there wod be some cash thrown their way for them to aquiesce to the deal.

It struck me very recently that I hadnt heard anything about this for a very long time now... does that mean that carpet bagging is now dead?

didds

[AndyPandy]

Are there any Mutual Building Societies left apart from the Nationwide (that takes pride in its Mutual Status and so is unlikely to float)?

And, if there are, are they big enough to float rather than being taken over?

I confess to bagging a few carpets at the time and being disappointed that Nationwide didn't float as I had genuine (as in 'not opened for bagging purposes') Nationwide current, savings and Mortgage accounts.

[didds]

Are there any Mutual Building Societies left apart from the Nationwide (that takes pride in its Mutual Status and so is unlikely to float)?

And, if there are, are they big enough to float rather than being taken over?

I confess to bagging a few carpets at the time and being disappointed that Nationwide didn't float as I had genuine (as in 'not opened for bagging purposes') Nationwide current, savings and Mortgage accounts.

the Yorkshire would appear to be one...

In 2011 there were 49...
https://positivemoney.org/2011/01/move- ... -a-mutual/

and as much as wikipedia is up toi date and to be trusted now there appear to be 54
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Building_society#Current

didds

[Loup321]

Yorkshire Building Society and Nationwide both made me sign over my rights to any windfall from this to their chosen charity scheme. I would expect many of the others have done this as well. I opened my first YBS account in the early 2000s and my first Nationwide account in 2008. Therefore I don't expect you could start opening accounts now, but accounts you have held for a very long time could make you eligible.

[XFool]

Yorkshire Building Society and Nationwide both made me sign over my rights to any windfall from this to their chosen charity scheme. I would expect many of the others have done this as well. I opened my first YBS account in the early 2000s and my first Nationwide account in 2008. Therefore I don't expect you could start opening accounts now, but accounts you have held for a very long time could make you eligible.

Of course you can still open accounts, unless a small BS has a 'locals only' policy. But, as mentioned, they now come with a clause that means you are signing over any potential 'rewards' to the mutual's charity organisation.

Was any of it EVER a good idea? Where are they now, all those old familiar high street names? :

Abbey National, Alliance and Leicester, Birmingham Midshires, Bradford & Bingley, Chelsea, Halifax, Kent Reliance, Leeds Permanent, Northern Rock(!), Portman, The Woolwich and others.


BTW. I don't require an answer to the rhetorical question: "Where are they now?"

[UncleEbenezer]

I've been with Nationwide for over 30 years, so would in principle be eligible.

Until 2008 they offered real advantages to me as customer. In the wake of the bust, those evaporated, and they're now no better than a regular bank. So I'd now welcome an opportunity to bag what would be my first carpet.

[AleisterCrowley]

"Oddly enough" I had the very same thought recently as I'm about to close my Nationwide accounts following their decision to slash interest rates.
I've actually got an ISA (which is moving to...somewhere*) and a Flex Account with £100 in it linked to a 'savings' account with about £2k
I was thinking of keeping the £100 in the Flex Account 'just in case'
I predate the signing over of windfall rights. I did make some money twice ,as Staffordshire got absorbed by Portman, who were then assimilated into the Nationwide ... (I started out with a Staffordshire BS account then opened a parallel Nationwide account a few years later)
AC
*Kent Reliance , if they get their act together and answer the phone

[stevensfo]

I've been with Nationwide for over 30 years, so would in principle be eligible.

Until 2008 they offered real advantages to me as customer. In the wake of the bust, those evaporated, and they're now no better than a regular bank. So I'd now welcome an opportunity to bag what would be my first carpet.

Given the fact that they don't pay any dividends and the way they have behaved to loyal customers, I'd say they are worse than a regular bank. At least with a regular bank, there is a sort of unwritten agreement that they will screw you the first chance they get, whereas with Building Societies, there was a warm fuzzy feeling that they were on your side. Not any more.


Steve

[Eboli]

The only individual members of Nationwide who have not been forced to sign away their rights on demutualisation will have had to have been investing members who have had an eligible account before 2nd November 1997 and have retained their membership ever since. I must admit to being one of those but I doubt whether we are anything other than a minor element of the membership now.

I would vote for demutualisation tomorrow given half a chance because Nationwide have for over two decades completely ignored and reduced benefits accruing to longstanding investing members. Their so-called 'loyalty' account has offered little reward over the years. At one time their Flex Plus account offered a nice package when they paid interest to offset the £10 monthly fee. Now they charge £13 and offer no interest (my only reason for maintaining it is I make sufficient ATM withdrawals outside the EU that the waiver of the normal 1.75% fee pays for the cost of the account).

Eb.

[XFool]

The only individual members of Nationwide who have not been forced to sign away their rights on demutualisation will have had to have been investing members who have had an eligible account before 2nd November 1997 and have retained their membership ever since. I must admit to being one of those but I doubt whether we are anything other than a minor element of the membership now.

What about mortgage holders?

I would vote for demutualisation tomorrow given half a chance because Nationwide have for over two decades completely ignored and reduced benefits accruing to longstanding investing members. Their so-called 'loyalty' account has offered little reward over the years. At one time their Flex Plus account offered a nice package when they paid interest to offset the £10 monthly fee. Now they charge £13 and offer no interest (my only reason for maintaining it is I make sufficient ATM withdrawals outside the EU that the waiver of the normal 1.75% fee pays for the cost of the account).

Trouble is, we simply have been in a reducing interest environment. Now we are in a very low interest rate environment. I hear many people complaining about their bank and going to "move elsewhere", but where to? Every bank account will have more or less the same low interest rates.

[DrFfybes]

Yorkshire Building Society and Nationwide both made me sign over my rights to any windfall from this to their chosen charity scheme. I would expect many of the others have done this as well. I opened my first YBS account in the early 2000s and my first Nationwide account in 2008. Therefore I don't expect you could start opening accounts now, but accounts you have held for a very long time could make you eligible.

I still have Nationwide and Yorkshire accounts I opened to Carpetbag. I kept them as sometimes they have a loyalty ISA with a slight bonus for existing customers and/or it makes moving money there easier if they happen to have a good rate. At Natiowide's current rate I suspect I'll get about 3p interest next year.

[AleisterCrowley]

My Nationwide 'Loyalty' single access ISA went from 1.4% to 0.25% ( 115bps in response to base rate going from 0.75% to 0.1% i.e. a drop of 65bps)
I'm guessing 'Disloyal' customers ended up in negative interest rate territory...
Total joke - have been a customer for >25 years

[UncleEbenezer]

My best remaining thing with Nationwide is the credit card. Cashback on all my purchases. So on that basis, I use it for almost all my shopping.

One of the things that went out of the window in about 2009 was purchases and cash withdrawals (the latter on debit card only) being free when travelling abroad. Got another account that offers that, but I'm unlikely to get to use it for a while now ...