Nationwide has continued it’s dominance at the Which? Awards, winning Banking Brand of the Year for the third year in a row.

The company is in fact a building society, rather than a bank, making its win over competitors even sweeter.

According to Which? Swindon-based Nationwide has a customer score of 79 per cent and has scores of 4 or 5 stars in all of the categories including customer service and value for money.

A spokeswoman for Nationwide said: “We’re delighted to have won the Which? Best Banking Brand award for the third year running.

“To be independently voted as the winners for this award is particularly meaningful as it combines the expert judgement of the team at Which? with robust customer feedback.

“This award has been a tremendous endorsement, and the irony is that the winner of the ‘best bank award’ is not, after all, a bank. We’re a building society - owned by and run for the benefit of our members.”

According to YouGov, Nationwide customers tend to stay loyal to the building society with 62 per cent not switching their current account or opening a new one within 12 months.

The spokeswoman added: “Ensuring we provide quality customer service is also at the core of what we do. We continue to innovate and provide members with the best service, whether that be in branch or digitally.

“Back in May, the society committed not to leave any town or city in which it is currently based without a branch for at least two years; and has been rolling out its branch investment programme since 2017, which can be seen in the newly-designed Swindon branches.

“The way our members are engaging with us is continually changing, and we recognise the importance of meeting our members’ needs today and in the future. That’s why we also committed to spend an additional £1.3bn in technology over the next five years, totalling £4.1bn over the period.

“We believe that focusing on customer service and listening to our members can make a real difference. As a mutual we exist to serve the needs of our members and we are driven by that purpose.”