Nationwide Building Society, the UK’s second largest lender, has appointed Debbie Crosbie to be its new chief executive.

Crosbie, who prior to this was the chief executive of TSB, will be the building society’s first female executive director in its 175-year history. 

Crosbie will replace the Joe Garner, who announced in September that after almost six years in the role he would be stepping down from his CEO role.

Crosbie has been CEO at TSB since 2019. During this period the bank has seen its pre-tax profits  more than double, with customer lending increasing by almost 20 per cent. Crosbie has focused on driving cost efficiencies, and increasing digital investment, with more than 90 per cent of all TSB’s bank transactions and 70 per cent of its product sales now through digital channels.

Prior to joining TSB Crosbie was acting CEO of Clydesdale Bank, leading the  preparations for its demerger and subsequent IPO.

Crosbie is expected to take up her position on Nationwide’s board in 2022, subject to regulatory approval. 

Nationwide’s chairman elect Kevin Parry says: “Crosbie brings significant banking experience combined with deep operational and technological knowledge — core skills needed to run a modern building society.”

He added that she was a “strong advocate of mutuality” and supports Nationwide’s societal role.

Under Garner, Nationwide expanded its membership by around two million to six million. It now has mortgages on its books of £194 billion, and runs one in 10 UK current accounts.