The building society had a pre-tax profit of £486million of the six months to the end of September, down 14% from £568million in the same period of 2024.

Nationwide’s half-year mortgage lending was £4.7billion, 25% less than a year ago. The firm said the average loan-to-value of new residential homeloans was 72%.

The lender said this was due to stamp duty changes that took place from April 2025, when there was a decrease in thresholds for residential main rates and First Time Buyers’ Relief.

Last October Nationwide completed its acquisition of Virgin Money, which the building society said was behind administrative costs for the half year rising by £826million to £1.9billion.

The takeover also fuelled a boom in underlying income, which rose to £3.1billion for the half year from £2.1billion in the same period of 2024.

Nationwide said: “Borrowers are likely to continue experiencing affordability pressures; however, arrears rates are expected to remain well below the industry average.

“Despite labour market conditions having softened, the credit quality of our lending portfolios, and the adequacy of our capital resources, remain strong.”

Nationwide chief executive Debbie Crosbie said the lender had strong mortgage growth and retail deposits, and highlighted that more people switched current accounts to Nationwide than any other brand.

“All of this, combined with the benefits of our acquisition of Virgin Money, has led to an increase in underlying profit before tax, while delivering £1.2billion of value to our members,” she said.