Nationwide Building Society, unlike most lenders, does not operate a 'risk-based' approach to the interest rates it charges on its loans. Nationwide offers personal loans for any amount between £1,000 and £25,000 and you may repay your Nationwide loan over any period between 12 months and seven years.

Nationwide introduced a tiered rate structure in four bands in which the interest rate varies depending on how much you. Anyone applying for a loan of £7,500 or more will be offered the Nationwide's lowest personal loan rate. Loans for smaller amount cost more and the most expensive interest rate is reserved for personal loans of £1,000 - £2,999.

By law, the 'typical APR' you see quoted on lenders' advertising is the interest rate that lender must offer to at least two in every three borrowers.However, Nationwide does not differentiate - the rate you see quoted is the rate you will get if your loan application is accepted. It's that simple, the published rates do not change once you apply for a loan.

You must be over the age of 18 to apply for a Nationwide loan but you do not need to have an account with the Society. Nationwide will not consider applicants with outstanding CCJs but does allow borrowers to use its personal loan for debt consolidation purposes.

Nationwide does not offer the options of lump sum repayments or payment holidays on its personal loan product.

Nationwide Building Society is Britain's largest building society, with more than 700 branches. In recent years it has been a staunch proponent of the benefits of mutuality. The Society was established in 1848 and incorporated in 1875.

Nationwide is the product of over a hundred building society mergers, most notably the merger between the Nationwide and the Anglia Building Societies in September 1987. Nationwide's views on mutuality are coloured by its past as part of the Co-operative movement. It was originally the Co-operative Permanent Building Society.