Nationwide has topped a customer satisfaction survey of 21 mortgage lenders beating NatWest, Santander, Halifax and other major high street lenders. Ranked as the best by consumer champion Which?, Nationwide Building Society scored 80% for customer satisfaction in a survey of over 5,000 members of the public.

Named the only “recommended provider” by Which?, Nationwide’s 80% customer score equalled that of Principality Building Society and Skipton Building Society. In descending order, the next five are Accord Mortgages (78%), Barclays Mortgage (75%), Clydesdale Bank (74%), Lloyds Bank (74%) and TSB (74%).

Of the big UK banks, Barclays came out on top, beating Lloyds, HSBC (73%) and NatWest (73%). Halifax, Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland scored 72%, 73% and 68% respectively.

According to Which?, customers gave Nationwide five stars out of five for the clarity of its mortgage statements and online access.

Which? said its own mortgage rate analysis found Britain’s largest building society consistently offered competitive mortgage rates for a “wide range” of borrowers.

The results were based on an online survey of 5,016 people carried out over August and September this year. Which? said those surveyed are representative of the UK’s adult population.

News of Nationwide’s top spot position comes after the lender said on Thursday it recorded a 53% jump in first-time buyers using its Helping Hand mortgage after it started allowing people to borrow up to six times their income.

The mortgage deal was changed in September 2024, enabling first-time buyers to borrow up to six times their income, increasing from a previous maximum multiple of 5.5 for first-time buyers taking out a Helping Hand mortgage.

Between October 2024 and September 2025, Britain’s biggest building society said about 23,000 people climbed onto the property ladder using the Helping Hand mortgage – marking a 53% increase compared with about 15,000 in the 12 months beforehand.

Regulators have recently acted to ease or clarify lending rules, making it easier for some borrowers to access mortgages.

Nationwide said it reduced stress rates in May, extended Helping Hand to 95% LTV (loan-to-value) new build houses in June and relaxed Helping Hand minimum income requirements in July.