Nationwide has been crowned the best bank in the UK by Forbes – despite being a building society.

The annual list to crown the top banking establishments around the globe saw 410 worldwide organisations listed depending on their scores across criteria such as customer satisfaction and service, recommendation to others, trustworthiness, digital services, quality of financial advice and more.

In the UK, 12 companies made the list in total, with Nationwide coming out top ahead of first direct, Monzo, Aldermore Group, Starling and Revolut.

Forbes noted that – like several of those named in the British contingent – digital banks, or neobanks, are reshaping the industry due to the services they offer.

But Nationwide’s commitment to keeping branches open was one aspect which made them stand apart from the crowd, as well as their creation of the Helping Hand mortgage deal and the number of community services on offer.

“We’re incredibly proud Forbes has recognised Nationwide as the UK’s top‑rated banking services provider, reflecting the strength of our mutual model,” said Dame Debbie Crosbie, chief executive of Nationwide.

“We have been number one for customer satisfaction for 14 years and last year we were top for current account switching, while returning a record £2.8bn in value to our members. We give customers a choice about how they bank with us which is why we have committed to keep all our branches open until at least the start of 2030.”

The other banks listed in Britain were, in order from seventh to 12th, Paragon Bank, Standard Chartered, Bank of Ireland, Atom Bank and Barclays.

Separately, Nationwide has also added to their services by trialling an expansion of access to dementia clinics.

Appointments with Admiral Nurses will be free and available in more Virgin Money branches in the north of England and Scotland, in partnership with Dementia UK. More than 5,700 appointments have been booked since the initiative began in 2024, with non-Nationwide or Virgin Money clients also able to book.