LONDON (S&P Global Ratings) May 21, 2021--S&P Global Ratings said today that pandemic support measures deployed by the U.K. government and the Bank of England have underpinned the domestic economy and mortgage market and thereby supported Nationwide Building Society's (A/Stable/A-1) profitability. Nationwide--one of the U.K.'s largest mortgage providers--announced today that its pretax profit for the financial year ended April 4, 2021, increased by 77% year-on-year to £823 million. Total income increased by 8%, while impairment losses fell by 9%. The base case outlook for impairment charges appears more favorable, though residual downside risks associated with the withdrawal of fiscal support or further lockdown restrictions remain. Our central projection remains that Nationwide's credit losses will stay modest, at about 5-8 basis
