Up to 900 jobs will be cut across Nationwide and Portman after the two building societies merge later this summer, it was disclosed yesterday.

Nationwide chief executive Graham Beale said the 500 staff cuts announced in March were expected to nearly double within two years as the group looked to trim jobs in the combined business.

About 250 jobs are expected to go in Portman's Bournemouth head office, which will instead become an administration centre, with another 250 to be lost when Portman's Wolverhampton base is closed at the end of the year. Mr Beale said Nationwide expected a further 100 jobs to be shed within the combined retail network, with another 200 to 300 cuts largely expected to be within Nationwide's lending operation UCB Home Loans. The news came as Nationwide posted a 92.7 per cent rise in annual mortgage lending to £10.6bn, but said the recent spate of interest rises had started to bite.