(Bloomberg) -- A surprise takeover bid has put a spotlight on the UK’s top female banker: Debbie Crosbie, chief executive officer of Nationwide Building Society. 

Nationwide’s £2.9 billion ($3.7 billion) proposal for Virgin Money UK Plc announced on Thursday is Crosbie’s latest move in a career that spans over 25 years in British banking. If the deal goes ahead, Crosbie, 53, will helm the second-largest mortgage provider in the country. 

The takeover plan could also make Crosbie the superior of her former boss at Clydesdale Bank — Virgin Money CEO David Duffy. 

The resignations last year of NatWest Group Plc’s Alison Rose and Anne Boden at Starling Bank have made Crosbie an even more prominent figure in the male-dominated world of UK finance. 

Before joining Nationwide in 2022 as the lender’s first female chief executive, Crosbie led a turnaround at TSB Banking Group, part of Spain’s Banco de Sabadell SA, delivering early on the bank’s three-year growth strategy. 

Prior to this, Crosbie spent two decades at Scottish lender Clydesdale, including a brief stint as acting CEO during the group’s decoupling from National Australia Bank and subsequent stock market listing. Virgin Money later merged with Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank in a £1.7 billion all-share deal in 2018.

Crosbie has a “broad and strong skillset across all areas of strategy through to operational delivery,” Tim Tookey, a former director of Nationwide, told Bloomberg News. 

Read More: Nationwide Bids £3 Billion for Virgin Money in Latest Bank Deal

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