Nationwide Building Society has kicked off a review of its commercial lending panel, one of a handful of sub-panels not reviewed when the company set up its first-ever group-wide legal roster in July last year.

The review, which was started two weeks ago by general counsel Liz Kelly, will see Nationwide assess the current line-up of approximately 60 advisers with a view to significantly reducing the number of firms on the panel.

Group legal manager Susan Manik commented: "In addition to its general corporate panel, a number of firms are used to undertake property and security work arising from Nationwide's commercial lending operation. The number of firms on that panel is being reviewed to reflect the current volume of new commercial lending and associated work."

Manik said that the number of firms appointed is dependent on the quality of each individual pitch. The review is expected to be completed by the end of October.

The news comes just over a year after the building society appointed five firms to its first-ever UK panel, including magic circle firm Allen & Overy, alongside Eversheds, Burges Salmon, Olswang and Nabarro.

Nationwide operates a handful of other sub-panels, including commercial property and lending control, which it plans to review in due course.