Britain's Nationwide annual profit falls on mortgage market competition

LONDON, May 20 (Reuters) - Britain's Nationwide Building Society reported a 15%fall in profits for the year to April 4, as intense competition in the home lending market and increased spending on digital banking services ate into its margins.

The bellweather mortgage lender said its net interest margin - a closely-watched measure of underlying lender profitability - fell to 1.22%, down from 1.31% the previous year and down from 1.26% the prior quarter. (Reporting by Lawrence White and Iain Withers, editing by Sinead Cruise)