Several hundred people, most of them elderly, braved the downpours last Monday to grab a ringside seat for this year's bout between Nationwide's board and the twin thorns in its side: dissident members Brendan Burgess and Shane Hogan.

Once again, Burgess tried and failed to win a seat on the board, promising he would clean up the building society's lending practices from within if elected. While support was limited . . . chairman Michael Walsh was reelected by a margin of almost eight to one . . . Burgess used the occasion to have a crack at targets beyond the usual suspects seated at the top table.

He accused the Financial Regulator of sitting on its hands while Nationwide engaged in lending practices that he claimed were illegal and unfair. This criticism was intriguing given that Burgess chairs a panel of consumers, including TV money man Eddie Hobbs and broadcaster David McWilliams, set up by government to advise the regulator on how to do its job.

Burgess did not mince his words. The regulator has been cowed into "a state of paralysis and inaction" by Nationwide's "bluff and bluster". It has shown extreme caution when it should be displaying courage. It has been dragging its feet when Joe Meade, the new Financial Services Ombudsman, has stood his ground as Nationwide challenged his decisions all the way to the High Court.

If this is what Burgess is saying in public, one can only guess at the tongue-lashing the regulator receives behind closed doors.

The plight of a handful of hard-luck cases is of little concern for most members, who turn out loyally year after year at the AGM in a show of support for Fingleton, the man who promises to make them rich by selling the building society to a bigger financial institution, unlocking windfall gains estimated at 15,000 per member.

So, rather than appealing to their better natures, Burgess resorted to fear. The ombudsman's ruling that Nationwide must rebate penalties charged to a customer who paid off his mortgage early will unleash a flood of similar claims, wiping 10% off the value of members' windfalls, he predicted. And there may be worse to come.

Burgess claimed that financial watchdogs are now probing other aspects of Nationwide's lending practices, including the calculation of penalty interest charged to customers who fell into arrears and the building society's failure to pass on interest rate reductions to all mortgage customers.

He spoke of "an appalling vista" in which Nationwide would be forced to raid its reserves to meet the cost of claims from customers who were ripped off in the past, slashing the value of the longawaited windfalls from 15,000 to a paltry 5,000.

But Walsh dismissed Burgess's claims as "scaremongering", adding that the ombudsman's decision would have "no material impact" on the windfall.

"To suggest this is anything other than a small matter is misleading and a deliberate attempt to cause panic, " the chairman said.

Nationwide also rejects Burgess's claims that there is anything wrong with the way it calculated penalties on loan arrears or passed interest rate changes on to borrowers.

Burgess's accomplice, Shane Hogan, also invoked the fear factor in opposing Fingleton's reported plan to ring fence 15% of Nationwide's sale price for management and staff. According to Hogan's arithmetic, this would knock another 2,000 off the windfall, at which point people at the AGM must have wondered if they would be left completely empty handed when the sale eventually happens.

Hogan claimed that Fingleton would be the big winner from any sweetheart deal for staff. Because his 1.6m pay cheque amounts to 7% of Irish Nationwide's total wage bill, Hogan said the managing director could pocket a cool 10m if he gets his own way.

Not everyone was convinced. According to one speaker from the floor, staff were entitled to their 15% because wages at Nationwide are so poor. But another speaker noted that at least some Nationwide staff appeared to be doing all right, judging from Fingleton's package: "A salary of 671,000, a bonus of 500,000, pension contributions of 375,000. . . If that's badly paid, I wish I could get a job at Irish Nationwide."

For most members, however, the big question was when could they expect to get their money. Legislation that Fingleton says is essential for a fast-track sale of the building society was promised after Easter but has yet to see the light of day.

Walsh promised that the legislation was "imminent" but, after so many false dawns, some members smelled a conspiracy to bury it once again. One speaker demanded a statement from Fingleton on the issue but Walsh replied that it was his job as chairman to handle questions from the floor.

"The reason Mr Fingleton stays quiet is because I tell him so, " Walsh said. "It's the only time in the year when this happens."

But the iconic managing director could hold his silence no longer, telling the meeting he was confident that the legislation would be passed soon.

It's a message that members have heard many times in the past and one they will want answered definitively before next year's AGM.