Jump to content

The Co-operative Bank

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Co-Operative Bank)
This article is about the UK bank. For other similarly named banks, see Co-operative Bank (disambiguation). For the general concept, see Cooperative banking.

The Co-operative Bank plc
FormerlyCWS Loan and Deposit Dept.
Company typePublic limited company
IndustryBanking & finance
Founded8 November 1872 (8 November 1872)
HeadquartersManchester, England, UK
Number of locations
50 (2024)
Key people
Nick Slape (Chief Executive Officer)
Bob Dench (Chairman)
ProductsCommercial banking
Credit cards
Loans
Mortgage loans
Retail banking
  • Decrease £71m (2023)
  • £133m (2022)
Total assets
  • Decrease £26bn (2023)
  • £28bn (2022)
OwnerCoventry Building Society
Number of employees
3,350 (2019)[1]
DivisionsSmile
Websitewww.co-operativebank.co.uk
Footnotes / references
[2]

The Co-operative Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank based in Manchester, England. Established as a bank for co-operators and co-operatives following the principles of the Rochdale Pioneers, the business evolved in the 20th century into a mid-sized British high street bank, operating throughout the UK mainland. Transactions took place at cash desks in Co-op stores until the 1960s, when the bank set up a small network of branches that grew from six to a high of 160; in 2023 it had 50 branches.

The Co-operative Bank is the only UK high street bank with a customer-led ethical policy which is incorporated into the bank's articles of association. The policy was introduced in 1992 and incorporated into the bank's constitution in 2013, then revised and expanded in 2015 in line with over 320,000 customer responses to a poll.

Despite its name, the bank has never been a cooperative itself. In the 1970s it was registered as a separate PLC that was wholly owned by the co-operative society it was part of, in order to achieve its status as a bank among other banks entitled to use inter-banking systems. That society, The Co-operative Group, maintains some relationship with the bank, including managing the licensed use of the brand name "Co-operative ...".

In 2013–2014, after a merger with Leek-based Britannia Building Society, a failed attempt to buy a larger rival and a troubled commercial property loan portfolio, the bank was the subject of a rescue plan to address a capital shortfall of about £1.9 billion. The Co-operative Group, which had previously owned the bank outright, became a minority shareholder with a 20% stake. Following restructuring and the formation of a new holding company on 1 September 2017, the Co-operative Group no longer had a stake in the bank and the relationship agreement between the two organisations ended in 2020.

In May 2024, Coventry Building Society agreed to purchase The Co-operative Bank. Regulatory approval was granted in November 2024 with the acquisition expected to complete on 1 January 2025.

History

[edit]

Origins

[edit]
Co-operative Bank Act 1971
Act of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Long titleAn Act to provide for the transfer to Co-operative Bank Limited of the banking business of Co-operative Wholesale Society Limited; and for other purposes incidental thereto and consequential thereon.
Citation1971 c. xxii
Dates
Royal assent12 May 1971
Text of statute as originally enacted

The bank was formed in 1872 as the Loan and Deposit Department of the Co-operative Wholesale Society, becoming the CWS Bank four years later. However, the bank did not become a registered company until 1971, when the Co-operative Bank Act 1971 (c. xxii) separated the banking business from the Co-operative Wholesale Society.[3] In 1975, the bank became the first new member of the Committee of London Clearing Banks for 40 years[4] and thus able to issue its own cheques.

Expansion

[edit]

The bank merged with the Britannia Building Society in 2009, increasing its branch network to 373 branches.[5]

Following the UK government's acquisition of 43.4% of Lloyds Banking Group in 2009, the Co-operative Bank entered into negotiations with Lloyds Banking Group to purchase over 600 of its branches. The purchase was publicly announced in July 2012 and it was revealed that the branches would be initially split from Lloyds under the resurrected TSB brand.[6] On 24 April 2013 the Co-operative Bank announced that it had decided against proceeding with the deal. The reasons given were the poor economic outlook in the UK and an increase in financial regulation requirements.[7] The Financial Times had previously reported that the Co-operative would require a £1 billion increase in capital to support enlarging the bank.[8]

2013 financial crisis

[edit]
The Co-operative Bank branch in Ealing, West London

In March 2013 the bank reported losses of £600m. In May Moody's downgraded its credit rating by six notches to junk (Ba3) resulting in the chief executive Barry Tootell's resignation.[9]

Over the weekend of 15–16 June 2013 negotiations between the Co-operative Group and its regulator the Prudential Regulation Authority culminated in reports [10][11] that the bank had a shortfall in its capital of about £1.5 billion, and that this would be filled by a procedure known as a "bail-in" scheme. Bank chairman Paul Flowers resigned shortly before the announcement of the shortfall.[12] A press release[13] by the bank issued on 17 June 2013 explained that the scheme would compel subordinated (also known as junior) bondholders to convert some or all of their assets from debt instruments to ownership ("equity") shares of uncertain value which would be listed on the London Stock Exchange and a new fixed income instrument. The scheme contrasted with the rescues of other British banks in 2008 and 2009 when central government introduced new capital into the failed institutions. Details of the outcome for small retail investors in the bank were uncertain at the time of the June announcement, but there was no suggestion that ordinary deposits in the bank would be put at any additional risk by the rescue, as they would continue to be covered by the existing compensation scheme. The bondholders had the opportunity to seek to reject the restructuring proposed, and an alternative option of the Bank of England taking over the ownership of the bank under the Banking Act 2009 special resolution regime was considered.[14]

In September it was discovered that there was a £3.6bn funding gap between the value the Co-operative Bank placed on its loan portfolio and the actual value it would realise if forced to sell the assets.[15] In October it was reported that the Co-operative Group had been forced to renegotiate the bank's £1.5bn rescue with US hedge funds Aurelius Capital Management, Beach Point Capital Management, and Silver Point Capital that owned its debt. As a result, the group would lose majority control of its banking arm with the proportion of the bank's equity remaining under its ownership dropping to 30%, less than the 75% proposed in the original rescue plan.[16] The plan passed a creditor vote and on 18 December 2013 a judge on the High Court of England and Wales allowed the plan to move forward.[17][18]

An independent review commissioned by the bank, published in April 2014, concluded that the root of the bank's problems lay in its 2009 takeover of the Britannia Building Society and poor management controls.[19] The bank's auditors, KPMG, were fined £4 million for misconduct shortly after the takeover of Britannia, particularly the valuation of Britannia's commercial loans and other liabilities, by the Financial Reporting Council in 2019.[20]

2014–16 rehabilitation

[edit]

The bank's chief executive at the time, Niall Booker, a former banker at HSBC who nursed HSBC's sub-prime lending business back to health,[21] was appointed in 2013.[22] He attempted to refocus the bank's strategy as a retail and SME lender.[23] At this point, the bank was Britain's seventh biggest lender,[19] and the majority of the bank's revenue was made from interest charges on loans.[1]

Flotation on the London Stock Exchange was planned for 2014[24] but the plans were abandoned[25] in March 2014 when a rights issue was announced to raise an additional £400 million.[26] In May 2014 the bank finalised the £400 million fundraising plan and obtained shareholder approval, which reduced the Co-operative Group's ownership of the bank to just over 20%.[27][28]

The Co-operative Bank lost 38,000 current account customers in the first half of 2014 after suffering what it called a "hurricane of negative publicity" following the lender's near collapse.[29] However, this loss was partly offset by 9,700 who switched to the bank – double the number who joined six months earlier,[29] resulting in a net loss of 28,199 customers (around 2% of the bank's total).[30] The rate of loss slowed significantly in 2015, resulting in a loss of 2,250 current account customers between January and August of that year.[31] Overall, between 2014 and 2017, the number of current account holders dropped from 1.5 million to 1.4 million.[32]

Nevertheless, the bank reported progress in its rehabilitation, as its losses sharply narrowed and it strengthened its capital position. Figures released by the bank in August 2014 for the first half of the year showed a pre-tax loss of £75.8 million was identified, compared to £844.6 million for the same period in 2013.[30][33] Co-op Bank also said its core Tier 1 capital ratio, a key measure of financial strength, stood at 11.5 percent at the end of June and was expected to be significantly above the previous guidance of 10 percent at the end of 2014.[19] However the bank, as expected, was unable to meet the new Bank of England financial stress tests in December 2014.[34][35]

In late 2014 the bank sold its repossessed properties business for £157.5 million,[36] and its ATM operating business for £35 million.[37] It also outsourced its mortgage servicing operation to Capita, transferring about 660 staff to Capita.[38]

The narrowing of losses was driven largely by a faster-than-expected reduction in unwanted assets, including significant parts of the portfolio of sub-prime mortgages the bank inherited from its merger with Britannia Building Society.[29] Non-core assets reduced by £ billion, and credit impairments improved.[39] In August 2014 the bank said it had cut staff numbers by 21 percent (about 1,560 workers) in the previous year and that there were more job losses to come. The bank had also closed 46 branches, reducing its branch network by 16 percent since the start of 2014. Another 25 would close in the remainder of the year, it said.[19] In August 2015 the bank said that it had closed 62 branches over the previous year, taking the total down to 165. This was partly due to a 28% drop in in-branch transactions resulting from a change in demand from branch to internet banking.[31] By that point staff reductions had exceeded 2,000 workers.[22] After the closure of 54 branches during the first three months of 2016 the bank described its programme of branch closures as "mostly finished".[40] The total number of jobs cut by the bank between 2013 and 2017 was approximately 2,700.[41] The closure of a further 10 branches in the spring of 2017[42] reduced the branch total to 95, down from nearly 300 at the start of the process.[43]

In December 2014 a Bank of England assessment measured the bank's core capital ratio (a measure of financial strength) at minus 2.6%. As a result, the bank appointed Bank of America Merrill Lynch to help sell £6.6 billion of mortgages.[44]

The bank was not expected to make a full-year profit until 2017 at the earliest.[35] In August 2015 Booker said that he expected the bank would be "part of the consolidation of some of the country’s smaller banks", and that stock-market flotation would remain an option for the future. He said that there had been "no meaningful discussions" concerning the suggestion that the hedge funds which own 80% of the bank's equity were looking at buying up the Co-operative Group's remaining 20% holding.[45]

On 1 April 2016 the bank announced a pre-tax loss for 2015 of £611 million, more than double the loss of £264m for 2014. Booker's salary rose to £3.85m from its 2014 level of £3.1m, an increase of 24.2%.[46] In November 2016 the bank announced a reduction of the workforce to 4,015, a loss of 200 staff.[47]

2017 restructuring, investment and proposed sale

[edit]

In February 2017 the bank's board announced that they were "commencing a sale process" for the bank and were "inviting offers". They said that they were also considering options other than a sale to build capital, including raising cash from new and existing investors.[48] A statement from the Co-operative Group indicated that it supported the decision.[49] In April 2017 the Co-operative Group wrote off its 20% stake in the bank[50] and in May 2017 the bank began seeking a debt-for-equity swap.[51] In June 2017 the bank's board discontinued the formal sale process.[52] By that time the bank's total losses since its financial crisis amounted to £2.6 billion.[32] It was then announced that institutional bondholders had agreed to convert £426 million of bonds into equity, which would give them a 17 per cent stake in the bank. Additionally, it was announced that existing investors had agreed to put £250 million of new equity into a newly established holding company, which would take a 68 per cent stake in the bank. The investors also agreed to add £100 million over 10 years to the bank's pension fund and provide over £200 million of collateral to assist in separating the bank's pension from that of the Co-operative Group. The group was due to own 1 per cent of the bank, with the bank retaining its name and ethical policy.[53] These arrangements were implemented in September 2017[54] and the final 1% stake held by the group was sold shortly afterwards for £5 million, ending the group's ownership of the bank entirely.[55] The "relationship agreement" between the bank and the group is due to come to an end in 2020.[56] During the uncertainty of the first half of 2017 the bank lost a further 25,000 current account customers.[57] The bank reduced staff numbers by 800 in 2017 and made a pre-tax loss of £174.4 million (the loss for the previous year had been £477.1 million).[58] In February 2018 the bank announced that its remaining branch network would be reduced from 95 to 68 branches during April and May 2018.[5]

2018 onwards: extension of portfolio and growth

[edit]

Andrew Bester joined as the bank's CEO in July 2017, setting out to deliver a plan to enhance the bank's digital capabilities while developing the ethical brand further.[1]

In September 2018 the bank expressed an interest in bidding for part of a £775 million fund designed to help banks develop their business banking services and encourage SME customers to transfer their accounts from RBS Group. The fund was created by RBS as a consequence of its £45 billion Government bailout during the financial crisis of 2007–2008.[59] In May 2019, the bank was awarded £15 million by Banking Competition Remedies (BCR) to grow its presence in the business banking market, following its successful application for funding from Pool B of the Capability and Innovation Fund.[60]

2020–2024: contraction

[edit]

By this time, bank was a plc with debt securities listed on the London Stock Exchange. Its equity is not listed. The bank's sole shareholder is the Co-operative Bank Finance plc. The sole shareholder of the Co-operative Bank Finance plc is the Co-operative Bank Holdings Ltd which is a private company limited by share capital.[61][62] The holding company is owned by hedge funds and other asset management companies.[63]

During the first half of 2020 the bank allocated £11.2m to "loan impairments", giving a loss for that period of £44.6m. In August 2020 the closure was announced of 18 of the bank's remaining 68 branches – to take place by the end of the year – along with an 11% reduction in staff numbers, as a response to a reduction in branch use and historically low interest rates.[64] In 2023, the bank had 50 branches in the UK.[65]

In October 2020, Andrew Bester informed the board of directors of his intention to step down as chief executive officer and as a director of parent company The Co-operative Bank Finance plc.[66] He was replaced as CEO by the bank's CFO, Nick Slape.[67]

As a part of wider turnaround plans, in August 2023 the bank acquired the mortgage accounts of Sainsbury's Bank[68] and in March 2024 announced it would consult staff on a restructure which would reduce staffing by 12%, about 400 staff.[69]

A series of banking entities engaged in talks and offers to acquire the bank, including US private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management in November 2020,[70] challenger bank Shawbrook in October 2023[71] A tentative offer was received from the Coventry Building Society which was provisionally accepted in April 2024.[72]

2024 onwards: takeover by Coventry Building Society

[edit]

On 19 April 2024, Coventry Building Society agreed takeover terms for the bank, worth up to £780 million. The deal was subject to the two firms agreeing a contract and gaining approval from financial services regulators.[73] On 24 May 2024, Coventry Building Society finalised its takeover of the bank, and announced that it would not be giving its members a vote on the deal.[74] Regulatory approval was granted in November 2024, and the acquisition was expected to be completed in January 2025.[75]

Membership before financial crisis

[edit]

Despite its name, the Co-operative Bank was not itself a true co-operative as it was not owned directly by its staff, nor customers. Prior to 2013 it was owned by a holding company itself owned by a co-operative – The Co-operative Group. Its customers could, however, choose to become Co-operative Group members and hence indirectly acquire an ownership interest in the bank, earning dividends on their account holdings and borrowing with the Bank.[76]

The bank also had approximately 2,500 preference shareholders, which were irredeemable fixed-interest shares. These shareholders could attend the bank's general meetings, but only had speaking and voting rights if the dividend is in arrears, or on any resolution varying their rights or winding up the bank.[77]

Unlike other co-operative banks, such as the Dutch company Rabobank,[78] the Co-operative Bank did not have a federal structure of local banks, instead being a single national bank.

Customer Union for Ethical Banking

[edit]

In October 2013, around the time of the takeover, a group of customers, supported by Ethical Consumer magazine, launched a Save our Bank campaign, to keep the bank adhering to its ethical policy and eventually bring it back into co-operative ownership. 10,000 people signed up to the campaign.[79] In 2016 the campaign became the Customer Union for Ethical Banking, a formal co-operative, which retained the Save our Bank name on its website. The union now has 1,200 members who all pay a small yearly membership fee. In 2019, the bank committed to ongoing engagement with the customer union, through a formal recognition agreement.[80][81]

Ethical policy

[edit]
See also: Ethical banking
A statue of co-operative pioneer Robert Owen stands in front of the bank's head office in Manchester.

The Co-operative Bank operates an Ethical Policy[82] and has an ethical code of conduct as part of its constitution. The Ethical Policy is overseen by a values and ethics committee chaired by an independent director.[83] The policy excludes the provision of any banking services to businesses that take part in certain business activities or sectors. These include a commitment not to finance "the manufacture or transfer of armaments to oppressive regimes" or "any business whose core activity contributes to global climate change, via the extraction or production of fossil fuels". The bank estimates that it has declined finance totalling in excess of £1bn since the policy was introduced in 1992.[84] The policy is based on a regularly renewed customer mandate in the form of a survey. In the 2005/06 financial year, whilst making profits of £96.5 million, it turned away business of nearly £10 million.[85]

The Ethical Policy only applies to the balance sheet of the Co-operative Bank and never applied to other Co-operative Group businesses such as the Co-operative Asset Management, the group's asset management business. Nevertheless, this business received criticism in 2009 for not following the bank's Ethical Policy[86][87] and in 2013 it was sold to the Royal London Group.[88][89]

In June 2005, the bank closed the account of Christian Voice, a Christian evangelical group, because of its standpoint on homosexuality, specifically the group's "discriminatory pronouncements on grounds of sexual orientation". They said the group was "incompatible with the position of the Co-operative Bank, which publicly supports diversity and dignity". Christian Voice said the bank was discriminating against it on religious grounds.[90] Gay Times subsequently selected the Co-operative Bank for its Ethical Corporate Stance Award.[91]

In late 2014 the bank undertook an advertising campaign to promote its Ethical Policy. The Co-operative Bank brand subsequently came top in YouGov's survey of the most improved brands of 2015.[92]

The expanded Ethical Policy, updated in 2015, is built on five pillars: Banking, Workplace, Products and Services, Campaigning and Business.[93]

Charity and community

[edit]

The bank's partnership with youth homelessness charity, Centrepoint, continued during 2018 and raised over £1m, helping to fund a national helpline for Centrepoint, and a specialist helpline service based in Manchester.[94]

In 2018, the bank partnered with charity Refuge and successfully lobbied for the launch of a new banking industry code of practice for customers affected by financial abuse.[95]

Divisions

[edit]

Smile

[edit]
Main article: Smile (bank)

The bank launched a separate internet-only operation known as smile in 1999.[96][97] It has around half a million customers.[citation needed]

Britannia

[edit]
Main article: Britannia Building Society
A former high-street branch of the Britannia in Gloucester, that has since closed

In October 2008, it was reported that Co-operative Financial Services was in talks with Britannia Building Society with a view to sharing facilities and possibly a full merger. Such a venture was facilitated by the passing of the Building Societies (Funding) and Mutual Societies (Transfers) Act 2007,[98] although further secondary legislation was required before such a merger could take place. On 21 January 2009, Co-operative Financial Services and Britannia Building Society agreed to a merger, with the new "super-mutual" being brought under the stewardship of The Co-operative Group. The proposed merger was subject to a vote by Britannia's members at their AGM, and on 29 April 2009 the members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the merger.[99] Neville Richardson, Britannia CEO, became chief executive of the combined business.[100]

In the short term, both Britannia Building Society and the Co-operative Bank continued operating their own products, branch networks and systems. All Britannia branches were due to be rebranded under the Co-operative name by the end of 2013, but this was abandoned in the wake of the financial crisis, with a great many simply closing and only a smaller number being retained and converted.[101]

In June 2013, a member of the Treasury Select Committee criticised Richardson – who had left the bank in 2011 – over his role in the merger.[102] In 2014, an independent review reported that the problems faced by both companies had been exacerbated by the merger.[103] In the same year the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, told the Treasury Select Committee that the Britannia Building Society would have collapsed if it had not been taken over by the Co-operative Bank.[104]

Technical problems

[edit]

In 2009, the Co-operative Bank received considerable public criticism from business customers for problems with the bank's business internet banking service. It subsequently emerged that the service crashed when more than 130 users logged on simultaneously, and some business customers were left unable to access their accounts for days.[105]

In 2011, some Co-operative Bank customers were left temporarily unable to use their debit cards as a result of IT problems.[106]

In 2021, the Bank's Open Banking service began to suffer a "temporary outage", which is still ongoing in 2023.[citation needed]

Controversies

[edit]

On 17 November 2013, Labour Party advisor and the former Co-operative Bank chairman, Rev. Paul Flowers, was caught buying crack cocaine and methamphetamine.[107] The former Labour councillor served as the Bank's chairman from April 2010 until June 2013 and it was under his chairmanship that in March 2013 the bank reported losses of £600 million; in May 2013, Moody's had downgraded its credit rating by six notches to junk (Ba3) and the chief executive Barry Tootell resigned.[9] Flowers was suspended by both the Labour Party and the Methodist Church. On 19 November it was discovered that Flowers had previously resigned as a Labour Party Councillor for Bradford Council after "inappropriate" content was discovered on his computer.[108]

On 19 November 2013, the group's chairman Len Wardle, who was leading the board when Flowers was appointed to his position, resigned "with immediate effect" because of the Flowers scandal.[109]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Annual Report 2019" (PDF). Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  2. ^ 2023 Annual Report and Accounts (PDF) (Report). The Co-operative Bank. 28 February 2024.
  3. ^ Certificate of Incorporation 5 October 1970 retrieved 4 December 2022 from Companies House.
  4. ^ Co-operative Financial Services – the Co-operative Bank. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  5. ^ a b Douglas Blakey (9 February 2018). "1 in 4 Cooperative Bank branches axed: network shrinks to 68 outlets". Retail Banker International. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
  6. ^ Warwick, Lucy (19 July 2012). "Q and A: What the Co-op deal means for you". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  7. ^ Patrick Jenkins (24 April 2013). "Lloyds plans IPO for TSB branches after sale talks collapse". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  8. ^ Jennifer Thompson and Patrick Jenkins (26 February 2013). "Co-op 1bn gap puts Lloyds under pressure". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2013.
  9. ^ a b Neate, Rupert; Treanor, Jill (10 May 2013). "Co-operative Bank rushes to reassure customers after downgrade". The Guardian.
  10. ^ Jenkins, Patrick (17 June 2013). "Co-operative Bank outlines restructuring plan to raise £1.5bn". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  11. ^ "Co-op Bank to fill £1.5bn hole". BBC News. 16 June 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  12. ^ Treanor, Jill (22 November 2013). "Former Co-op Bank chairman Paul Flowers arrested in drug inquiry". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  13. ^ "The Co-operative Group announces outcome of review of The Co-operative Bank's capital position". The Co-operative Banking Group. 17 June 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  14. ^ Robert Peston (12 July 2013). "What did regulators know about Co-op Bank?". BBC. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
  15. ^ Harry Wilson (2 September 2013). "Co-op Bank loan value 'deficit' grows to £3.6bn". London: Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  16. ^ Jill Treanor; Sean Farrell (21 October 2013). "Co-op Group loses majority control of banking division". The Guardian. Manchester. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
  17. ^ "Co-op Bank creditors approve bailout deal". BBC News. 17 December 2013. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  18. ^ Treanor, Jill (18 December 2013). "Co-op Bank rescue may prove bondholder 'bail-ins' are the future". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2013.
  19. ^ a b c d Scuffham, Matt (22 August 2014). "Co-Op Bank loses 38,000 customers after near collapse". Reuters. London. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  20. ^ Kollewe, Julia (8 May 2019). "KPMG 'severely reprimanded' for audit failings at Co-op Bank". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  21. ^ Julia Finch (27 May 2013). "Niall Booker hired as new Co-op Bank executive | Business". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 September 2015.
  22. ^ a b Goodway, Nick (21 August 2015). "Forget profits: all Co-op Bank can promise is blood, sweat and tears". The Independent. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  23. ^ "Co-operative Bank is now owned by bondholders". Co-operative News. 9 January 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2014.
  24. ^ "Co-op Bank to cut branch network by at least 15%". BBC News. 4 November 2013. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  25. ^ Jim Armitage and Nick Goodway (25 March 2014). "Co-op Bank's ethical investors fret over another £400m hole". The Independent.
  26. ^ Jill Treanor (24 March 2014). "Co-op bank needs £400m as losses deepen". The Guardian.
  27. ^ Jill Treanor (22 June 2014). "Co-operative Group's terrible year leads to growth slowing in wider movement". The Guardian.
  28. ^ Matt Scuffham (10 May 2014). "UK's Co-op Bank completes 400 million pound fundraising". Reuters. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  29. ^ a b c "Co-op Bank slashes first-half losses but loses 38,000 customers". Financial Times. 22 August 2014. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2015.
  30. ^ a b "Co-Op Bank loses 38,000 customers after near collapse". Reuters. 22 August 2014.
  31. ^ a b Wallace, Tim; Spence, Peter (20 August 2015). "Co-op Bank losses almost triple as turnaround drags on". The Telegraph. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  32. ^ a b Nils Pratley (20 June 2017). "Co-op Bank has lost £2.6bn since the crisis – but can still bounce back". The Guardian.
  33. ^ James Williamson (23 August 2014). "More jobs to go as Co-op Bank slips to £75.8m loss". The Courier.
  34. ^ Richard Partington (1 December 2014). "Co-Op Bank CEO Says 'No Surprise' If Lender Fails Stress Tests". Businessweek. Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 1 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  35. ^ a b Miller, Joe (16 December 2014). "Co-op Bank fails Bank of England stress tests". BBC News. Retrieved 16 January 2015.
  36. ^ "Co-op Bank sells distressed property business for $247 million". Reuters. 1 December 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  37. ^ "Co-operative Group ends deal to run Co-operative Bank cash machines". Co-operative News. 27 November 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  38. ^ Antony Savvas (12 November 2014). "Co-op Bank invests in better future with £325m outsourcing deal with Capita". Computerworld UK. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
  39. ^ Annual Report 2015 | The Co-operative Bank. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  40. ^ Marion Dakers (1 April 2016). "Co-op Bank losses widen to £611m". The Telegraph. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  41. ^ Ben Martin (4 February 2017). "Are the walls of the Co-op about to finally come tumbling down?". The Telegraph.
  42. ^ Jill Treanor (9 March 2017). "Co-op Bank warns of more branch closures as it reports £477m loss". The Guardian.
  43. ^ Jill Treanor (10 May 2017). "Co-op Bank investors braced for losses as it tries to raise £750m". The Guardian.
  44. ^ Partington, Richard (16 December 2014). "Co-Operative Bank Hires Adviser for $10 Billion Mortgages". Bloomberg Businessweek. Archived from the original on 17 January 2015. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  45. ^ Goodway, Nick (20 August 2015). "Co-op Bank tripled its net loss and it is likely to remain in the red until 2017". The Independent. Retrieved 20 August 2015.
  46. ^ Sean Farrell (April 2016). "Co-op Bank chairman defends Niall Booker's £4m pay after loss". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  47. ^ Jill Treanor (17 November 2016). "Co-operative Bank to cut 200 jobs". The Guardian.
  48. ^ Richard Hartley-Parkinson (13 February 2017). "Co-op bank put up for sale four years after it almost collapsed". Metro.
  49. ^ "Co-op Group supportive of Co-op Bank sale". Stock Market Wire. 13 February 2017.
  50. ^ Begum, Shelina (6 April 2017). "Manchester mutual Co-operative Group slumps to £132m loss". Manchester Evening News.
  51. ^ Emma Dunkley; Martin Arnold (29 May 2017). "Co-op Bank plans debt-for-equity swap in search for capital". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  52. ^ Jon Yeomans (26 June 2017). "Co-op Bank ends sale process as rescue plan draws near". The Telegraph.
  53. ^ Emma Dunkley (26 June 2017). "Co-op Bank avoids failure after £700m deal with hedge funds". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  54. ^ Hannah Boland (1 September 2017). "Investors pay price as Co-op Bank rescue deal concludes". The Telegraph.
  55. ^ Ashley Armstrong; Jon Yeomans (21 September 2017). "Co-op Group sheds last of Co-op Bank stake as it enjoys rising food sales". The Telegraph.
  56. ^ Ben Martin (28 June 2017). "Co-op Bank and Co-op Group to end relationship after £700m rescue deal". The Telegraph. London.
  57. ^ Jill Treanor (10 August 2017). "Co-operative Bank sheds 25,000 current account customers but losses shrink". The Guardian.
  58. ^ Iain Withers (14 March 2018). "Co-op Bank 'draws line' under near-collapse and past scandals with pared-back losses". Telegraph.
  59. ^ "Handelsbanken and Co-op Bank among prospective bidders for £775m RBS fund". Belfast Telegraph. 27 September 2018.
  60. ^ £15m in BCR Funding Awarded to The Co-operative Bank | The Co-operative Bank. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  61. ^ "Persons with significant control". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  62. ^ "Persons with significant control". beta.companieshouse.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  63. ^ "Who owns the Co-operative Bank?". Save Our Bank. Retrieved 8 January 2021.
  64. ^ John-Paul Ford Rojas (25 August 2020). "Coronavirus: Co-op Bank to cut 350 jobs amid 'prolonged uncertainty'". Sky News.
  65. ^ "Branch Locator | The Co-operative Bank". www.co-operativebank.co.uk. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  66. ^ "Andrew Bester to step down as CEO" (Press release). Co-operative Bank. 6 October 2020 – via Investigate.
  67. ^ Houghton, Tom (20 October 2020). "Co-op Bank announces new CEO as firm eyes growth". Business Live.
  68. ^ "UK's Co-operative Bank buys Sainsbury's Bank's 479 mln stg mortgage portfolio". Reuters. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  69. ^ Price, Chris; Bow, Michael (26 March 2024). "Co-op Bank to slash more than one in 10 jobs". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  70. ^ Kleinman, Mark (17 November 2020). "Revealed: Cerberus in talks to buy struggling Co-operative Bank". Sky News.
  71. ^ Fowler, Ryan (8 October 2023). "Shawbrook Bank makes bid for Co-op Bank while considering new Metro Bank offer, reports". The Intermediary - Latest UK mortgage news. Retrieved 9 October 2023.
  72. ^ "Coventry Building Society makes £780m offer for Co-operative Bank". the Guardian. 18 April 2024. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
  73. ^ "Coventry Building Society and Co-op Bank agree takeover terms". BBC News. 19 April 2024.
  74. ^ "Coventry Building Society buys Co-op Bank for £780m". 24 May 2024.
  75. ^ "The Co-operative Bank and Coventry Building Society". The Co-operative Bank. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  76. ^ "Your latest offers from the Co-operative Bank". The Co-operative. Archived from the original on 16 July 2012.
  77. ^ "Financial Statements 2012" (PDF). The Co-operative Bank plc. 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
  78. ^ Rabobank Profile, www.rabobank.nl . Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  79. ^ Kidd, Marie-Claire (6 January 2015). "Customers owning a stake of the Co-operative Bank is 'viable'". The Co-operative News. United Kingdom. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
  80. ^ The Co-operative Bank signs Recognition Agreement with The Customer Union for Ethical Banking | The Co-operative Bank. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  81. ^ "About | Save Our Bank". saveourbank.coop. Retrieved 3 October 2020.
  82. ^ "Ethical Policy" (PDF). co-operativebank.co.uk. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
  83. ^ Russell Parsons (4 November 2013). "Co-op insists it is still 'UK's leading ethical bank'". Marketing Week. Archived from the original on 22 January 2014. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  84. ^ "Ethical screening". The Co-operative. Archived from the original on 23 July 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  85. ^ Walsh, Fiona. Furry sporrans turned down as Co-op banks on ethical profit. The Guardian, 30 May 2006.
  86. ^ James Graham (22 May 2009). "Co-op defends investment portfolio". The Business Desk.
  87. ^ "BAT exposé". The Guardian. 2011. Archived from the original on 24 January 2012.
  88. ^ "Co-op's sale of life insurance and asset management businesses comes a step closer". Manchester Evening News. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2013.
  89. ^ "Royal London Group Press Release" (PDF). Royal London Group. 1 August 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
  90. ^ "Co-operative Bank". Christian Voice. 23 June 2005. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  91. ^ Gay Times, February 2006. See Awards Co-operative Financial Services . Retrieved 29 November 2007.
  92. ^ Lauren Davidson (13 January 2016). "Co-op Bank and Wonga are most improved UK brands of 2015". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 January 2016.
  93. ^ "Values and Ethics". The Co-operative Bank. Retrieved 6 September 2017.
  94. ^ Centrepoint | Supported Charities | The Co-operative Bank. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  95. ^ Co-operative Bank and Refuge welcome the launch of a financial abuse code of practice | The Co-operative Bank. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  96. ^ James Titcomb (30 May 2015). "Co-op Bank prepares to wipe away its Smile". Telegraph.
  97. ^ "why smile?: awards". Smile. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  98. ^ Peter Stiff (13 October 2008). "Britannia explores merger deal with Co-Op". London: Times Online. Archived from the original on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  99. ^ "Business | Britannia/Co-op merger date set". BBC News. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 14 May 2010.
  100. ^ "New-look CFS ready to take on the banks". Co-operative News. 4 August 2009. Archived from the original on 18 July 2011 – via Internet Archive.
  101. ^ "Britannia Building Society: Unions disappointed at name change". BBC News. 25 January 2013. Retrieved 21 June 2013.
  102. ^ "Former Co-op Bank boss Neville Richardson steps down from M&S Bank and Countrywide". The Telegraph. 19 June 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2024.
  103. ^ "Co-op Bank and Britannia merger 'should never have happened'". BBC News. 30 April 2014.
  104. ^ Sean Farrell (11 February 2014). "Co-op Bank saved Britannia Building Society from collapse, regulator says". The Guardian.
  105. ^ "Updated: Co-operative bank 'losing customers' through system problems". Computerworld UK. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 14 July 2013.
  106. ^ "Co-op suffers debit card glitch". BBC News. 11 October 2011.
  107. ^ "Co-op Bank ex-boss Paul Flowers 'filmed buying drugs'", BBC, 19 November 2013
  108. ^ Co-op Group chairman Len Wardle resigns scandal Guardian, 19 November 2013
  109. ^ Co-op Group chair quits over Paul Flowers drugs claims BBC, 19 November 2013

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Co-operative_Bank&oldid=1260748802"