Co-op considers cutting its ties to Labour Party February 17, 2014 THE CO-OPERATIVE Group is considering cutting its historic ties with the Labour Party as it looks to reform its structure in the wake of the Paul Flowers scandal. The retail and banking group’s reputation has taken a series of devastating blows after its banking arm nearly collapsed in the summer, and allegations of drug abuse emerged against [...]
Co-op wants your input – but has already botched its survey February 17, 2014 The Co-op Group is “asking the nation for help” it announced this morning. Rest assured, it isn’t the latest cry from its troubled bank – rather, the group has admitted it’s “lost touch” with customers. The “Have Your Say” survey is asking members for views on the future of the group and the “big issues” [...]
Co-op given a warning over Lloyds in 2011 February 11, 2014 THE CO-OP Bank was warned in 2011 by the Bank of England that it needed to do more work to successfully take over 632 Lloyds branches – an effort which failed almost 18 months later. A letter from top regulator Andrew Bailey from December 2011 was published yesterday laying out his concerns over capital and governance. He [...]
How the Co-op Bank saved the mutual sector February 11, 2014 The Co-op Bank’s merger with Britannia Building Society at the height of the financial crisis may have been a major blunder for the bank, but top regulator Andrew Bailey thinks it could have saved the industry. In fact the cost to other building societies of rescuing Britannia depositors could have driven many smaller institutions to [...]
Co-op Bank’s directors speak out over Verde January 28, 2014 WARNINGS from directors at the Co-op Bank were ignored during the ill-fated attempt to buy Lloyds branches, despite them being appointed to advise disgraced former chairman Paul Flowers, MPs were told yesterday. Flowers had no finance experience and was only appointed because of his leadership skills. As a result the Financial Services Authority made Flowers [...]
Crystal Methodist appointed on psychometric tests January 28, 2014 Disgraced former-Co-op Bank chairman Revered Flowers got the job because he did well in psychometric tests, despite lacking the finance knowledge of his rivals for the job, one of those rivals said today. Rodney Baker-Bates had experience of banking but lost out to Flowers because of the tests – a major review of the bank’s [...]
Lord Levene drags ex-Bank chief into Lloyds sell off row January 21, 2014 POLITICAL pressure applied behind the scenes stopped NBNK buying the 632 Lloyds branches and led to the disastrous Co-op Bank attempt to take over the branches, NBNK’s former boss Lord Levene told MPs yesterday, citing conversations with Lord King. Levene said the then-Bank of England governor had warned him politicians would block his bid. NBNK [...]
Fresh probe for former Bradford & Bingley exec January 21, 2014 THE ACCOUNTING watchdog has launched an investigation into Chris Willford, the former finance director of bailed-out banking group Bradford & Bingley. The Financial Reporting Council’s probe comes a month after Willford was fined £30,000 by the Financial Conduct Authority for failing to alert the bank’s board to key financial risks ahead of B&B’s attempted rights [...]
“Dark forces” blamed for Lloyds’ Co-op Bank fiasco January 21, 2014 A shady conspiracy of politicians stopped Lloyds from selling its 632 branches on a commercial basis, failed bidder Lord Levene (pictured) claimed this morning. The disastrous effort to sell the branches to the Co-op Bank went ahead because of political pressure, not sound business reasoning, he told MPs. Andrew Tyrie, chairing the Treasury Select Committee, [...]
Co-op calls off insurance sale on equity deal January 20, 2014 THE CO-OPERATIVE group has pulled the plug on its plan to sell its general insurance arm because it no longer needs the funds to fill the bank’s capital hole. A £1.5bn capital hole was revealed at the bank last summer, and the group initially planned to fill £1bn of that with its own resources. It [...]