Inside Track: Co-op should hire a banker as chair to improve its name October 23, 2013 "PLAN A is dead, long live Plan A", was the phrase uttered by one Co-operative Group adviser as the details of its revised restructuring emerged on Monday morning. Er, not quite. As accustomed as the mutual’s new management has had to become to putting a brave face on an ugly balance sheet, this was a [...]
Co-op chairman quits amid bank recriminations October 22, 2013 THE CO-OPERATIVE Group’s chairman Len Wardle said yesterday he will stand down from the role, shortly after former chief executive Peter Marks claimed the mutual’s governance structure is dangerously out of date. His surprise departure comes as the group finalises months of intense negotiations with hedge funds over the future of the Co-op Bank. The group is [...]
Food unit under pressure from a boom in convenience stores October 22, 2013 THE CO-OP Group’s food retailing business continued to lose market share over the past three months and remains the worse performing grocery retailer in the UK, according to industry data. The Co-operative, which is the UK’s fifth largest food retailer, suffered a 1.2 per cent year-on-year fall in sales in the 12 weeks to 13 [...]
Co-op’s Len Wardle to quit as chairman of floundering lender October 22, 2013 Co-op's Len Wardle is to step down as chairman in May of next year, in the thick of a crisis which has seen the mutual lose majority ownership of its bank. (Release) The bank, which is set to be taken over by American hedge funds, saw Wardle quit the board last month. He has been [...]
Ex-Co-op boss says bank crisis a “tragedy” and that governance structure must change October 22, 2013 Ex-Co-operative chief executive Peter Marks has said that the Co-op Bank has been a "tragedy" while grilled by the Treasury Select Committee (TSC). Marks told the committee that he wasn't on the bank's board and that he could not have changed its governance, pointing to the very different structure of a private limited company versus [...]
Corporatism, rigged markets and a new ideological showdown October 22, 2013 FORGET the old politics of left versus right. Britain faces a choice between three philosophies – capitalism, corporatism and social democracy – with adherents scattered across all political parties, as the nuclear energy fiasco has demonstrated yet again. Capitalism involves a genuinely private sector that competes for customers: if companies make a profit, they expand, [...]
Corporatism, rigged markets and a new ideological showdown October 21, 2013 FORGET the old politics of left versus right. Britain faces a choice between three philosophies – capitalism, corporatism and social democracy – with adherents scattered across all political parties, as the nuclear energy fiasco has demonstrated yet again. Capitalism involves a genuinely private sector that competes for customers: if companies make a profit, they expand, [...]
Co-op loses control of its bank in new rescue deal October 21, 2013 THE CO-OP will lose control of its banking unit in a new deal set to be unveiled in the coming days, after investors pushed the troubled group for more of the bank’s ownership. The bank has to plug a £1.5bn capital hole, with £1bn coming from the group and £500m from hitting investors. As part [...]
Mutual to own just 30 per cent of Co-op Bank after rescue plan October 21, 2013 The Co-operative Bank will cease to be majority owned by its mutual parent after a drastic rescue plan is finalised, according to reports by Sky News City editor Mark Kleinman. After revealing a £1.5bn capital black hole in June the troubled bank has looked for investment to plug the gap. This morning it announced that [...]
Co-op Bank PPI bill set to go higher as it sets aside further £100m for conduct costs October 21, 2013 The troubled Co-operative Bank has made a reassessment of its expected future conduct costs, and has increased its provisions by £100-105m accordingly (release). That money should cover the "future costs of PPI redress, arrears charges and the processing of certain mortgage interest 'first payments'". Banks have so far set aside £16bn to deal with PPI [...]