Co-op is told it must reform or it will fail again April 30, 2014 A SWEEPING investigation into the Co-op Group and Co-op Bank yesterday found years of bad decision making and poor leadership led to the enormous losses at the group and the near-failure of the bank last year. The report, by Sir Christopher Kelly, found directors and executives failed to take risk management seriously, and that only serious reforms to [...]
Damning report into Co-op Bank practices released April 30, 2014 Since the Co-op Bank revealed a significant capital shortfall last June, it's been up to Sir Christopher Kelly to look into failures at the organisation. He began his work last August, and has come back to say that the Bank has suffered from "a flawed culture" and "fundamental weaknesses in the governance and management [...]
Co-op director quits due to board leaks April 29, 2014 BOARD director Stuart Ramsay resigned his position at the Co-operative Group last night after an investigation into leaks of confidential board information. Ramsay’s exit is the latest in a string of embarrassing revelations for the embattled mutual business, and comes ahead of another report into the governance failings which led to the near-collapse of the [...]
Beleaguered Co-op reveals £2.5bn loss April 17, 2014 The Co-op has unveiled losses of £2.5bn. The group admitted it had been a "disastrous" year, going so far as to say it was the worst in its 150-year history. Interim chief executive Richard Penny cook, commented "these results should serve as a wake-up call to anyone who doubts just how serious the challenges we [...]
Co-op’s Paul Flowers charged with drugs offences April 16, 2014 The former chairman of the Co-op bank, Paul Flowers, has been charged with offences over class A and class C drugs. Flowers held the role until last summer, when it was alleged by the Mail on Sunday that he had been using illegal narcotics, including crystal meth. It was revealed in January that Flowers had [...]
Co-op chair Lidbetter to fast track Lord Myners’ reforms April 15, 2014 THREE Co-op Group directors are working on implementing Lord Myners’ reforms as fast as possible, City A.M. understands, hitting back at the non-execs who have campaigned against the changes. Group chair Ursula Lidbetter has publicly backed Myners’ bid to streamline the ungainly democratic structure. But others, led by Midcounties Co-operative boss Ben Reid, have opposed [...]
Unite union says Co-op needs to reform to thrive April 14, 2014 TRADITIONALISTS at the Co-operative were under fire from workers yesterday, as Unite the Union backed major reforms to the mutual’s governance structure. The business has stood still while rival firms have modernised, the union said in a letter, leaving the Co-op vulnerable. Lord Myners is leading a review of the Co-op’s historic democratic structure. He [...]
Co-op Group braced for new round of losses April 14, 2014 THE CO-OPERATIVE Group is set to follow its bank into multi-billion pound losses when it reports its finances later this week. The troubled retail, pharmacy and funerals group is expected to have lost up to £2.5bn in the last year, during which it has lost its chief executive, Euan Sutherland, who quit over a row [...]
Co-op Bank: No profit this year or next as chief apologises to customers April 11, 2014 Co-op Bank has, as expected, reported that it made a £1.3bn pre-tax loss last year. The struggling lender also says it doesn’t expect to make a profit this year or next. Payouts to former executives who quit having been linked to the collapse of the bank will be cut by £5m, it added, and chief [...]
Osborne caught in new round of Co-op chaos April 10, 2014 AN INFLUENTIAL MP yesterday attacked George Osborne for failing to explain his team’s involvement in the Co-op Bank’s disastrous efforts to buy 632 Lloyds branches. The chairman of the Treasury Committee wants to know how and when any pressure could have been put on the banks by Osborne through his contact with key figures involved [...]