Co-op Bank appoints Dennis Holt as chairman

The Co-operative Bank has confirmed Dennis Holt as chairman of the board, a month after he stepped in on an interim basis. 

 

Holt joined the troubled bank as a senior independent director in February of this year, and was promoted when Richard Pym stood down to join Allied Irish Banks at the start of October. 

 

Holt has 43 years of experience in banking and insurance, including being an executive director of Lloyds TSB, where he was responsible for the retail division of the bank.

Other roles include deputy chairman of the Bank of Ireland, chairman of the Bank of Ireland UK and chairman of Liverpool Victoria. 

 

He is currently non-executive chairman of Beazley.

 

Co-op Bank chief executive Niall Booker said Holt's work in the nine months as a director had been “invaluable”, saying the bank would benefit from “his experience, counsel and existing institutional knowledge as we continue the work required to turn the bank around".

 

Booker added: “His involvement in a wide range of challenging market environments will serve the bank well as we continue to restore trust in our brand and focus on building a credible, efficient and differentiated alternative for customers."

 

Holt said: “Considerable progress has been made over the last 12 months and we are clear on what remains to be done.  

 

“I look forward to the challenge of completing this work and supporting Niall and his team as we build on our heritage of offering banking services rooted in strong ethics and values to individuals and small businesses."