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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Co-operative comes out top in Stonewall survey January 15, 2014 THE CO-OPERATIVE has scooped top spot in a Stonewall study into how well private sector employers support gay, lesbian and bisexual staff. The research, which saw housing company Gentoo named overall top employer when including both the public and private sectors, also praised Accenture, EY and IBM for their engagement, support and attitude towards sexuality at [...]
Ex Co-op chief executive steps down from Thomas Cook board January 15, 2014 FORMER Co-op Group chief executive Peter Marks has announced his resignation from the board of Thomas Cook, according to the tourism firm. Marks will finish his time at the company after the group’s AGM in February, and be replaced by Emre Berkin, currently a non-executive director of Thomas Cook. “I would like to thank Peter [...]
Co-op execs face watchdog probe January 6, 2014 THE BOSSES who oversaw the Co-op Bank’s near collapse last summer are facing enforcement probes from the City’s regulators, the watchdogs said yesterday. Former senior staff at the bank could face fines or bans from the financial sector if they are found to have behaved wrongly in the run up to the lender’s capital crisis. [...]