Co-operative Group returns to profit amid turnaround plan April 9, 2015 The Co-operative Group has returned to profit – a reversal of fortunes on the previous year's losses of £255m. The figures Full-year profit before member payments – the equivalent of pre-tax profits for a PLC – came in at £124m in 2014. Revenues slipped slightly, down three per cent at £9.4bn for the year to [...]
Co-op Travel changes name to Clarity as new owners cut ties March 16, 2015 Co-operative Travel Management moved to cut the final ties with its former owner yesterday after relaunching as Clarity Travel Management. The corporate travel agent was run as a joint venture between the troubled mutual and Thomas Cook before the pair sold it to the Saudi-based Al Tayyar Group last year. The sale formed part of [...]
Allan Leighton confirmed as Co-op chairman February 19, 2015 ALLAN Leighton has no qualms about taking the toughest jobs in business. The self-style pluralist has experienced several, including Leeds United (where he organised a rescue takeover) and Asda (which he turned around after near-bankruptcy) to name a couple. The boardroom veteran added another to his list yesterday after the Co-operative Group confirmed the appointment [...]
Co-operative Group appoints former Asda man Allan Leighton as chairman February 19, 2015 The Co-operative Group has brought in former Asda chief executive Allan Leighton to chair its board. Leighton will take over with immediate effect from Ursula Lidbetter, who was parachuted into the role at the end of 2013 after then-chairman Len Wardle stepped down. It's another string for Leighton to add to his bow: as well as [...]
Co-op Bank gets set to reject even more businesses – but is its ethical policy viable? January 20, 2015 How seriously do we take this? Pretty seriously.” So says the stern man getting “ethics and values” tattooed on his back in the Co-op Bank’s cinema ad boasting about its ethical policies. Even more serious than a tattoo – which was not actually tattooed on to the actor, by the way – is the fact [...]
The Co-op Bank puts pay-day lenders, irresponsible gamblers and tax avoiding firms on its naughty list as it updates its ethical policy January 20, 2015 Irresponsible gambling firms, pay day lenders and companies “which do not responsibly pay tax in the UK” have been put on the Co-operative Bank's new naughty list of firms it will not finance. As part of an extended ethical policy, the bank will also detail how it operates, covering everything from the products and [...]
Co-operative Bank to speed up toxic loans sell off after failing Bank of England stress tests December 16, 2014 The Co-operative Bank was the only lender to fail the Bank of England’s stress tests yesterday. As a result, it is accelerating its plan to sell off or run down a £6.6bn book of bad loans from the pre-crash era. Eight high street institutions’ finances were tested to see how they would cope with a hypothetical [...]
Co-op fails Bank of England stress test, RBS and Lloyds at risk December 16, 2014 The Co-operative Bank has failed the Bank of England’s (BoE) stringent new stress test, while Lloyds and RBS would be at risk in a new economic crisis. The prudential regulation authority (PRA) tested seven banks and building society Nationwide to see how they would handle a financial meltdown of epic proportions. While Lloyds, Standard Chartered, [...]
Co-op calls off a key vote before stress test result December 4, 2014 The Co-operative Bank cancelled a key meeting with investors, postponing a vote on its directors’ bonus packages. The troubled lender is widely expected to fail the Bank of England’s stress tests, the results of which are published on 16 December. It has a plan in place to improve its capital position, but this could be [...]
Co-op Bank appoints Dennis Holt as chairman October 27, 2014 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 [...]