Britannia and Co-op may merge in April

PasturesNew

Originally I started off with a Britannia current account back in the late 80s ... then I got a letter to say the accounts had moved to the Co-Op.

Britannia used to pay me interest on my current account, the Co-op didn't. I always meant to change ... never did though.

alanq

One doesn't have to pay £1 to have a Co-op account only to enjoy any benefits of membership. Perhaps the Co-op will manage to give each Britannia member a £1 windfall.

Note that despite "1 point for every £10 held on average in a Co-operative Bank savings account" there are "Pounds for Points Exceptions" including
"Transactions excluded from the scheme

• ... Fixed Term Deposit Accounts"

http://www.co-operativemembership.coop/en/terms/membershiptermsandconditions

Milarky

1 point for every £10 held on average in a Co-operative Bank savings account
For the trading year 2007, 1 point = 2.63p dividend

Most members will be savers. This translates as 0.263% interest. This tiddly amount can easily be wiped out by a miniscule further cut in interest rates AND that £1(pa) membership fee!

Eg £5000 held at 4% for one year = [STRIKE]£12.15 [/STRIKE] £0.00 'added' to your account Not payable on a fixed rate account - since excluded as above

[strike](Not sure if dividends are taxed just like interest too? Might that reduce the above to £9.52...?)[/strike] Not taxable according to the linked to page above

realaledrinker

Primrose wrote: »

hstudent wrote: »

Not only will there be no windfall but Britannia members will be charged £1 to join the co-op

Don't know how many members there are in Britannia but that will be a nice little free earner for the Coop.

Right. The set up costs alone for an account will be well in excess of a pound.

realaledrinker

Britannia have got themselves into the mire by investing in "exotic mortgages" (direct quote from employee briefing) and investing in a couple of failed banks.

It's either the Co-op or another white knight. Nationwide anyone? - no windfall, no divi, "carp" rates.

Your choice.

alanq

For the trading year 2007 (paid in 2008) the Britannia paid 18p Membership Reward per £100 invested on the first £22,000 and nothing above that. Tax was deducted from this. So, for some members, that was even less generous that the Co-op (N.B. Britannia payments were higher for members of over 5 years and paid on fixed rate accounts). As the payments are based on a share of the "profits" I doubt that either scheme will be paying out much this year. I would rather not have these schemes and just a better interest rate.

realaledrinker

Don't forget that the Co-op divi is based on the profits for the whole group so you may be pleasantly surprised.

This is all money for old rope as far as I am concerned!

Britannia employees I'm sure will be interested to hear that the Co-op employee members received a flat £500 divi for 2007.

sons_2

Milarky wrote: »

Most members will be savers. This translates as 0.263% interest. This tiddly amount can easily be wiped out by a miniscule further cut in interest rates AND that £1(pa) membership fee!

Where have you got the idea that there is a £1 per annum membership fee?

The first year you get a membership they reduce your divi by £1 to pay for the cost of your card. There is no fee and this diduction only happens in the first year.

hstudent

alanq wrote: »

For the trading year 2007 (paid in 2008) the Britannia paid 18p Membership Reward per £100 invested on the first £22,000 and nothing above that. Tax was deducted from this.

Tax wasn't deducted from bonuses paid on ISAs.

MrTagard

Ive been a member of britannia for three years and I had an ISA that was paying 7.2% which has been very good. But now they have been taken over by the empire building tinpot socialist crew called the 'co op'. They are an absolute joke and have non existant interest rates even when others were high. I cant understand how the co op is allowed to contravene competition commision rules over an over again - they have taken over somerfields but if a shareholder owned company had done this it would not have been allowed.
Something sinister is at work here, its worth remembering that the co op also run the Co op Political Party, a division of the Labour party, so thay can do whatever they want. When my next bond matures im putting it in the Nationwide because I dont want to be part of the labour partys corupt little bank called the co op. Its a shame Britannia used to be really good. Another one bites the dust as they say