I am leaving smile/coop bank

[Deleted User]

Over 35 years of banking with them but just heard the last straw. Closing more branches and getting rid of more staff. It seems to have been run on a shoestring over the last few years. We are off and have decided to go with a real bank with a real branch. The process has started

Just wait until the hedge funds get going, they are all out to make a good profit, at customer expense of course. Clean up and then sell assets, they are not altruistic by any means

oldagetraveller

I'm not leaving them just yet. I've been with smile from their beginning but over the years they've gradually gone downhill.
I've moved all my Direct Debits and retain a very low balance. The only reason it's still active is the three lots of monthly interest going into it. Can't be bothered changing those until the term deposits earning the interest end.
Yes, I suspect customers are going to suffer as well as their employees.

ColdIron

kittie wrote: »

Just wait until the hedge funds get going, they are all out to make a good profit, at customer expense of course. Clean up and then sell assets, they are not altruistic by any means

It seems to me that without these evil hedge funds the Co-op bank, and all the employees, would be up a creek without a paddle and their minor bond holders looking at a bleaker outcome than they are now. Let's not forget that only a few months ago they (with only 300 odd branches) were attempting to take on 631 Lloyds branches while nursing a 1.5 billion black hole in their finances

opinions4u

I'd rather hedge funds run the show than incompetents.

pmduk

Is there a published list yet of the branches to close?

[Deleted User]

ColdIron wrote: »

It seems to me that without these evil hedge funds the Co-op bank, and all the employees, would be up a creek without a paddle and their minor bond holders looking at a bleaker outcome than they are now. Let's not forget that only a few months ago they (with only 300 odd branches) were attempting to take on 631 Lloyds branches while nursing a 1.5 billion black hole in their finances

yes, they bit off more than they could chew, appalling management decision and re bondholders, dh and I were bondholders, holding them in our sipps. I sold them all at 60% loss, I bit the bullet and re-invested what was left, mostly in an umbrella co in china. That has made 40% profit so far and has a 6% rolling yield. I`ll sell as I go and will eventually reach a breakeven point. I know all about hedge funds being an ex trader and now investor. I have an in law who ran a hedge fund and have attended functions with lots of hedge fund traders

Let`s not forget the profit that the hedge funds are seeking, they are not in it to save the coop brand however it will be interesting to see over time, how they develop or re develop the bank

carousels

I used to bank with Coop and switched to Halifax a few months ago. My gripe with them was their lack of branches and the account I had wasn't really giving me anything back in return.

And now this whole thing with the hedge funders... Glad to have switched when I did.

Archi_Bald

opinions4u wrote: »

I'd rather hedge funds run the show than incompetents.

Would you believe it, someone has now started a petition to appeal to George Osborne to rescue the Coop Bank with taxpayers' money.

Almost 27,000 signatures so far. So sad to see so many clueless people but very pleased that this petition will go nowhere fast.

Still staggering that more than just a handful of people seem to still think nowadays it's ok to gamble billions away one way or the other because taxpayers' money could be used to bail out those incompetents and criminals.

1jim

I think the reason for the petitions is because of the ethos behind cooperative movements, if the bank is owned by hedge funds it can't be a cooperative, ie owned by the members. I'm not saying I think the coop should be bailed out by tax payers, but I do wonder what went on with the Britannia any why the level of bad debt wasn't discovered before the coop taking them over.

I too have been with Smile since it first launched, Ive stayed with it despite ever decreasing interest rates and witnessed the slow decline in the level of customer service. All of my savings were moved elsewhere long ago due to very poor rates, I am now actively looking for a reasonable alternative for my current account, as soon as I do find one I will move across. I would prefer a building society, did look at Coventry and that ticked all the boxes but then I noted they don't provide a cheque book...I only use a handful of cheques a year but don't really want to have to wait around for them to post me a cheque to send to someone. Looked at nationwide does tick all boxes but feel that the management wages seem quite steep so wonder how ethical that is. Any other building societies offering current accounts with internet banking, phone banking, cheque book, and ideally ability to pay in at post office counters?

gt94sss2

1jim wrote: »

Any other building societies offering current accounts with internet banking, phone banking, cheque book, and ideally ability to pay in at post office counters?

Have you considered N&P - don't think they allow payments in at Post Offices though.

Regards
Sunil

Thrugelmir

1jim wrote: »

if the bank is owned by hedge funds it can't be a cooperative, ie owned by the members.

Nothing to stop the bank having an ethical stance though. Hedge funds will act no differently to insurance companies or pension funds. If the Co-op were to close the hedge funds would lose significant sums as well. It's not as if the bank is highly profitable at the moment. If anything is going to require a sizable capital injection to allow it to continue to trade.

As for the comment about closing branches. Banks in general are closing branches every week. So nothing unusual in this.