Switching from Co-op bank issues - advice welcomed

joespa89

Hi there,

After the recent news about Co-op bank and the closure of my high street branch I've started to look in to where to change.

After consulting the MSE website, I tried to apply for first HSBC and then First direct. However, both applications were refused...

I only opened my co-op account in August of last year, and would have liked to stay with them longer. My credit rating isn't currently great but it isn't awful (paying off some credit cards, I rent etc.). Is there any other reason I could have been rejected? I've got a regular good income and don't remember this issue with applying for the co-op bank previously. I included my monthly gross income after tax and for the yearly expected deposits just multiplied this by 12.. I tried to be honest when I put in my expected outgoings (rent / bills / groceries etc.), was I being too honest?

Any advice would be welcome, I'm worried I'll now be stuck with co-op bank which doesn't seem to have the brightest future. Thanks

grumbler

joespa89 wrote: »

After consulting the MSE website, I tried to apply for first HSBC and then First direct. However, both applications were refused...

You should have done more research. These are known to be the most 'choosy' banks, but now two credit searches in your credit history can affect your other applications for some time.

Any advice would be welcome, I'm worried I'll now be stuck with co-op bank which doesn't seem to have the brightest future.

Nothing to worry about really. FD that you applied to doesn't have any high street presence either. And do you really need a branch? I don't remember the last time I visited any.

Zanderman

joespa89 wrote: »

Any advice would be welcome, I'm worried I'll now be stuck with co-op bank which doesn't seem to have the brightest future. Thanks

My advice? Don't do anything. You have an account with the Coop bank. There's no obvious threat to it.

The bank is 'for sale' but the account holders should have nothing to worry about - they will either be 'bought' by another bank or the Coop will survive. Either way you still have your bank account. Why move it?

Worst case scenario would be that the bank actually fails in such a way that you are forced to move at some point, but that's very much worst case, seems very unlikely, and certainly hasn't happened yet.

As for for local branch closing, if you were prepared to try FD that obviously isn't an issue for you, so why worry about that?

joespa89

No, both are fair points - I haven't used a branch in ages. And you're right, it's not an issue. I think it was more around the message it sends. I've probably been over thinking it anyway. Appreciate the help!