Co-operative Bank Hedge-Funders Looking to Sell

born_again

scgf wrote: »

So should we not bother?

That is up to you.

Some people have principles. Others could not give a dam.

I'm sure like many banks. They find many legal ways to avoid paying tax. Like departments renting equipment (computer, phones etc) off a 3rd party co owned by them. So funds are just moved around to avoid paying tax..
Legal Yes. Ethical No.

jonesMUFCforever

I don't think that the authorities would let Lloyds banking group take over the Co-op bank in its entirety.
It has about 25% of current accounts already - but they could be interested in say the mortgage book or credit card portfolio.

System

Eco_Miser wrote: »

CYBG PLC is no more - it's been
VIRGIN MONEY UK PLC since the first of November.

While the legal position is that CYBG bought Virgin Money, the reality is that the Virgin Money shareholders swapped their 100% holding in VM for ~38% of the merged group.
Whether the group would want to acquire the Co-op bank while they're trying to integrate the Northern Rock IT system with the recently updated CYBG IT system, and rebranding to Virgin, is an open question.

A three way merger/takeover is effectively what Santander did with Abbey National, A&L and Bradford & Bingley - so not unheard of.

Nationwide wouldn't face any regulatory issues and would probably be able to absorb the bank easily.

The other options in the market are TSB and Metro who might be acquired or merged.

LobsterMemory

scgf wrote: »

I wonder if CYBG would be interested in swallowing up the Co-operative Bank though.--...-- I hadn't considered them to be honest. .

Probably shouldn't be your first choice then

Stuart_W

The Co-operative Bank has now been owned by hedge funds for a few years, but part of the basic "ethical" principle that folk like is that when we put our own money into our bank account, that very money is not used by the bank to do various "dodgy" things - what is or is not dodgy is down to personal perspective.

The fact that the new owners of the Co-op might not have such rules with their own investment elsewhere doesn't diminish that basic principle of not using my money to... Invest in landmines, fossil fuels, animal experimentation for cosmetics or whatever other issue an individual may choose to define as unethical.

If it does get sold to new owners, those owners will not just merge co-op into an existing bank. The customers have proved to be very loyal through some shambolic years, and it is the unique ethical policy that brings much of value there is in the bank.

Retaining the Co-op name could be difficult in the long term, but the smile and Britannia names have both been retained and not killed off to keep these avenues open for new names in the future.

It may become owned by another Banking group in 2020, but will probably remain a completely separate entity and retain the ethical policy.

There is no obvious go-to alternative for Co-op customers. If mutual ownership was a key factor they have already left. If ethical was more important then they probably moved to Triodos, if they could stomach a monthly fee and fewer account features.

I'm sitting tight and waiting to see what happens. I've banked with Co-op and smile for 20 years and am in no rush to leave on account of being a very good fault-free bank in my experience, with good customer service. If that ever changes, it would be a different matter.

DCFC79

Heng_Leng wrote: »

A three way merger/takeover is effectively what Santander did with Abbey National, A&L and Bradford & Bingley - so not unheard of.

Nationwide wouldn't face any regulatory issues and would probably be able to absorb the bank easily.

The other options in the market are TSB and Metro who might be acquired or merged.

So Heng Leng has gone.

System

An excellent post Stuart_W. Thank you. Pretty much sums it up for me. I hope you’re right about the Co-operative Bank keeping its identity after a possible take-over.

waveneygnome

It would be great if the Triodos Bank bought them/merged........similar ethics/ethos over a long period of time. Can't see it happening though.

Either the Hedge guys will want too much for it...or they are genuinely looking to get out of ownership as the Co-op Bank is not profitable/they can't turn it around.

Triodos is probably too small to take on the burden.

blue.peter

born_again wrote: »

Problem is ethics can mean many things to many different people.

Yes. And that's why organisations that offer ethical services generally publish a statement setting out exactly what the term means to them in the context of the service that they're offering. This allows customers and prospective customers to see if their views on the subject are aligned with the business's. A quick glance at the Co-operative Bank's web site reveals that exactly such a document can be downloaded from there.

System

waveneygnome wrote: »

It would be great if the Triodos Bank bought them/merged........similar ethics/ethos over a long period of time. Can't see it happening thoughd.

Triodos is probably too small to take on the burden.

Indeed. I've been badgering them for some time to introduce Apple/Google Pay on their current account. Their reply is that it would be too expensive for them after transitioning to a full UK entity. I'd consider a Triodos current account but am not prepared to use a service which would have me carrying my wallet around everywhere. Ethical maybe, but there has to be a degree of compromise. Currently the Co-operative Bank offers me all the services I need and has an ethical policy.