Welcome to this last newsletter of the year from the Customer Union for Ethical Banking, the independent union for customers of The Co-operative Bank and Coventry Building Society.
Report from our Gathering
On 22nd November it was time once again for our annual Gathering, our tenth since 2016, and the first since the Co-operative Bank became part of Coventry Building Society. The theme this year was “Reclaiming ethical leadership: how can we help the newly remutualised bank get out in front?”.
Presentations from the Bank, Coventry and Co-ops UK
Jeremy Cox, Head of Strategy for the Group, and Maria Caerns, the Bank's Chief Operating Officer, updated us on the progress of the merger and the integration of the two businesses. There was encouraging news: the Bank has opened 40,000 new current accounts this year and is now second in the market for switching, in consistently positive territory for the first time in nine years. Call waiting times have dropped, and investment is being made in the banking app and branches as well. The refurbished Hanley branch will serve customers of both the Bank and Coventry. Co-operative Bank customers are expected to become voting members of the mutual in 2028.
On the values and ethics front, the bank updated on its sponsorship of Manchester Pride for the 10th year and its third year as Which? Eco Provider of the Year. It has also joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials.
Rose Marley, CEO of Cooperatives UK, also spoke, drawing attention to the Bank's unwavering support for the cooperative movement throughout the difficult period of its ownership by private equity and hedge funds. The bank has invested £3.2 million in cooperative development, and been the only source of support for businesses trying to start or grow cooperatives. It has supported 4,000 groups, with 80% still trading, helping save local pubs and libraries.
Your questions for the bank
After the presentations, our members and supporters had a chance to raise questions to the bank. To give a flavour of some of the issues raised:
- A concern that two-factor authentication is limited to mobile phones, excluding people without mobiles or with non-UK numbers. The bank acknowledged the problem but cited fraud and technical concerns.
- One member described travelling a full day from the Highlands to Glasgow for identity verification after fraud attempts, noting that Coventry accepts emailed photo ID and photographs.
- The 2015 closure of some 22 Palestine solidarity organisation accounts was raised - an issue where the Customer Union lobbied hard with Amnesty at the time. The bank stopped closures and changed its procedures, and an apology was offered.
- One member made a plea for cheques to be maintained as a resilience strategy, for example in the event of an internet outage. Maria said the bank would maintain cheques for as long as customers use them.
Strategy discussion
The strategy discussion in the second hour of the Gathering began with a reflection from the Customer Union on the growing number of smaller banks marketing themselves as fossil-free, while mainstream banks retreat from sustainability. This creates a unique opportunity for the Co-op Bank. But the bank needs to improve digital platforms, communicate its ethics boldly again, and take positions on current and emerging issues, from Palestine to AI ethics and the rise of the far right, without waiting until 2027. We’ve also suggested the Bank actively support the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, which would make it the largest bank supporter globally. Members also expressed the need for the bank to be more political and strategic, including by actively courting local authorities and other major public sector organisations.
We also discussed running an active campaign encouraging people to switch, with the message "It's time to come back to the Co-op." In a context where major banks are abandoning climate commitments and ethical customers are looking for alternatives, the timing could be perfect. However we would prefer to launch such a campaign once a clear and timed commitment to extend the bank’s Ethical Policy across the whole merged organisation has been made.
Our membership has held remarkably steady through the merger, and members are telling us the job's not done. Having spent ten years saving this bank, now we need to help it lead again. The task for us at the Customer Union is to help push the bank to seize the moment and to be as bold on ethics as they once were. We'll be raising these points at our next quarterly meeting with the Bank. If you have issues you'd like us to raise, please contact [email protected].
Thank you to everyone who attended, and to Jeremy, Maria and Rose for their time and openness.
Save Our Bank = Customer Union
With the Co-operative Bank back in mutual ownership we've retired the Save Our Bank name - in use since we started the campaign in 2013.
Our website is now at: https://customerunion.coop
You can email us at: [email protected]
(The old email and website addresses still work).
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With best wishes,
The Customer Union team
Have you joined the Customer Union yet? It costs £15 a year to be a member of the first ever customer union co-operative, and help us ensure the Co-op Bank sticks to its principles. We also welcome Coventry Building Society members. It only takes a few moments to sign up here.
This version of the newsletter was modified following clarification from the bank on the integration process and timing.
