Welcome to this summer edition of the monthly newsletter from the Customer Union for Ethical Banking, the independent union for customers of The Co-operative Bank.
As readers may know, your Customer Union team has formal quarterly engagement meetings with both the bank and with Co-operatives UK, the cooperative movement's apex network body. Since our last newsletter, where we reported on the completion of the Coventry Building Society acquisition deal, we have attended meetings with both organisations. As you might expect, much of the talk was about understanding the likely impact of these new arrangements.
As readers may know, your Customer Union team has formal quarterly engagement meetings with both the bank and with Co-operatives UK, the cooperative movement's apex network body. Since our last newsletter, where we reported on the completion of the Coventry Building Society acquisition deal, we have attended meetings with both organisations. As you might expect, much of the talk was about understanding the likely impact of these new arrangements.
Meeting the bank team
Much of the conversation focused on our concerns around not just the ethical policy, but also the bank's recently-rediscovered campaigning voice. Its work around the Renters Reform Bill with the homelessness charity Shelter, and with Zero Hour around the Climate and Nature Bill are two campaigns that spring to mind, but there are others too.
We were reassured that not only was the ethical policy still fully resourced for now, but that there was no intention to stop campaigning either. While we expect the bank to continue with both under its new ownership, it is too early for guarantees on this, and we’re working on building relationships at Coventry Building Society to find out more about its intentions here.
Perhaps the lasting impression of the meeting was of how excited the senior team were about the possibilities of their new home. Unlike the hedge funds, which were mainly looking for a way to exit, the Coventry looks like it will be a long-term home that can take a long-term view on investment in improving systems, services and even on campaigning too. This is great news for us as customers.
Meeting Co-operatives UK
Co-operatives UK has had a formal role over the last few years in making sure that the bank is sufficiently active in the cooperative movement to justify its use of the Co-operative name under its various recent owners. Much of the conversation here was therefore about how to ensure that the bank's role in the cooperative movement, as the primary banker to co-ops as well as a backer of cooperative business support and events, does not get lost under the merged group.
In the same way as with the bank meeting, underlying immediate worries about change, was a sense of excitement and possibility. Although mutuals have always been part of the wider movement of democratic ownership, they have often been less active and on the periphery. Perhaps the merger could bring both elements closer together with even more resources at a critical time for society and the planet.
The Customer Union will be convening our Specialist Panel to discuss these issues next.
That’s all for this month’s newsletter; thank you as ever for reading and supporting the Union.
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With best wishes,
The Save Our Bank team
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