The Co-op Bank confirms £1.3bn losses after “extraordinary difficult” year
The struggling Co-operative Bank has confirmed it made a loss of £1.3bn in 2013, as chairman Richard Pym dubs it an “extraordinary difficult” year.
The losses come after the discovery of a £1.5bn black hole in the bank’s finances last year, which led to the collapse of a £750m deal with Lloyds Banking Group.
The lender also revealed that it would not return to profit for the next two years.
Parent company the Co-op Group owns just 30 per cent of the Co-op Bank after it gave up control of the business to US hedge funds.
Chief executive Niall Booker said the management team and the completion of the Liability Management Exercise (LME) in December last year helped to keep the bank alive, but that there continue to be “significant issues” that need resolving.
Booker apologised to customers in a financial statement released today. He said: “We appreciate that customers and other stakeholders continue to feel angry about how past failings placed the future of the business so seriously at risk.
“I would like to apologise to them, to thank them for their continued loyalty and to thank colleagues for their commitment during such difficult times.”
Last month Co-op Group CEO Euan Sutherland resigned from his post, citing a lack of "professional and commercial governance" for his departure.