The Co-operative Bank

The Co-operative Bank plc is a retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom, with its headquarters in Balloon Street, Manchester. Established as a bank for co-operators and co-operatives following the principles of the Rochdale Pioneers the business evolved over the twentieth century into a mid sized British high street bank operating throughout the UK mainland. Transactions took place at cash desks in co-op stores until the 1960s, when the bank set up a small network of branches that grew from 6 to a high of 160. Branches for residents of the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands were closed in the 2010s during a significant rescaling exercise. As of 2023 it has 50 branches in the UK.

The Co-operative Bank is the only UK high street bank with a customer-led Ethical Policy which is incorporated into the bank's articles of association. The Ethical Policy was introduced in 1992 and incorporated into the bank's constitution in 2013. The Ethical Policy was revised and expanded in 2015 in line with over 320,000 customer responses to a poll. The latest Values and Ethics report was published in May 2020.

Despite its name, the bank has never been a cooperative itself. In the 1970s it was registered as a separate PLC that was wholly owned by the co-operative society it was part of, in order to achieve its status as a bank among other banks entitled to use inter-banking systems. That society, The Co-operative Group, maintains some relationship with the bank today, including managing the licensed use of the brand name the "Co-operative ...." and maintained full and later partial ownership until 2017.

In 2013–14, after a merger with Leek based Britannia building society, a failed attempt to buy a larger rival and a troubled commercial property loan portfolio, the bank was the subject of a rescue plan to address a capital shortfall of about £1.9 billion. Representatives of the bank's then 12.6 million co-owners and management at the time dealt with a crisis by negotiating with creditors to exchange their claims on the bank's liabilities for equity in a debt-for-equity swap. This swap successfully reduced the bank's liabilities while increasing its ability to withstand the significant losses which had rapidly become apparent. It was a private transaction and thus avoided the part-nationalisations that befell larger rivals in UK, USA and elsewhere in the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

The Co-operative Group, which had previously owned the bank outright, became a minority shareholder holding a 20% stake in the bank. Following restructuring and the formation of a new holding company on 1 September 2017, the Co-operative Group no longer owns a stake in the bank and the relationship agreement between the two organisations ended in 2020.

The bank is now a plc with debt securities listed on the London Stock Exchange. Its equity is not listed. The bank's sole shareholder is the Co-operative Bank Finance plc. The sole shareholder of the Co-operative Bank Finance plc is the Co-operative Bank Holdings Ltd which is a private company limited by share capital. According to the bank's 2019 accounts, the holding company is owned by hedge funds and other asset management companies.