Consumer Union for Ethical Banking
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| Founded | February 2016 |
|---|---|
| Members | 1,200 (2019) |
| Office location | Unit 21, 41 Old Birley Street, Manchester, M15 5RF |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Website | saveourbank |
The Consumer Union for Ethical Banking is a United Kingdom consumer organisation campaigning for The Co-operative Bank to return to co-operative ownership in the future.[1] It has also played a part in pressuring the leadership of the bank to implement external auditors for it's annual values and ethics report.[2] It has received over 10,000 signatures of support the bank's customers.[3]
Issues at the Bank[edit]
In the first half of 2013, the Co-operative Bank (a subsidiary of the Co-operative group) lost £700m, making the planned expansion of the bank impossible, and raising some warning signs for the banks customers. Later that year, in May, a £1.5bn "black hole" was found in the bank's accounts. This failing was largely blamed on the bank's chairman, Paul Flowers and the takeover of Britannica Building Society in 2009.[4][5]
This led to the eventual takeover of the bank by several hedge funds, to plug the financial gap of the bank, which otherwise would have collapsed.[6]. In April 2017, the Co-operative group sold off its remaining 20% stake in the bank, marking an end to co-operative ownership. At this time, serious questions were raised by the Save our Bank campaign about its ethical status, with the union saying that the bank 'would not stand a chance' if it did not continue with its ethical policy.[7][8]
History of the union[edit]
The consumer union was born out of the Ethical Consumer Magazine's Save our Bank campaign, which was spun off into a separate co-operative society in 2016, after a successful £30,000 crowdfunding campaign was completed. The union says that becoming a co-operative society will help their members to 'contribute to the debate on how to keep ethics at the heart of financial decision-making at the Co-op Bank'.[9]
In the future, the union has said that it will hold the Co-operative group to account over its decision to continue with its ethical policy. It also plans in the future to slowly buy a share in the bank, in a bid for an eventual return to co-operative ownership.[10]
References[edit]
- ↑ "A union of Co-op bank customers | Save Our Bank". saveourbank.coop. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ↑ correspondent, Kalyeena Makortoff Banking (2019-12-05). "Customers clinch victory as Co-op Bank recognises ethics campaign". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ↑ "Save Our Bank". Ethical Consumer. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
- ↑ "Co-operative Bank's former chairman 'seeking help' after drugs admission". THE GUARDIAN. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ↑ "Profile: Paul Flowers". The Telegraph.
- ↑ "Co-op Group makes loss as bank stake written off". BBC. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ↑ "Co-op Group makes loss as bank stake written off". BBC.
- ↑ "Co-operative Group's stake in Co-op bank to fall to 1%". BBC News. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
- ↑ "CUEB gathering on ethical future of Co-op Bank". Co-op News. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Save Our Bank". Ethical Consumer. 2018-05-30. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
External links[edit]
- Consumer Union for Ethical Banking on Facebook
- Consumer Union for Ethical Banking on Twitter
- Save Our Bank: A union of Co-op bank customers
- Save Our Bank | Ethical Consumer
- Saving with credit unions | Ethical Consumer
- Customer Union for Ethical Banking | Co-operatives UK
This article "Consumer Union for Ethical Banking" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.
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