Co-op Bank set to drive record £2bn group loss – shame!

This is the uncooperative organisation that chooses to boycott goods from Judea and Samaria. They should listen to the current dialogue, build bridges not boycotts. Boycotts simply don’t work… Come on Coop – do the right thing and don’t be lead by those who shout loudest.

Article by Natalie Holt Moneymarketing.co.uk

The Co-operative Group is set to post a record £2bn in losses for 2013, driven by losses from its banking arm.

The BBC’s business editor Robert Peston reports the Co-op is expected to report its worst losses on record when it announces its results next month.

The Co-op Group is planning a £500m cost cutting programme, with £100m in savings already identified.

The BBC reports that to achieve these cuts the Co-op is planning between 4,000 and 5,000 job losses by 2017, especially in head office and in support positions.

One source said: “We worry the board is exaggerating the scale of the crisis, including losses, to turn the Co-op into much more of a conventional business, and move it away from its democratic and ethical roots.”

Co-op chief executive Euan Sutherland will set out the Co-op’s restructure in full at its annual meeting on 17 May.

Last year Co-op Group reduced its stake in the bank to 30 per cent as part of a rescue deal which saw bondholders and hedge funds take a majority stake.

http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/news-and-analysis/politics/co-op-bank-set-to-drive-record-2bn-group-loss/2007205.article