Welcome to this October newsletter from the Customer Union for Ethical Banking, the independent union for customers of The Co-operative Bank.
In this newsletter, more details of our Gathering in three weeks…
Three weeks till the Gathering
There is still time to register for our annual Gathering, which will be held online on Saturday 16th November.
We’ve had confirmation that we’ll be joined by speakers from the Co-op Bank and, for the first time, Coventry Building Society, as well as from Co-operatives UK.
From the Co-op we’ll be joined by Gary McDermott, the bank’s Chief Commercial Officer and a member of its senior management team. From Co-ops UK we’ll be joined once again by Emma Laycock, Head of Co-operative Advice. From Coventry, we have Jeremy Cox, who is the building society’s Head of Strategic Planning and Performance Management.
We’re looking forward to hearing from all three of them and having the chance to discuss ethics and customer participation in the merged organisation as Coventry’s acquisition of the bank proceeds, among other issues.
Click the button below to check the times and agenda, and to register for the Gathering and/or for official Annual General Meeting, which will take place immediately before.
DEC Middle East Humanitarian Appeal
The Co-operative Bank has just launched its appeal for donations in support of the Disasters Emergency Committee’s Middle East Humanitarian Appeal. The bank will donate an initial £20k to the appeal, and the government will also match donations to the DEC pound-for-pound up to a maximum of £10 million. The bank’s JustGiving page has already seen donations of over £80,000 in just two weeks – money which provide food, shelter and medical care to the huge numbers of people in need across Gaza, Lebanon and the wider region.
You can support the appeal if you are able, by donating on the bank’s JustGiving page here.
Coventry acquisition: send us your questions
We’re planning to hold our quarterly engagement meeting with the bank in the next couple of weeks, before our Gathering. In preparation for this, we would be interested to hear your questions and concerns about the sale of the bank to Coventry Building Society – which, as a reminder, is expected to be completed in the first three months of 2025.
We don’t expect the bank will have the answers to all of our questions at this stage, but it would be useful to hear your thoughts to help us prepare. Do email them to info@saveourbank.coop.
We hold this engagement meeting as a formal union, representing customers of the Co-operative Bank. We have more than 1,000 members, each paying just £15 a year, and it’s these membership fees that enable us to meet our modest running costs. If you’re not yet a member but do have questions for us to ask, we’re happy to consider these, but please do also consider joining the union using the button below.
That’s all for this month’s newsletter; thank you as ever for reading and supporting the Union.
With best wishes,
The Save Our Bank team
Have you joined the Customer Union yet? It costs £15 a year to be a member of the first ever customer union co-operative, and help us ensure the Co-op Bank sticks to its principles. It only takes a few moments to sign up here.
info@saveourbank.coop
@SaveOurBank
@saveourbank
