Inaugural CUEB meeting November 2016
The Co-operative Bank: Saving a Great Idea
The Co-operative Bank: Saving a Great Idea
Cartoon by Martin Rowson
Thanks to Martin and Red Pepper magazine
On 6 July, Save Our Bank, Amnesty International UK and the Fund for Global Human Rights organised a discussion meeting on the impact of bank account closures on charities and campaign groups.
The highly-productive all-day meeting was attended by representatives from some of the best-known organisations affected by account closures, smaller affected groups, and experts from more than one country on the issues of bank regulation and its effect on civil society.
Save Our Bank's view on the Co-op Bank's Values and Ethics Report 2015
In late May 2016, the Co-op Bank published its 59-page Values and Ethics Report for 2015.
Closure of accounts for Palestinian support groups
Over recent weeks we have been contacted by supporters complaining that organisations working to support Palestinians are having their accounts closed by the Co-op Bank. We took this up with the bank as details continued to emerge.
The bank sent us the following statement concerning the closure of the some accounts for organisations supporting Palestine, including the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
When Save Our Bank was set up the Co-operative Bank was in crisis. A rescue bid left the bank in mostly private hands - just 20% stayed with the former owners, The Co-operative Group. Soon there were the revelations about Paul Flowers that added to the sense of crisis.
Many customers decided that they no longer believed in the bank. They didn't trust it to stick to its principles. They wanted a co-operative bank, owned by its customers rather than hedge funds. And they left in large numbers.
Here is the text of an open letter from the Save Our Bank campaign to the Co-operative Bank.
Niall Booker
CEO, Co-operative Bank
PO Box 101
1 Balloon Street
Manchester, M60 4EP
Open letter from the Save our Bank Campaign
Please reconsider your decision on banking services for Palestine support organisations
Dear Mr Booker,
It has come to our attention that the Co-operative Bank has closed a number of accounts of Palestine solidarity organisations in the UK.
The wait is over… we are excited to be launching the crowdfunding campaign to set up the Customer Union for Co-op Bank customers today!
We’ve been preparing for this moment for a while, so hopefully you know what this is all about and are itching to get involved already. (If so, go ahead and check out the crowdfunder page here.)
Customer Union for Ethical Banking
Unit 21, 41 Old Birley Street, Manchester M15 5RF
A cooperative society registered with the FCA number 4161
You can see our privacy policy here
The Save Our Bank campaign is backed by Ethical Consumer magazine