Welcoming The Co-operative Bank to Coventry Building Society
January 2025
A message from Steve Hughes, our Chief Executive
On 1 January 2025, we officially completed our purchase of The Co-operative Bank.
I’m excited about what this means for us as a Society. Bringing our two values-driven organisations together will result in a mutually owned business that’s deeply passionate about its members, customers and communities.
We’ll use our combined experience of almost 300 years to do more of the things that matter to you. We’ll continue to offer great levels of service, invest to provide greater support for our members, while continuing to keep your money safe and secure.
As we start to bring our organisations together, we’ll keep you updated with everything you need to know. We’re still going to operate as Coventry Building Society and The Co-operative Bank for the time being. This means there will be no change to the way you use our services right now. And if you have accounts with both Coventry Building Society and The Co-operative Bank, you’ll continue to benefit from the maximum protection offered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme through each organisation.
I firmly believe we’re all together, even better. Thank you for being a valued member of Coventry Building Society.
Steve Hughes
Group Chief Executive
Coventry Building Society
Our All together, even better prize draw!
Previous updates
November 2024
Today, I’m pleased to share that we’ve received regulatory approval for our purchase of The Co-operative Bank.
This is a huge milestone and means we expect to complete our purchase on 1 January 2025.
As we look to the future, I’m excited about what’s to come. Bringing our two organisations together, we’ll use our combined experience of almost 300 years to grow our Society, but we’ll also continue to be the safe, secure and mutually owned building society that you trust.
There will be no immediate change to our services – we have a lot of work to do to provide a joined-up service, which may take several years. And if you have accounts with both Coventry Building Society and The Co-operative Bank, you’ll still benefit from the protection offered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme of each organisation as you do now.
We’ll continue to keep this webpage up to date with the latest news. There is also a handy FAQ section below which could help with any extra questions you may have.
I firmly believe we’re all together, even better. Thank you for being a valued member of Coventry Building Society.
Steve Hughes
Chief Executive
Coventry Building Society
May 2024
Coventry Building Society has reached agreement with the sellers of The Co-operative Bank to buy the Bank subject to gaining approval from the financial services regulators.
The purchase is expected to complete in the first quarter of 2025.
Delivering for members
The Board and I believe that this will create a stronger Coventry Building Society that will benefit current and future members by helping sustain the value and service you expect from us. The long-term benefits to members include:
- Continued delivery of competitive savings and mortgages, and keeping your money safe, by us becoming a stronger mutual building society.
- An outstanding service in our branches, telephone, online and mobile services, through the ability to invest more.
- More choice, access, and reassurance for you, through a larger UK branch network.
- Meeting more of your needs through a broader set of products and services, like current accounts.
- Continuing to put you at the heart of everything we do, through the creation of a larger, values-driven organisation that makes a positive impact on wider society.
The Co-operative Bank – the right fit
The Co-operative Bank is a financially stable, profitable organisation with a shared heritage and products and services that complement our own.
We believe that together, we will be stronger and able to keep offering the value and service that matters to you. We’re confident that we have the people, capability, and the financial strength to achieve this.
The same great Coventry Building Society experience
Your savings and mortgage accounts will stay the same and you’ll continue to have the friendly, expert Coventry service you value so much. You do not need to take any action or do anything differently.
What happens next
Firstly, you can continue to share your feedback on what we’re doing. Please use all the usual channels for normal servicing queries.
For us, our next milestone is to complete the purchase, at which point The Co-operative Bank will become a subsidiary of Coventry Building Society. We expect this to happen on 1 January 2025.
We will then start to combine the two organisations, and we think this will take us several years. We are not going to rush, and we will keep you informed about our plans and progress.
We have a very successful history at the Society in delivering the best for you, and giving your money a safe and secure home. We believe this is the basis of a very successful future too – with membership, great value and great service at its heart.
Steve Hughes
Chief Executive
Coventry Building Society
Frequently asked questions
Have you bought The Co-operative Bank?
Yes. On 1 January 2025, we completed our purchase of The Co-operative Bank.
In May 2024, we reached an agreement with the Sellers of The Co-operative Bank to transfer ownership to the Society, subject to regulatory approvals. On 28 November 2024, we received these approvals from the Prudential Regulation Authority and the Financial Conduct Authority.
Why did you buy The Co-operative Bank?
When will the Society actually own The Co-operative Bank?
Did you get regulatory approval for the purchase?
For our purchase of The Co-operative Bank to go ahead, we had to gain the approval of both UK financial services regulators – the Prudential Regulation Authority, whose role is to supervise banks and building societies, and the Financial Conduct Authority, whose job is to protect consumers and ensure healthy competition.
We gained regulatory approval on 28 November 2024, which meant we could complete our purchase on 1 January 2025.
Will you still be a mutual building society?
What will the new organisation be called?
What will be the impact on me?
As a member of Coventry Building Society, you’ll continue to experience the same great value and service you have today. Your savings or mortgage accounts stay the same, and you’ll continue to use all our existing services – branches, telephone, online and our mobile app.
Now we’ve taken ownership of The Co-operative Bank, we’ll begin the ‘behind the scenes’ work that means we can provide one joined up service in the future. We expect this to take several years, but we’ll keep you updated every step of the way.
I am a customer of both The Co-operative Bank and Coventry Building Society. Will I be able to use the branches, call centres and online services of either organisation to access the products and services of the other?
If I am customer of The Co-operative Bank, will I get Coventry Building Society membership rights?
Will I be able to move savings and mortgage products from Coventry Building Society to The Co-operative Bank, or the other way, without the usual penalties that may apply?
I’m a customer of both Coventry Building Society and The Co-operative Bank, will this mean I lose part of my FSCS cover?
Even though we’ve now completed our purchase, Coventry Building Society and The Co-operative Bank will retain their banking licences, and you will have Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection as a customer of each organisation as you do now. We expect this to be the case for several years.
Find out more information about the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Will any of your branches close?
One of the attractions of buying The Co-operative Bank is a larger national footprint – and over time, we’re aiming to create a larger branch network that would provide choice, access and reassurance to more people.
It’s likely to take several years before we can offer a joined-up service. There won’t be any changes just yet.
I don’t know much about The Co-operative Bank
The Co-operative Bank was formed in 1872 out of the Co-operative movement, which established businesses that were owned and run for the benefit of their members, rather like building societies.
It was sold by The Co-operative Group – which is the group that operates the Co-op shops, Co-op insurance and Co-op funeral care – and the Society is buying it from a large number of financial investors.
The Co-operative Bank has a similar number of colleagues to us and serves three million customers, providing savings and mortgages, plus current accounts, insurances, credit cards, loans and business banking. It has 50 branches and has regularly won awards for its ethical practices.
How will you keep me informed of progress?
We’ll keep updating this page on the website and contact you as appropriate.
We really want to keep hearing from you – if you’re thinking it, other members probably are too. You can leave your thoughts and any questions you may have about what we’re doing here. Please carry on using all the usual channels for normal servicing queries.
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