Coventry Building Society and The Co-operative Bank

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 benefits to members include:

A stronger mutual building society, that will carry on delivering competitive savings and mortgages, and keeping your money safe.
More investment in delivering an outstanding service in our branches, telephone, online and mobile services.
A larger UK branch network providing choice, access, and reassurance to more people.
A broader set of products and services, like current accounts, to meet more of your needs.
The creation of a larger, values-driven organisation centred on meeting the needs of members and customers and making a positive impact on wider society.

The Co-operative Bank – the right fit

We’ve spent a lot of time evaluating this opportunity. The Co-operative Bank is a financially stable, profitable organisation with a shared heritage and products and services that complement our own.

We may be the bigger organisation, but the Bank’s customers, colleagues, branches, mortgages and savings balances, and the additional products and services it provides such as its business proposition, will make us 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 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

Reaching this agreement is an important milestone. The next step is to gain regulatory approvals. If all goes to plan, we expect to take ownership of The Co-operative Bank when we complete on the purchase, in the first quarter of 2025.

It’s really important to us that we continue to keep you informed. We’ll keep our website updated and you can find more information, including our latest regulatory announcement, here now.

We also want to continue to hear from you, and you can leave your thoughts and any questions you may have about what we’re doing here. Please use all the usual channels for normal servicing queries.

This is an exciting moment for the Society. We have a very successful history, and we believe this could be the basis of a very successful future – with membership, great value and great service at its heart.

Steve Hughes

Chief Executive

Coventry Building Society

Give your feedback

More Information on the potential deal with The Co-operative Bank.

Are you buying The Co-operative Bank?

Yes. We have reached agreement with the Sellers of The Co-operative Bank that will transfer ownership of The Co-operative Bank to the Society, subject to regulatory approvals.

What does regulatory approval mean?

For our purchase of The Co-operative Bank to go ahead, we must 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.

When will the Society actually own The Co-operative Bank?

If all goes well, The Co-operative Bank will become a subsidiary of the Society when we complete on the contract, which is expected in the first quarter of 2025.

Why are you buying The Co-operative Bank?

The Coventry Building Society Board believes that buying The Co-operative Bank will make the Society stronger. We’ll gain additional customers, mortgage and savings balances, a wider set of products and services, including current accounts and its business proposition, as well as a more nationally representative branch network. We believe this will help us sustain the outstanding service and value you expect from us today well into the future.

Why haven’t members been asked to vote on the acquisition?

The Coventry Building Society Board have considered carefully whether a member vote is required. Having had regard to the requirements of the Building Societies Act 1986, and having taken professional advice, the Board has determined that, a member vote is not required. In coming to this decision, the Board has also been informed by member surveys and focus groups, which clearly signalled their priorities as maintaining our value proposition and service quality.

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 new mobile app.

At completion of taking 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 work to take several years, and as we complete it, we’ll be able to provide additional products, for example a current account, and access to additional services.

Will you still be a mutual building society?

Yes, we’ll still be a building society. At completion, The Co-operative Bank will become a subsidiary of the Society and return to mutual ownership. Over time we want its customers to become members of the Society.

What will the new organisation be called?

Coventry Building Society and The Co-operative Bank will continue to operate under their current names and branding while we carry out the work needed to provide a joined-up service. We expect this to take several years.

I am a customer of both Coventry Building Society and The Co-operative Bank, will this mean I lose part of my FSCS cover?

At completion, 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, and we don’t anticipate any changes in this period.

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 is currently owned by 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.