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Co-op chair stands down as bank plans further share sale
The chair of the Co-operative Bank is to step down from his role as the wider Co-op Group cedes more control of the bank
Chair Richard Pym plans to step down by the end of 2014 after less than a year in the role, the bank announced today.
Co-op Bank also released plans to issue more shares to raise £400m for the business. This follows an announcement earlier this year over increased PPI mis-selling and mortgage costs.
While Co-op Group remains the biggest shareholder in the bank’s overall stake will fall from 30%. The exact dilution of its shares is not known but analysts expect the bank’s stake to fall to around 20%.
Chief executive Niall Booker said the share sale would help the bank return to its roots.
“We have the support of our five largest shareholders for this transaction,” he said.
“If successful, the additional capital to be raised through this transaction will enable us to reset our starting capital position for the execution of our business plan to return to our roots as a bank focused on our retail and SME customers with values and ethics at the heart of our business.”
