The Co-operative Bank

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The Co-operative Bank is a British bank offering a range of banking products from current accounts, mortgages and loans to credit cards and saving products.[1] The Co-operative Bank’s focus is UK retail and small and medium-sized business customers.[2] As of 30 June 2017, the bank held £25 billion (€27 billion) in total assets.[3]

In 2014, The Co-operative Bank re-launched its ethical policy after consultations with its customers. The policy excluding nuclear weapons producers remained the same. The Ethical Policy states: “We will not finance […] the manufacture or transfer of indiscriminate weapons.”[4] Indiscriminate weapons include cluster munitions, anti-personnel landmines, depleted uranium munitions, incendiary munitions, chemical and biological weapons.[5] It also includes “products or services classed as strategic to nuclear weapons.” Companies found to be in conflict with the policy are excluded.[6]

The policy applies to all asset and liability classes relevant to The Co-operative Bank.[7] The Co-operative Bank declines banking facilities  and terminates loan contracts of customers violating its ethical policy.[8] The Co-operative utilizes independent research by EIRIS to identify breaches to its policy, which is not publicly available.

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[1] The Co-operative Bank, “About Us”, website The Co-operative Bank (http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/aboutus?int_cmp=topnav_whoweare_aboutus), viewed 23 January 2018.

[2] The Co-operative Bank, “Purpose”, website The Co-operative Bank, (http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/aboutus/ourbusiness/purpose), viewed 23 January 2018.

[3] The Co-operative Bank, “The Co-operative Bank plc Interim Financial Report 2017”, page 11, available online at: http://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/assets/pdf/bank/investorrelations/2017-Interim-Financial-Report.pdf, viewed 23 January 2018.

[4] The Co-operative Bank, “Ethical Policy”, website The Co-operative Bank (https://www.co-operativebank.co.uk/assets/html/bank/ebooks/ethical-policy/index.html), viewed 23 January 2018.

[5] The Co-operative Bank, written response to PAX, dated 1 December 2017.

[6] The Co-operative Bank, written response to PAX, dated 1 December 2017.

[7] The Co-operative Bank, written response to PAX, dated 1 December 2017.

[8] The Co-operative Bank, written response to PAX, dated 1 December 2017.

Last modified 6 July 2018

About Maaike Beenes

Maaike Beenes works for the humanitarian disarmament program for PAX in the Netherlands. She researches investments by financial institutions in producers of controversial weapons, notably nuclear weapons and cluster munitions, and is co-author of the reports ‘Don’t Bank on the Bomb’ and ‘Worldwide Investments in Cluster Munitions’. As part of the Don’t Bank on the Bomb campaign of PAX and ICAN, she works together with campaigners around the world to hold banks and other investors accountable for their investments in nuclear and other controversial weapons. She was involved in the negotiations for the Treaty on the Prohibition on Nuclear Weapons on behalf of PAX and ICAN.