Co-Op Urge More Banks To Help Bankrupt Customers

The managing director of the Co-Operative’s retail banking has blamed other banks' unwillingness to offer services to bankrupt customers for its decision to end it own services.

Co-operative Bank decided to stop offering basic banking services to new customers who are undischarged bankrupts.

The bank says existing customers can continue using its Cashminder account – a basic bank account that doesn't include an overdraft or chequebook – the service will no longer be offered to new customers whose bankruptcy is undischarged – a process that normally happens one year after being made bankrupt.

John Hughes, Co-ops retail banking managing director said: "Across the industry there has long been an unlevel playing field in the provision of basic bank accounts, with our bank doing far more than most, and we have been calling for some time for this to be addressed.

"Unfortunately it has now come to the stage where our disproportionate market share of the basic bank account market has continued to grow significantly, and regretfully we now need to take steps to address this."

The Co-op has 320,000 Cashminder customers, which equates to about a fifth of all its current accounts, and its share of the new basic bank account market is more than double its share of the overall new current account market. Not all Cashminder customers are bankrupts, but about 30% have some kind of debt management order or credit issues, including bankruptcy, a spokeswoman said.

The Co-op's withdrawal means just one bank, Barclays, will offer current account banking to customers struggling to get back on their feet financially.

(H)