We are The Co-operative Bank
Founded in 1872, we were born from the co-operative movement, and co-operative values continue to be a fundamental part of everything we do.
It’s these co-operative values that led us to becoming the UK’s first bank to introduce a customer-led Ethical Policy, and empower us to make a real positive difference to the world around us. Something that still makes us unique to this day.
We believe it's our duty to stand up for the issues that matter to our customers and which bind our colleagues, customers and partner organisations together.
Because unlike a lot of businesses, we haven’t just developed an ethical approach — we’ve had one from the very start.
Ethical then, now and always.
Our Ethical Policy
In 1992, we became the first UK bank to launch a customer-led Ethical Policy. We asked our customers to tell us about the ethical issues that were important to them, and how we could help. Their answers formed the basis of our first Ethical Policy, shaping our ethical commitments, how we use and how we would not use our customer's money.
Since then, we’ve updated the Ethical Policy six times in consultation with our customers, to reflect their changing priorities. And we’ve made our 2022 Ethical Policy (PDF) even clearer — it’s been divided into three pillars, so you can see exactly how we help the planet, people, and the community.
We're committed to limiting:
- Global climate change
- Destruction of ecosystems
- Decline in biodiversity.
And we're committed to working towards:
- Being carbon neutral
- Our sustainability
- Promoting animal welfare.
We're committed to promoting:
- Human rights
- Social justice in international development
- Equality
- Meaningful societal change.
And we're committed to being:
- A bank that treats our customers fairly
- An ethical employer.
We're committed to supporting:
- Economic and social development
- Charities and social enterprises
- The co-operative movement
- The small business community
And we're committed to:
- Being good digital citizens
- Maintaining online protections.
Our Environmental, Social and Governance principles
Businesses today are increasingly being held to account by their customers, investors, regulators, employees and other stakeholders. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting makes the overall impact of an organisation's activities more measurable by taking into account the impact of its core operations, alongside the positive work they undertake.
For the third year running, The Co-operative Bank has been rated as the UK’s best Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) rated high street bank by leading ESG risk rating agency, Sustainalytics*.
Learn more about our Environmental, Social and Governance approach
*As of October 2023, The Co-operative Bank received an ESG Risk Rating of 8.5 from Morningstar Sustainalytics and was assessed to be at negligible risk of experiencing financial impacts from ESG factors. In no event should this Risk Rating be construed as investment advice or expert opinion as defined by the applicable legislation.
Copyright 2023 Morningstar Sustainalytics. All rights reserved. This article contains information developed by Sustainalytics (www.sustainalytics.com). Such information and data are proprietary of Sustainalytics and/or its third party suppliers (Third Party Data) and are provided for informational purposes only. They do not constitute an endorsement of any product or project, nor an investment advice and are not warranted to be complete, timely, accurate or suitable for a particular purpose. Their use is subject to conditions available at www.sustainalytics.com/legal-disclaimers.
Our policies
As the UK’s original ethical bank, our values and ethics touch everything we do.
In order to be transparent about how we operate as a business, you can read our policy documents; which affect our colleagues, our customers, as well as our corporate responsibilities as a bank.
Our reasons to be proud
Our awards
We’re really proud of some of the awards we’ve won over the years. Here are just a few of our most recent ones.
Awarded by Moneyfacts in April 2024
Awarded by Moneyfacts in January 2019
Awarded by Moneyfacts in January 2019
Our commitment to Promoting Equality in the Workplace
Our commitment to the values and ethics of the co-operative movement continues to be demonstrated in our inclusion and diversity strategy, which includes a strong focus on:
- Increasing the number of women in senior roles at The Co-operative Bank
- Increasing the number of women in historically male dominated areas
- Building an even gender balance across all levels of the organisation
- Building an ethnicity balance which is representative of the UK population across all levels of our organisation
- Overall building a more diverse workforce which reflects the diverse society we operate within.
Find out more about our commitment to promoting broader equality in the workplace
Our career opportunities
Enjoy on-the-job training, progression opportunities, and a chance to make a difference by working with us at The Co-operative Bank.
Investor relations
As an ethical bank, we want to be as clear as we can with our investors and our customers about how we operate as a business. Here you can find out about things such as our financial results and credit ratings.
How we run our business
We’re proud to be helping our customers and colleagues fight for the causes they care about most, as well as helping people with their money.
You can read about how we run our business, including who regulates us, our tax strategy, and our modern slavery and human trafficking statement.
Corporate governance
The Board has collective responsibility for the long term success of the Bank. It sets the Bank’s values and standards and ensures that its obligations to its shareholders, customers, and other stakeholders are understood and met.
Find out more about the Directors, the Board and its Committees, and the Executive Management Team.
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