New chief at Co-op Euan Sutherland pleas for calm over troubled bank
The new chief executive of the Co-operative Group has used his first speech to the mutual’s AGM to calm fears over a financial crisis at the banking business.
Euan Sutherland told delegates in Manchester: ‘Traditional capitalist models are not providing the answers to people today. They are looking to us, the Co-operative Group, to provide the alternative. The group has challenges but it also has significant opportunities and potential.’
The Co-op Group pulled out of a proposed bid to buy 632 branches from Lloyds Banking Group in April, and two weeks ago credit rating agency Moody’s downgraded Co-op Bank’s debt to junk.
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The bank needs to raise up to £1billion to meet regulators’ calls for higher capital reserves.Some observers even suggested the bank could need a state bailout, a possibility dismissed by the Co-op.
Sutherland was poached from B&Q owner Kingfisher to run the Co-op Group.
Sunday’s’ meeting was private, but delegate Ivor Moody said: ‘There is a lot of rubbish that has been said recently by people who don’t know what is going on. We’re here to find out.’
