The Co-operative Group is continuing the restructure of its management team by appointing a new chairman for the bank and a new Group finance chief.
Richard Pym, the former chief of Alliance & Leicester, has been appointed as the chairman of the bank.
Richard Pennycook, the former finance director at Morrisons, becomes the new Group’s new head of finance.
The move comes a week after Niall Booker, the former head of HSBC in North America, was appointed as the replacement to Barry Tootell.
Mr Tootell resigned after the bank’s debts were downgraded to 'junk' status by credit ratings agency Moody's (read more).
Mr Pennycook replaces Steve Humes, who was relieved of his role as Group finance chief following the revelation of a shortfall in the bank’s balance sheet which is thought to exceed £1 billion.
The Co-operative Bank continues its management revamp with a new bank chairman and Group finance chief.
The bank has called a halt to new business lending last month, as it seeks to repair its capital position.
But recent figures from the Bank of England suggest that the Co-op has artificially patched up its balance sheet by using cheap government funds designed to stimulate the economy.
The Co-op took out £900 million in cheap funds from the Funding for Lending Scheme in the first three months of the year, over a third of the industry total, but its net lending fell over the same period.
The bank's new chairman, Richard Pym, said that it was important to preserve the Co-op as a competitor in what remains a "concentrated" market.
"We are clearly focused on actions to strengthen the bank's balance sheet and resolving the current underlying issues," he said.
"This will allow us to continue to provide customers with an alternative choice to the traditional banks."
Keith McDonald
Which4U Editor
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