Co-op Bank loses £709m in six months to July

The UK's Co-op Bank interim results have revealed a pre-tax loss of £709.4m ($1.1bn), a fall of £650.8m since June 2012.

The UK’s Co-op Bank interim results have revealed a pre-tax loss of £709.4m ($1.1bn), a fall of £650.8m since June 2012.

The loss in the six months to 6 July have been predominantly put down to Co-op’s disastrous takeover of Britannia Building Society in 2009. The bank slashed the value of its loans by £496m as corporate loans acquired in the takeover continued to plunge in value.

Co-op Bank has also been badly affected by the PPI scandal, which has cost it £61m to date. It also wrote down £150m on a new IT system.

Despite the impact on the bank, the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has continued to demand that the bank pump £1.5bn into its failing banking arm to keep it afloat. The Co-operative Group boss Euan Sutherland agreed, saying he had "no plan B".

He said: "This has been a very difficult first half for The Co-operative Group and the results highlight both the well-documented challenges faced by The Co-operative Bank.

"Importantly, today’s announcement also underlines the need for the £1.5bn Capital Action Plan we announced in June to stabilise the Bank, which we reaffirm today and which remains on track."