UK-based mutual, the Co-operative Bank, has opened five in-store
bank branches within high street supermarkets operated by The
Co-operative Group, the world’s largest consumer co-operative, as
part of an eighteen-month pilot.
The Co-operative Bank said that if the project is a hit there
was scope for several hundred in-store banks to be rolled out
across the UK.
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The Co-operative Group currently operates more than 2,800 food
stores and 340 bank branches under The Co-operative Bank and
Britannia brands.
Neville Richardson, chief executive of The Co-operative Bank,
said: “While other banks are being forced to close branches and
communities are being left without banking facilities, we are
making the positive step to open new ones.
“We’re committed to growing our high street presence to give
customers a compelling alternative to the ‘Big 5’.”
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UK bank branches have declined by 20% in the past decade.
The Co-operative Bank is one of two only major UK players (along
with Lloyds Banking Group) to have boosted its branch network this
century; its branch network has grown by over 200 units in that
time, largely as a result of its 2009 merger with the Britannia
Building Society.
The Co-operative Bank in-store pilot project follows Tesco Bank
ramping up its efforts to break into the mainstream retail banking
market; last year, the financial services unit of the retailer
Tesco opened six branches within its stores.
In the current fiscal year, Tesco Bank will expand its product
line-up by launching current account and mortgage products.
