CO-OPERATIVE BANK REPORTS RECORD PROFITS YET AGAIN

CO-OPERATIVE BANK REPORTS RECORD PROFITS YET AGAIN The Co-operative Bank, which is this year celebrating the 10th anniversary of its ethical stance, again demonstrated that profits and ethics can go hand in hand when today (12 September 2002) it reported record interim pre-tax profits of £68.3m, up 13 per cent on 2001. The increase in profits for the half year was achieved through both higher operating income and a further improvement in the cost/ income ratio. Retail deposits grew by 14 per cent, while retail lending grew by 11 per cent, reflecting the bank's successful re-entry into the residential mortgage market, along with a steady rise in Corporate lending and personal lending, including VISA. smile, the Internet bank, continued to grow its customer base and expand its range of services. It consolidated its reputation as the best service provider in the hotly-contested Internet banking sector. The Co-operative Bank's reputation for ethical banking and Corporate Social Responsibility continues to build. Following extensive customer consultation during 2001, the bank announced its updated Ethical Policy in May 2002 - the tenth anniversary of the publication of its first Ethical Policy in 1992. Last year's recognition by Business in the Community as the UK's "Company of the Year" was followed in July 2002 by the bank winning the top Judges' Award for Global Corporate Social Responsibility at the prestigious New York-based Corporate Conscience Awards. This is the first time a UK business has been chosen as the world's foremost socially responsible business. In April 2002, a Queen's Award for Enterprise was conferred on The Co-operative Bank. The award, in the Sustainable Development Category, was for the bank's innovative partnership approach to management. In April 2002, the Co-operative Group announced the formation of Co- operative Financial Services (CFS) and the appointment of its Chief Executive, Mervyn Pedelty. As a result, the Co-operative Group's ownership of The Co-operative Bank and the Co-operative Insurance Society (CIS) is now held through this new Industrial and Provident Society. CFS' objective is to ensure that all customers are offered a much broader range of co-operative financial services than they can currently receive from either the Bank or CIS operating independently. Overlap between the customer bases of these two institutions is currently very low, and the programmes to progressively integrate the sales and service channels of each business promise much for the future. Mr Pedelty, who also remains Chief Executive of The Co-operative Bank, said: "In the midst of uncertain economic conditions and at a time of increasing competition, our formula for sustainable business success has helped us to produce another set of impressive financial figures. "With the formation of Co-operative Financial Services we stand on the brink of an exciting new era for The Co-operative Bank and CIS. The bringing together of our businesses is now underway, with the aim of ensuring that, in the future, customers are offered a much broader range of co-operative financial services than they can currently receive from either the Bank or CIS operating separately." For further information contact: 12 September 2002 Dave Smith/Paul Lawler The Co-operative Bank Press Office Tel: 0161 829 5397/5091 Fax: 0161 839 4220 e-mail: press.office@co-operativebank.co.uk ------------------------------------------------------------ This information was brought to you by Waymaker http://www.waymaker.net The following files are available for download: http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/09/12/20020912BIT00430/wkr0001.doc http://www.waymaker.net/bitonline/2002/09/12/20020912BIT00430/wkr0002.pdf