I have been a Co-operative Bank customer since 1975. I opened my first current account with them when at University. Over the years I have opened more and more accounts and I now have a credit card, a joint current account, a mortgage and two business accounts with them.
I have just over three years left on my current mortgage and yesterday asked for a further modest advance to purchase a lease extension. The total outstanding debt would rise to around 15% of the property's recent valuation.
I was turned down because the bank had made a "top-level policy decision" not to extend mortgages like mine that were taken out before 2004. I enquired whether I could apply for a new product to replace my existing mortgage and was told that I had to seek another provider.
So a loyal customer of a bank with an ethical investment policy was being turned down on spurious grounds because of a "top-level policy decision". I am not a high risk to lend money to, and the bank's exposure would be to a modest percentage of a property in a highly desirable part of London.
The decision to withdraw business from me is nothing compared to the "top-level decision" to withdraw banking facilities to a range of local authorities including Camden which has a turnover in excess of a billion a year. Why would a bank want to deliberately reduce its trade with safe customers?
Something is definitely going wrong with the Co-operative Bank.
Next stop for me is the Nationwide, a traditional mutual, which suits my own ethical stance.
