Student Finance Overview

The Co-operative Bank has an ethical lending policy which applies across all its transactions with businesses seeking finance.

On applying for banking services with The Co-operative Bank, all business customers are required to complete an Ethical Policy questionnaire. The Co-operative Bank states that it will only offer a business banking facilities when it is confident that there are no conflicts with its Ethical Policy.

The ethical lending policy includes exclusion criteria in human rights; the arms trade; corporate responsibility and global trade; genetic modification; social enterprise; ecological impact, and animal welfare areas.

Since 2011 The Co-operative Bank's Ethical policy has been extended to cover the investments underpinning its home and motor insurance products. As a result it does not purchase bonds issued by organisations that do not meet the criteria of the policy.

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The Co-operative bank has internal controls to monitor its lending policy as well as inviting an independent auditor to comment on the implementation of their policies and publish the findings.

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The Bank states that since its launch in 1992, The Co-operative Bank has withheld over £1.2 billion of funding from business activities that its customers have said are unethical.

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The Co-operative Bank's ethical policy includes human rights criteria. It will not finance any organisation that advocates discrimination and incitement to hatred, or the manufacture or transfer of indiscriminate weapons, e.g. cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions".

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They will not finance any of the following:

• any government or business which fails to uphold basic human rights within its sphere of influence;
• any business whose links to an oppressive regime are a continuing cause for concern;
• any organisation that advocates discrimination and incitement to hatred;
• the manufacture or transfer of armaments to oppressive regimes;
• the manufacture or transfer of indiscriminate weapons, eg cluster bombs and depleted uranium munitions;
• the manufacture or transfer of torture equipment or other equipment that is used in the violation of human rights.

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Since 1992, they have declined £385m finance to businesses in line with their Ethical Policy statements on international development and human rights. During 2012, 110 finance opportunities (2011:159) were referred to the Ethical Policy Unit in connection with international development and human rights, of which 17 were declined (2011: 13), with an estimated cost of £2,659,000 in terms of gross income foregone.

The Co-operative Bank offers a range of products and services for the financially excluded.

• In 2012, 38% of the bank's branches were located in deprived areas.
• The bank also reports that finance to small businesses in deprived areas as a proportion of equivalent bank activity remains significantly above the industry average in 2012.
• The bank provides basic bank accounts to prisoners ready for use on release. 13,380 bank accounts for prisoners opened since 2009.

The Co-operative Bank offers a basic bank account, Cashminder, aimed at those who may not be eligible for a standard current account.

Credit Union Current Account launched in 2006 in partnership with the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd (ABCUL). In 2012, 25 credit unions were offered the account and over 36,500 (2011: 33,281) customers benefited.

In line with the Bank’s Ethical Policy commitment to support credit unions, a three-year strategy was developed and agreed in 2012. Principles are to provide credit unions and their members with: an accessible, Co-operative banking package; access to a range of Group products and services; and assistance and advice.

The company provides the following:

• Mobile and Internet Banking.
• Hearing induction loops in our branches to assist the hearing impaired.
• A textphone, which can be accessed by making a call through TextDirect, dialling prefix 18001 before the telephone number you want.
• Correspondence, statements, PIN advice and brochures available in large print, braille and audio formats.
• Chip and signature cards for customers who are unable to use a keypad or have difficulty remembering numbers.
• Card readers with a larger keypad and audio format for use with internet banking.
• Facsimile signature stamps for customers who have difficultly reproducing a consistent signature.
• Templates to help customers complete cheques and paying in slips.

In 2007, The Co-operative Bank introduced a £25m microfinance fund to support the development of small businesses in some of the world’s poorest countries. To date, they have lent to four microfinance schemes and supported microfinance institutions in 28 countries. In 2012, they agreed a new investment of $5m in a fund supporting microfinance institutions and social enterprises in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Asia.

No evidence found that the company invests in or lends at lower rates to financially excluded communities.

Co-operative banking Group’s environmental policy covers the key areas of climate change/energy efficiency, water use and waste management.

The environmental policy also contains a commitment to continued improvement in environmental performance.

In 2012 The Co-operative Banking Group maintained its policy of going ‘beyond carbon neutral’ for the sixth consecutive year by offsetting its emissions plus an extra 10% of emissions to cover legacy issues (8% of total carbon offset).

The Co-operative Bank's diversity policy takes into consideration the key equality issues of race, gender, sexuality, and disability.