Ex-Co-op Bank head sparks row as he passes blame for losses

The former chief executive of The Co-operative Bank yesterday accused his successors of taking their "eye off the ball" ahead of the lender's failed bid to buy more than 600 Lloyds branches, a move which deepened a £1.5bn capital hole in its accounts.

MPs are investigating why the deal under which Co-op was to buy the Lloyds branches collapsed this year. In evidence that appeared to contradict statements made by Bank of England Deputy Governor and Prudential Regulation Authority CEO Andrew Bailey in June, Neville Richardson told the Treasury Select Committee (TSC) that, at the time he left the Co-op in 2011, the mutual's finances were in good shape. In spring 2013, the lender looked poised to buy 632 TSB branches in a takeover named Project Verde. But the deal collapsed, Moody’s downgraded the lender to ‘junk’ status and, by June, ...