Co-op aims to take on ‘big five’ banks as it moves into old Britannia branches – This is Money (UK)

The Co-operative Bank has moved into 245 Britannia branches across the country in a major push to become a serious rival to the UK’s ‘big five’ banks.

The six million-member strong Co-op wants to be seen as a ‘real alternative’ to RBS, Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC, and Santander by enlarging its presence on the High Street.

It says customers who don’t want their cash used for dangerous ‘casino-style’ investment banking – a criticism levied at the likes of Barclays and HSBC – or are angered by the multi-billion-pound, taxpayer-funded bailouts at RBS and Lloyd have little alternative in the banking world.
Building societies are an option, it says, but outside of Nationwide, most mutuals are limited to a specific locality and don’t have a presence across the country.

In total, the Co-op now boasts 342 branches and plans for further growth provide a welcome anomaly amid industry-wide closures.

Read more