UK’s Co-op Bank profits fall on $63 mln SIV hit
April 3rd, 2008 | by admin |LONDON, April 3 (Reuters) - Britain’s Co-operative Bank,which is committed to ethical investments, said profits felllast year as it took a 31.8 million pound ($63 million) hit oninvesting in complex financial products.
The Co-Op Bank said on Thursday its operating profit in theyear to Jan. 12 fell to 50.4 million pounds from 76.3 millionthe year before, after a writedown on its assets in structuredinvestment vehicles (SIVs).
It said it had a “relatively small” exposure to SIVs, wherevaluations have tumbled after the U.S. subprime housing crisis.
The bank said its capital position was substantially higherthan regulatory requirements and its funding is mainly fromretail and corporate deposits, rather than from wholesalemarkets where the cost of borrowing has risen sharply.
Co-op Bank is part of the Co-operative Financial Servicesgroup, which reported a 155 million pound profit for the year toJan. 12, up 6 percent on the year as its general insuranceprofits almost doubled. The group has 6.5 million customers. (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by David Holmes)
