Unity Trust Bank

Last updated

Unity Trust Bank
Company type Public limited company
Industry Financial services
Area served
United Kingdom
Website www.unity.co.uk

Unity Trust Bank plc provides specialist business banking services to trade unions, charities and other organisations that operate in the not-for-profit sector in the United Kingdom and, since 2015, its remit has expanded to include profit-with-purpose businesses. Founded in 1984, head office is located at Four Brindleyplace, Birmingham.

Contents

History

Originally a licensed deposit taking institution, Unity Trust Limited acquired full status as a bank in 1987. [1] [2]

Ownership

Historically, Unity Trust Bank was majority owned by individual trade unions and federations (73.23%) and The Co-operative Bank owned the remainder (26.7%) through its subsidiary, Co-operative Commercial Limited. [1] In 2015, Unity bought back shares from Co-operative Commercial Limited, which reduced The Co-operative Bank's holding to 6.7%. [3]

Unity Trust's new articles of association redesignated all shares into a single class, all ranking pari passu, and removed the different rights of the old classes and created additional shares. As a result, new shareholders have invested in Unity Trust and the Co-operative Bank no longer has a controlling interest or the right to appoint directors. [4]

The Co-operative Bank's stake was put up for sale in 2014, in an attempt to restore Coop Bank's profitability following a capital shortfall. [5]

Activities

In its founding principles, the bank was established as “an organisation identified with and embracing the philosophy of the common good.” It promotes a socially responsible and sustainable approach to banking and lending. [6] Unity Trust Bank was rated top in eight out of nine customer satisfaction categories in the Charity Finance Banking Survey 2015. [7] In 2013, it became the first British bank to be awarded the Living Wage Employer Accreditation Mark. [8]

The Co-operative Bank acted as the bank's clearing agent until 2015, when accounts migrated to a NatWest sort code.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NatWest Group</span> British banking and insurance holding company

NatWest Group PLC is a British banking and insurance holding company, based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Co-operative Bank</span> Retail and commercial bank in the United Kingdom

The Co-operative Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank based in Manchester, England. Established as a bank for co-operators and co-operatives following the principles of the Rochdale Pioneers, the business evolved in the 20th century into a mid-sized British high street bank, operating throughout the UK mainland. Transactions took place at cash desks in Co-op stores until the 1960s, when the bank set up a small network of branches that grew from 6 to a high of 160; in 2023 it had 50 branches.

St.George Bank is an Australian bank with its headquarters in Sydney. Since a 2008 merger, the bank has been part of Westpac, having previously been an independent legal entity. In 2010, St.George was deregistered as a company and ceased to be a standalone authorised deposit-taking institution.

Demutualization is the process by which a customer-owned mutual organization (mutual) or co-operative changes legal form to a joint stock company. It is sometimes called stocking or privatization. As part of the demutualization process, members of a mutual usually receive a "windfall" payout, in the form of shares in the successor company, a cash payment, or a mixture of both. Mutualization or mutualisation is the opposite process, wherein a shareholder-owned company is converted into a mutual organization, typically through takeover by an existing mutual organization. Furthermore, re-mutualization depicts the process of aligning or refreshing the interest and objectives of the members of the mutual society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Phone Co-op</span> UK based co-operative telecoms supplier

The Phone Co-op was an independent consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom. It provided landline, mobile telephone and Internet services, including web hosting and broadband. In April 2018, the Phone Co-op board agreed for its operations to be transferred to the Midcounties Co-operative, with the Phone Co-op legal entity ceasing to exist. The brand continued to be operated until 1 June 2018, when it was rebranded to Your Co-op following the completion of the transfer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Industrial and provident society</span> Type of corporate entity originating in Britain

An industrial and provident society (IPS) is a body corporate registered for carrying on any industries, businesses, or trades specified in or authorised by its rules.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">HSBC UK</span> European subsidiary of multinational bank

HSBC UK Bank plc is a British multinational banking and financial services organisation based in Birmingham, England. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the global HSBC banking and financial group, which has been headquartered in London since 1993. The UK headquarters of HSBC is located at One Centenary Square in Birmingham.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Bank Limited</span> Pakistani commercial bank

United Bank Limited (UBL) (Urdu: یونائیٹڈ بینک) is a Pakistani commercial bank headquartered in Karachi. It is a subsidiary of British multinational conglomerate, Bestway Group.

The IDBI Bank Limited is a Scheduled Commercial Bank under the ownership of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and Government of India. It was established by Government of India as a wholly owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India in 1964 as Industrial Development Bank of India, a Development Finance Institution, which provided financial services to industrial sector. In 2005, the institution was merged with its subsidiary commercial division, IDBI Bank, and was categorised as "Other Development Finance Institution" category. Later in March 2019, Government of India asked LIC to infuse capital in the bank due to high NPA and capital adequacy issues and also asked LIC to manage the bank to meet the regulatory norms. Consequent upon LIC acquiring 51% of the total paid-up equity share capital, the bank was categorised as a 'Private Sector Bank' for regulatory purposes by Reserve Bank of India with effect from 21 January 2019. IDBI was put under Prompt Corrective Action of the Reserve Bank of India and on 10 March 2021 IDBI came out of the same. At present direct and indirect shareholding of Government of India in IDBI Bank is approximately 95%, which Government of India (GoI) vide its communication F.No. 8/2/2019-BO-II dated 17 December 2019, has clarified and directed all Central/State Government departments to consider IDBI Bank for allocation of Government Business. Many national institutes find their roots in IDBI like SIDBI, EXIM, National Stock Exchange of India, SEBI, National Securities Depository Limited. Presently, IDBI Bank is one of the largest Commercial Banks in India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midcounties Co-operative</span> British consumer co-operative

The Midcounties Co-operative Limited, trading as Your Co-op, is a consumer co-operative in the United Kingdom with over 700,000 members. Registered in England under the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, it is a member of Co-operatives UK and Federal Retail Trading Services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cooperative banking</span> Type of retail or commercial bank organized cooperatively

Cooperative banking is retail and commercial banking organized on a cooperative basis. Cooperative banking institutions take deposits and lend money in most parts of the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Virgin Money UK</span> UK-based bank and financial services company

Virgin Money UK plc is a British banking and financial services company. It has been owned by Nationwide Building Society since 1 October 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lloyds Banking Group</span> British financial institution

Lloyds Banking Group plc is a British financial institution formed through the acquisition of HBOS by Lloyds TSB in 2009. It is one of the UK's largest financial services organisations, with 30 million customers and 65,000 employees. Lloyds Bank was founded in 1765 but the wider Group's heritage extends over 320 years, dating back to the founding of the Bank of Scotland by the Parliament of Scotland in 1695.

Social enterprise lending is a form of social finance which refers to the practice of offering loans and other financing vehicles below current market rates to social enterprises and other organisations pursuing social goals. This is often referred to as "patient lending," or financing with "soft" terms. Patient lending recognises that projects with social outcomes often reach profitability later than commercial projects. Softening the terms of a loan means that a social lender may offer provisions such as longer loan terms, lower interest rates and repayment "holidays" where capital and interest repayments are not due until the project is profitable. Social lenders might also offer small grants as part of an investment package.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank Australia</span> Australian banking co-operative

Bank Australia is an Australian customer-owned bank based in Collingwood, Victoria. The organisation can trace its origins back to 1957, when the CSIRO Co-operative Credit Society was formed. Over succeeding years, mergers among 72 other credit unions and co-operative banks eventually led to the creation of the Members & Education Credit Union (mecu) in 2003, which became Bankmecu in 2011, and Bank Australia in 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Co-operative Bank of Kenya</span> Commercial bank in Kenya

Co-operative Bank of Kenya is a commercial bank in Kenya, the largest economy in the East African Community. It is licensed by the Central Bank of Kenya, the central bank and national banking regulator. The bank has introduced Agency banking model and has a deep customer base in Kenya with over 7.5 million accounts as of December 2018. In 2010, the bank was awarded "Best Bank of Kenya" by the London Financial Times due to their excellent growth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TSB Bank (United Kingdom)</span> British retail bank

TSB Bank plc is a British retail and commercial bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland. It has been a subsidiary of Sabadell Group since 2015.

London Capital Credit Union Limited is a not-for-profit member-owned financial co-operative, based in Archway and operating across London and the South East.

Punjab & Maharashtra Co-operative Bank Limited (PMC), was a multi-state co-operative bank that began operations in 1983. It had 137 branches spread over half a dozen states of India and nearly 100 branches were in Maharashtra. It was regulated by the Reserve Bank of India and registered under the Cooperative Societies Act.

References

  1. 1 2 "Unity Trust Bank History". www.senscot.net. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015.
  2. An unconnected Unity Joint Stock Mutual Banking Association was formed in London in 1855. This "Unity Bank" went into liquidation in 1862.
  3. Jackson, Suzy (22 December 2015). "Double benefits to be realised by Unity Trust Bank". Business Quarter . Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  4. Weakley, Kirsty (16 December 2015). "Unity Trust Bank becomes independent and announces growth plans". www.civilsociety.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  5. Treanor, Jill (14 January 2014). "Unity Trust Bank ownership set for overhaul after Co-op Bank's stake sale". The Guardian . Retrieved 17 December 2015.
  6. "Vision, mission and values".
  7. "Unity Trust Bank out performs competitors in charity banking customer survey".
  8. "Unity Trust becomes first Living Wage accredited bank". Blue & Green Tomorrow. 9 September 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2015.