Coventry Building Society, a prominent financial institution in the West Midlands, has confirmed plans to transfer all accounts held by The Co-operative Bank and its subsidiary, smile, to its own banking infrastructure. This follows the society’s purchase of The Co-operative Bank on 1 January 2025.
The building society outlined that they are preparing to integrate the two organisations, with the business transfer expected to take place on 1 January 2027, subject to approval at a Court hearing scheduled for 2 December 2026.
Customers currently banking with Coventry Building Society will not experience any changes or need to take action regarding their accounts. However, those holding accounts with The Co-operative Bank or smile should have received correspondence via letter or email, and are advised to review the information provided on The Co-operative Bank’s website.
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Regarding deposit protection, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) safeguards eligible deposits up to £120,000 per person, per banking group. For joint accounts, protection extends to £120,000 per individual; thus, a two-person joint account would be protected up to £240,000.
After the proposed transfer, deposits from The Co-operative Bank, smile, and Coventry Building Society will be consolidated under Coventry Building Society’s FSCS protection limit of £120,000 per eligible person. This means that customers who hold accounts across these brands will have a combined protection limit rather than individual limits per bank. Customers who hold accounts only with The Co-operative Bank will retain £120,000 protection for those deposits post-transfer.
The organisations emphasise that this restructuring aims to create a unified banking experience while maintaining the security of customer deposits. The final decision regarding the transfer awaits the Court’s approval later this year.