The chief executive of Co-op Bank is to step down.
Andrew Bester will leave his post more than two years after he joined the bank in July 2018, Co-op Bank announced today.
“Andrew feels this is the right moment for new leadership and a new personal challenge,” the bank said.
Chairman Bob Dench has begun the process to find a successor, with Mr Bester ‘committed’ to remain until a new chief executive has been appointed.
Mr Bester said: “I‘m delighted that, despite the challenging environment we currently all face, we are supporting our customers through these difficult times and seeing positive growth in balances and new customer numbers.
“My ambition was to complete the major transformation phase of the turnaround and for our franchise to show resilience.
“At this point, I believe the Bank is on the right path and it is time for a new CEO to continue the journey to be the digital ethical bank.
“In the meantime I remain focused on working with colleagues to provide the support our customers need.”
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Mr Dench added: “We appointed Andrew for his significant expertise in delivering major transformation programmes and he has ensured that we have successfully completed the “fixing the basics” phase of our turnaround.
“The progress made provides the foundations for the Bank to grow and to build a successful future.”
“Over recent months Andrew has worked tirelessly to navigate through the national crisis we all face and to support our customers through the pandemic.”