LONDON (AP) Co-operative Bank reported a net loss of 781.5 million pounds ($1.2 billion) for the first half versus a 45.3 million pounds loss a year earlier as it struggles to rectify problems arising from the financial crisis.
The bank a part of Britain largest mutual business wrote off 496 million pounds in bad loans taken on in the 2009 acquisition of Britannia Building Society.
In its statement Thursday, the bank claimed it was turning things around. A rescue plan has been announced, with parent Co-Op Group pledging to fill a 1.5 billion pound ($2.3 billion) hole in the balance sheet by converting bonds into shares.
Moody's has downgraded the bank's debt and deposit ratings to junk status, arguing that Co-op failed to assess the losses from the Britannia portfolio.
