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HSBC closes church account

Why did HSBC close the bank account of a Harpenden church? What does Co-operative Bank's planned sale mean for ethical banking and a family hit by a bank fraud respond to critics.

More information on the stories featured in this week's edition of Money Box can be found in the Related links section below.

Nearly four years ago a rescue deal saved the Co-operative Bank from collapse. As a result only 20% is now owned by its former parent the Co-operative Group. The remainder is held by institutional investors, including US hedge funds, who wrote off the bank's debts in return for shares. This week it was announced that Co-operative Bank is up for sale. Its ethical banking policy is a draw for many of its customers - will it make it more or less attractive to potential buyers? How does ethical banking work more generally? Frances Coppola, independent banking commentator and Stephen Hines, Director of the ethical investment research firm Vigeo Eiris discuss.

A decision by the global bank HSBC to close the bank account of St Nicholas Church in the Parish of Harpenden in Hertfordshire has left its clergy confused. Parishioners are wondering what will happen to their regular standing order donations. Money Box investigates the reasons behind this holy mess.

Last week's Money Box investigation into how a Luton couple lost nearly 拢200,000 to criminals, drew a strong reaction from listeners. Some thought the blame for the fraud lay with the Shah family and not their bank. Their nephew Niraj Shah gives his response to the critics and we also hear from Professor Mark Button, Director and founder of the Centre for Counter Fraud Studies at the Institute of Criminal Justice Studies at the University of Portsmouth.

Presenter: Paul Lewis
Reporter: Tony Bonsignore
Producer: Charmaine Cozier
Editor: Andrew Smith.

Available now

30 minutes

Last on

Sun 19 Feb 2017 21:00

Chapters

  • Co-operative Bank

    What might the planned sale mean for customers and ethical banking?

    Duration: 06:07

  • Closed accounts

    Why did global bank HSBC shut down the account of a church in Harpenden?

    Duration: 08:42

  • Bank Fraud

    A family who lost 拢190,000 respond to listeners who say the victims are at fault

    Duration: 08:15

Related Links

Co-operative Bank

Closed accounts

Fraud

Broadcasts

  • Sat 18 Feb 2017 12:04
  • Sun 19 Feb 2017 21:00

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