At the Co-operative Group AGM here this morning, Len Wardell (the elected Chair) draws applause when he responds to the comments in the Financial Times that questioned the fact that ordinary people are elected onto the board of the Co-operative Bank and Group.
He asked the plasterer, the nurse and the Methodist Minister to stand up in the hall, to warm applause.
If British banks had had the same governance, he argued, the UK might not have had the credit crunch.
Financial Times? …no comment!
Which article in the FT? There’ve been some relatively complimentary pieces about the Co-op recently.
Ed says Thanks for the prompt – I have inserted the link http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/357d54d0-6931-11e1-9931-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1wKs3mg6T
Such pressure from regulators who do not understand cooperative governance is certainly present here in Canada. Witness white paper from BC’s FICOM suggesting coops “star” candidates in board elections. Members need good information about candidates to make informed choices. They do NOT need to be told who to vote for.
Unfortunately the above link above is broken… Link should be http://www.wendyholm.blogspot.ca
i am blogging the above governance issue in more detail at http://www.holmongovernance.blogspot.ca