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Banking for Higher Education Institutions

We offer a tailored banking service for university and college finance teams

Who you bank with matters. With our customer-led Ethical Policy, we're the bank you can really hold to account.

Contact a relationship manager
For Higher Education Institutions
Tailored banking service
Why bank with us?
Contact a relationship manager

Tailored banking service

We offer a tailored banking service through our dedicated relationship managers.

  • A trusted point of contact who'll get to know everything about your organisation

  • They'll work closely with you to meet your banking needs

  • They'll help you with ongoing ESG challenges within the sector

Relationship manager supporting a client
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Why bank with us?

The finances of higher education institutions are closely examined by many stakeholders. Our ethical banking policies help you show that your financial choices match your values. This is important when responding to sustainability committees, students, and governing bodies.

student carrying books

  • Over 150 years of co-operative values

    Your money has power. By choosing a bank that's had a customer-led Ethical Policy since 1992, you're choosing not to finance unethical business practices.

At The Co-operative Bank

  • We ensure our banking practices align with common environmental and social values, including equal pay and animal welfare

  • We publish details of banking relationships declined on ethical grounds for transparency and customer reassurance

  • We support businesses on their journey to Net Zero whilst meeting our own ambitious sustainability goals for financed emissions through measurable commitments

  • We do not fund or provide banking services to controversial business activities like fossil fuel extraction, see our unique, customer-led Ethical Policy for more on who we refuse to bank

  • We link executive pay to sustainability outcomes to ensure accountability

  • We partner with charities that share our values, like Centrepoint, and Friends of the Earth

Ethical banking with The University of Cambridge

The Co-operative Bank is proud to support the University of Cambridge's Banking Engagement Forum.

The Forum aims to mitigate climate change by creating a market for finance products that do not contribute to the financing of fossil fuel expansion.

Read more about the Banking Engagement Forum

students working together

What our customers say

"St Antony's recently opened an account with The Co-operative Bank and the onboarding process was pretty straightforward. The application was completed on-line through a secure portal and response times were quick. Compared to some other financial institutions it was remarkably pain free."

Billy Garnett, Head of Finance & IT, St Antony's College

St Antony's College logo

"The Isaac Newton Trust is delighted with the smooth and straightforward onboarding process and so pleased to be partnering with a bank whose values and ethics are in alignment with our own"

Dr Nichola Tooke, Trust Administrator, The Isaac Newton Trust

Isaac Newton Trust logo

Contact a relationship manager

Our dedicated relationship managers are here to support and discuss this further.

Abigail Gillespie

Rachel Nelder

Find out more about Financial Services Compensation Scheme | This will open in a new tab

Financial Services Compensation Scheme

Your eligible deposits held by a UK establishment of The Co-operative Bank p.l.c. are protected up to a total of £120,000 by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the UK's deposit guarantee scheme. This limit is applied to the total of any deposits you have with the following: The Co-operative Bank and smile. Any total deposits you hold above the limit between these brands are unlikely to be covered.

Please click here for further information or visit www.fscs.org.uk