One in ten fail bank's scrutiny

One in ten Co-operative Bank suppliers or customers scrutinised by its ethical policy unit were refused a contract or account last year.

Screening of 198 potential new suppliers and corporate customers by the unit during 1999 found that 22 were ‘in conflict’ with the policy.

Half were declined because of their environmental impact, four because of connections with the arms trade, three due to animal welfare issues and the remainder for other reasons.

The figures are revealed in the bank’s third Partnership Report.