Fresh blow to bankrupts

Published on 18/09/2012 00:00

PEOPLE recovering from bankruptcy will be deprived of a choice of current accounts after the Co-operative Bank closed the door to new applicants yesterday.

The Co-op’s decision to stop its basic Cashminder account from taking on undischarged bankrupts leaves Barclays as the only bank to offer such a service.

The mutual, which will continue to offer the account to existing customers, blamed its decision on a lack of competition from rivals, which meant its share of the market was rising and left it struggling in an “unlevel playing field”.

But consumer groups said the decision would hit the poorest hardest.