Who are we?
We are The Co-operative Bank for Intermediaries. Formerly known as Platform, we’ve been working in the mortgage intermediary market for over 20 years.
Our service is simple, fair, and transparent — we have a range of easy-to-use broker tools available to you, and always offer expert support with a human touch. Ultimately, everything we do is designed to help your mortgage applications run as smoothly as possible.
What makes us different?
We’re not like other mortgage lenders. We do things differently; aiming to make a positive impact for you, your customers, and the community, every step of the way.
As the only mortgage lender with a customer-led Ethical Policy, our customers get a real say in how we operate, and know exactly how our mortgages are funded. Our values are more than just a policy — they’re embedded in everything we do.
We’re committed to doing the right thing, the right way. In fact, we've been doing business in the right way from the very beginning, and our values and ethics underpin everything we do. They always have, and they always will.
We also continuously evolve and improve our processes based on your feedback, which we ask for in real time. That’s why we’ve introduced new products like our residential interest only mortgages, and digitised our declaration form signature process.
Our history
Born out of the co-operative movement in 1872, we are the original ethical bank and have been putting our principles into action ever since. We were founded by real people with a real desire to create a fairer business — one driven by co-operative values.
For us, doing good and doing good business have always gone hand in hand. And today, we’re just as committed to providing ethical services as we were over 150 years ago.
How we commit to our co-operative values
We’re proud to be the UK’s best rated high street bank for ESG*, for our ongoing commitments and achievements in the environmental, social, and governance spaces.
Sustainability is a key part of our ethical approach, which is why protecting the environment and creating a positive societal impact are particularly important to us. For example, in 2007 we achieved ‘beyond carbon neutral’ status, and since 2015, we’ve sourced 100% of our electricity from renewable sources.
We also believe that we have a duty to tackle social and economic issues, which is what led us to start working with Centrepoint, the UK’s leading youth homelessness charity, in 2017.
As part of our partnership, our mortgages are helping the charity make a difference in society. For every eligible new mortgage you complete with us (including new customer mortgages and product switches), we make a £5 donation which goes towards funding the Centrepoint Helpline.
The donations help to provide homeless youth with practical advice and support, and since 2018, Centrepoint has helped over 20,000 young people facing homelessness.
*Rated by Sustainalytics in the Regional Banks sub-industry with a score of 9.2 as of 11 June 2021.