Troubled Co-op hires ex-HSBC exec as CEO

Niall Booker takes on the role as the lender faces questions over its capital strength and after ratings agency Moody's lowered the bank's debt status to "junk". The bank is currently in talks with regulators about its capital adequacy. Reports suggest it is among the UK banks that need to raise a total of £25bn between them to strengthen capital positions and protect the banking system against future crises. The downgrade by Moody's last month forced the lender to deny it could need a government bailout, and led to the swift exit of Booker's predecessor Barry Tootell.