Coventry Building Society finalises £780m deal for Co-operative Bank

Agreement will create lender with almost 5m customers and 89bn balance sheet

The Co-operative Bank is to return to its mutual roots after Coventry Building Society confirmed that it will acquire the bank from its hedge fund owners for 780m.

The deal has now been finalised after Coventry said it had made a non-binding cash offer for the bank last month that will create a lender with almost 5 million customers and an 89bn balance sheet.