Letter: Co-op was first

Richard Bickle
Tuesday 29 October 1996 19:02 EST
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Co-op was first

Sir: The Consumer Co-operative Movement anticipated the announcement by Sainsbury (report, 26 October) with the opening of the Wholesale Society's deposit and loan department in 1871. Although initially intended to service the retail societies, it achieved full clearing bank status in 1971 and today leads the industry in ethical banking.

RICHARD BICKLE

University of East Anglia

Norwich

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in