The former Labour City minister has quit as the senior independent director of the troubled group less than two months after the resignation of chief executive Euan Sutherland.
Myners (pictured) had been conducting a review of the Co-op’s governance in the wake of the discovery last year of a £1.5bn black hole in the balance sheet of its banking arm.
The Co-op said late yesterday the review would continue sdespite Myners departure. The lender’s troubles are also being investigated by the regulator and the Prudential Regulation Authority.
Myners initial findings have made for grim reading. He said the group’s elected directors had overseen “breathtakingly value-destructive” decisions, including the Co-op’s takeovers of Britannia building society and supermarket chain Somerfield.
He also found its three-tier system of elected member representation – made up of area committees, regional boards, and the Group board – had “consistently produced governors without the necessary qualifications and experience to provide effective board leadership”.
He recommended new group board directors should be appointed against a clear criteria of skills and experience.
Myners’ shock exit comes with the Co-op also facing questions over its retail operations, where its performance has deteriorated over the past year.
Before his resignation he had warned that without significant reforms the mutual faced going bust.
The Co-op is also still reeling from the scandal surrounding the former chairman of its banking division, Paul Flowers, who was caught up in a drugs sting last year.
