Unity Trust Bank appoints Christine Coe as first female chair of the Board
Unity Trust Bank has appointed Christine Coe as the first female chair of its board of directors, as Alan Hughes ends his term after 10 years in post.
Christine joined Unity’s Board as an independent non-executive director in 2023. She chairs the Board Risk Committee and is a member of the Nomination Committee and Board Audit Committee.
With over 40 years’ global credit and risk experience, which she gained through a variety of senior roles at HSBC, Christine brings a wealth of expertise in commercial banking, financial policy and regulation.
In her new position as chair, Christine will be a custodian of Unity’s vision, values and standards. Under her leadership, the Board will provide strategic direction and guidance to the Executive and management teams, monitoring performance against financial and non-financial measures and risk appetite.
Christine takes over from Alan Hughes, who was instrumental in facilitating Unity’s independence from the Co-op Bank in 2015. He chaired the Nomination Committee and was a member of the Remuneration Committee.
During his time as Chair, Unity’s ‘double bottom line’ strategy of delivering positive impact alongside sustainable financial returns was embedded in its constitution; it reached over £1bn in socially responsible lending for the first time in its history and it won the prestigious King’s Award for Enterprise for Sustainable Development.
Alan Hughes said: “It has been a privilege and a pleasure to chair the Board over the past ten years. Unity’s balance of profit with purpose and pursuit of sustainable growth is now a proven formula. I’m proud to have been a part of its remarkable growth journey, from an annual post-tax profit of £1m in 2015 to £50m in 2024.
“Unity’s large increase in shareholder equity from under £50m when I was first appointed, to over £222m today, has been achieved by: the support of shareholders; sound commercial lending that served the common good; offering personal relationships; thrift; and, of course, very good people.
“Unity is in great shape, and I wish Chris every success. I hope she enjoys it as much as I have.”
Christine Coe, chair of Unity Trust Bank, said: “On behalf of the Board, I’d like to thank Alan for his dedicated service. His financial acumen, breadth of experience, and his strong belief in innovation for the public good has played a pivotal role in Unity’s success over the past decade.
“I’m delighted to be appointed chair and I look forward to supporting the bank’s future innovations and ambition. Unity has a strong commitment to social purpose and by upholding our values-led approach, we can help to deliver positive change in communities across the UK.”
Unity has also appointed Paul Nowak as president of the bank. Paul is general secretary of the Trades Union Congress (TUC), which represents 48 trade unions and 5.3million working people. Paul joined the TUC in 2000 and held a number of regional and national roles before his appointment as general secretary in 2022.
The appointments follow the publication of Unity’s 2024 results, which reported record customer balances of £1.7bn (up 10% from 2023) and more than half (50.5%) of lending committed to areas of high deprivation (2023: 45.3%).