The Co-operative’s lending has included large-scalerenewables, energy efficiency, as well as small-scale onshore wind projects.

The self-styled ethical bank, which has stoppedlending to all new business ventures, emphasises it has not abandoned the pledgefirst made in 2007 to provide £1bn ($1.5bn) of funding to a range of green projects. By February it had made in excess of £700m in loans to renewables ventures.

However,