Co-op Bank fails in TSB takeover approach

The Co-operative Bank has confirmed that it made an approach to buy rival bank chain TSB, but that no talks had resulted from it.

In a statement, it said it had sent a letter to TSB owner Banco de Sabadell "expressing an interest" in a deal.

It is the second time the Co-op has tried to take over TSB, which has more than 500 UK branches.

TSB was bought by Sabadell for £1.7bn in 2015 after a brief spell as an independent bank.

Prior to that, TSB had been part of Lloyds Banking Group.

The Co-op said that "no discussions in relation to a potential transaction are currently taking place between the bank and Sabadell".

Sabadell said on Saturday that its board had rejected an offer from the Co-operative Bank after Sky News first reported the approach.