Co-operative Bank loses 28,199 current accounts

Mr Booker said the Co-op is working on "renewed marketing of switching offer and branding work" to address the fall in current accounts.

However, despite the fall in current accounts, the results represent an improvement on the £845m pre-tax loss reported for the same period last year.

The Co-op endured a traumatic 2013 after discovering a £1.5bn black hole in its accounts and being forced to seek emergency fundraising from hedge funds.

Mr Booker added: "Considering the scale of the challenge we faced a year ago we are encouraged by the progress made to ensure the stability of the bank.

"By the measures of capital and liquidity the bank is considerably stronger than it was a year ago. We are ahead of schedule in the disposal of Non-core assets and have improved governance, particularly at board level. However, the issues we continue to face in building a sustainable business are deep rooted and there remains much to be done."

The results reveal that the bank has seen a 13pc reduction in permanent employees in the first half of the year and a reduction of 21pc, or 5,860 staff, compared to a year ago. The Co-o is planning to close a further 25 branches in the final quarter of the year.

"The core bank continues to remain stable. In the first half of the year more people switched into the bank than in the second half of 2013," Mr Booker said.

"Although we have also seen an increase in the number of people switching out of the bank, the net numbers remain small relative to our total number of current account customers whose continuing loyalty is deeply appreciated. Recent trends suggest this net outflow of retail customers has slowed."

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