It's decision time for Co-op Bank bondholders

The 13,000 or so investors who hold retail bonds issued by the Co-operative Bank have an important decision to make next week.

They've been made an offer which if they accept by next Friday means they will be on worse terms than they signed up for, but if they refuse the new deal they could end up with nothing as it could lead to the break up of the bank.

So what should they do? Well, despite the latest drugs and sex scandal which hit the bank's former chairman, Paul Flowers, this week, bosses at the Co-op still believe it has a viable future and that the offer to bondholders is a fair one, given all the difficulties.

Niall Booker, chief executive of The Co-operative Bank, told The Independent: "We remain focused on securing the future of the bank and to that end on meeting the bank's capital requirements through a successful exchange offer.

"There is not long to go until the early participation deadline and we believe that it is in the interests of all those involved that the exchange offer succeeds," he went on.

"We believe that the plan we've developed provides the fairest outcome for the bank's stakeholders in very difficult circumstances, and we want to ensure that all bondholders and preference shareholders are aware of what they need to do to participate in the exchange offer so that they don't miss out on their opportunity to vote."

Mr Booker added that the new management team is working towards meeting the capital requirements of the bank by pushing through a recapitalisation plan, of which the offer is a part.

"Once this is done we will then be able to begin to move forward, focusing our attention on the implementation of the bank's new business strategy," he said.