He will take up his new role on 14th March and succeeds current chairman Dennis Holt, who will retire in May.

Bob is currently chair of Paragon Banking Group PLC and has been in the role since 2007, having joined the board in 2004.

He was chairman of Paragon throughout the financial crisis and when it obtained its banking licence.

Bob will remain in his role at Paragon until his successor has been appointed.

Previously, Bob served on the boards of AXA UK and Ireland from 2004, as senior indepdent director of AXA UK until December 2016 and chair of AXA Ireland from 2007 to 2017.

He was also chair of AXA PPP Healthcare Limited from 2013 to 2017.

Dennis said: “The Co-operative Bank has been through challenging times in the past four years as it has worked hard to fix the legacy issues that led to the crisis it faced in late 2013.

“It now has solid foundations and a clear pathway to sustainable profitability and robust capital resilience.

“It has been a privilege to work to achieve our customers' distinctive requirements of a bank committed to values and ethics at the heart of all it does.

“I'm immensely grateful for the commitment of our colleagues and the support of fellow directors, the executive team and our investors.”

Liam Coleman, chief executive at the Co-operative Bank, added: “We look forward to welcoming Bob to the Co-operative Bank as chairman as we move forward following the recapitalisation.

“There is much to do in order to continue to build a sustainable and profitable ethical banking franchise, and his significant board and industry experience will be invaluable as we take forward our plans.”

Bob added: “I am delighted to be appointed chairman of the Co-operative Bank as it enters the next stage of its development and I look forward to working with Liam and the board to deliver the strategy.”