Is the Co-operative Bank on the brink of taxpayer hand-out?

It's looking increasingly likely the taxpayer may be on the hook for some form of financial assistance for the Co-operative Group. The troubled bank has already been ordered to raise around £1.5bn in order to buttress its financial reserves.

However around £500m of this looks likely to be supported by investors. How messy could things get? %VIRTUAL-SkimlinksPromo%