Pensioners 'misled" by Co-op Bank Including large investors, the bondholders have £1.3bn of debt, £65m of which is with 15,000 pensioners and small savers. Last Friday, the Co-op offered bondholders an olive branch by promising to roll up interest and pay it out if the rescue plan is successful. Co-op sources claimed that, if bondholders refused to accept the terms, the bank would be put into "resolution" - potentially wiping them out. Details of the deal will be published in October. Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, told The Sunday Telegraph that MPs should investigate the crisis. "I am sure the Treasury Select Committee will be wanting to have a careful trawl through what has gone on," he said. The Co-op's £1.5bn capital hole virtually wiped out its entire £1.7bn equity base, leaving it almost insolvent. Many of the pensioners affected rely on the interest the bonds pay, which ranges from 5.55pc to 13pc. One retired nurse, who has joined a 1,300-strong action group being run by private investor Mark Taber, said: "[The bonds] made up 50pc of my income. I don't know what I am going to do now. Another, who has power of attorney for his sick uncle, said: "I need to generate income from his capital sufficient to pay the care home fees, which are substantial. "I have only placed his funds in investments described as 'low risk" and as part of that, the acquisition of these [bonds] at a cost of £56,000. I am disgusted at the way they are seeking to recover their losses from pensioners and other people like my uncle whilst the Co-op virtually washes their hands of it. As well as the private bondholders, the Co-op is facing resistance to its plans from activist hedge funds that have bought up the cut-price debt in an attempt to negotiate profitable terms. The Co-op needs 77pc take-up for its £1.5bn rescue to work. The Co-op said: "'We accept that one aspect of this communication raises questions, which we are looking into. We would note that the member of staff referred the bondholder to the bondholder helpline and informed the bondholder that financial advice could be sought. We apologise if the customer feels he was misled.