LONDON, April 17 (Reuters) - Richard Pennycook, the interim chief executive of Britain's Co-Operative Group, said he would lead the drive for reform at the mutual after it posted the biggest loss in its 150-year history.
Pennycook told reporters he would be "amazed" if an independent review did not conclude there had been issues of governance failure at the supermarket-to-funeral-homes group.
Earlier on Thursday, the member-owned organisation posted a loss of 2.5 billion pounds for 2013.
Pennycook said the group would not be in breach of its banking covenants as it moved forward, and its lending banks were supportive.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle and Matthew Scuffham; editing by Kate Holton)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
