Thursday 29 July
A joint BIS and Treasury consultation document, Financing the Private Sector Recovery, published on 26 July, stresses the importance of community finance.
The Business Secretary and the Chancellor have stated they want to work with business and the financial community to ensure that access to finance is not a barrier for companies looking to invest and boost the growth of the economy.
CDFIs are specifically mentioned in the document in a stand alone segment – the text is provided below:
Promoting Finance for Disadvantaged Communities
“The Government wants to ensure that, no matter where they are based, viable businesses
can access appropriate finance. Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) can help to
support this objective, by providing microfinance loans to both start-ups and established
businesses in disadvantaged communities. The Government recognises the importance of
community finance.” (page 33)
Such an endorsement by the new government of CDFIs is excellent news for the sector. As a collective we must now build on this success.
The cdfa will obviously be feeding into this consultation and we encourage each CDFI to also submit their own response. Both nationally and locally we need a strong voice to capitalise on this recognition.
The cdfa will soon be emailing members specifically about the details required for the consultation. If you have any initial thoughts or comments please email Ian Best at [email protected]