21.06.12
CDFA welcomes recognition within the report of the critical role community finance brings to the economy and given that demand for CDFI finance surged by 88% to over £1bn in 2012 the CDFA welcomes the opportunity for partnerships between the private and public sectors to help meet this need.
The well established partnership between the CDFA and the British Bankers Association has created a referral scheme for declined bank customers, who can be automatically referred on to a CDFI. This was piloted last year and is now in national roll out . The CDFA is committed to working closely with the banks in ensuring the scheme delivers its full potential.
The Commission’s support for bank disclosure is a significant development in helping better meet the finance needs of underserved markets and communities. The Community Investment Coalition, of which CDFA is a founding member, has been advocating for disclosure of useable data, at a suitably granular level, across all financial; service providers. This will enable CDFIs to target their resources on those areas least well served.
The CDFA welcomes the Commissions’ recognition of the need for increased tax incentives to boost investment into the sector and reach scale; we look forward to working with HMT, in creating an effective tax relief framework to build the social economy. Commenting on the report Chief Executive Ben Hughes said…
“We welcome the recommendations in the report and the opportunities they could create for the community finance sector. We see a key role for HM Treasury in taking a cross departmental lead in promoting the work of community finance and embedding it in major new programmes.”
Ends
- The Community Development Finance Association (CDFA) is the voice for providers of fair and affordable finance. Our mission is to create a thriving community finance industry, bringing social and financial benefits to neighbourhoods across the UK. We represent a national network of CDFIs. For more information about the CDFA please visit www.cdfa.org.uk
- Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) are social enterprises that support communities by providing affordable finance that would otherwise not be available. By making loans, they are able to recycle this finance again and again into neighbourhoods where it is most needed.
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The Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards publications are available to download from http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/joint-select/professional-standards-in-the-banking-industry/publications/