A new taskforce and Government-backed roadmap will develop partnerships between our members and banks, to make it easier for small businesses across the UK to access finance.
The UK Community Finance Partnership Taskforce has a mission “to scale the community development finance institution (CDFI) sector through partnerships with banks, securing concrete commitments for growth.”
This will help CDFIs, lenders with deep local knowledge, support many more businesses: the new Community Finance Roadmap seeks to unlock an additional £1 billion of CDFI lending to small and medium-sized enterprises over the next five years.
The new taskforce’s members, appointed by Government, are Responsible Finance, NatWest Group, Lloyds Bank, Barclays, JPMorganChase, Mastercard, the British Business Bank and the respected West Midlands based CDFI, BCRS Business Loans.
It is chaired by Bob Annibale, the founder and former Global Managing Director of Citi Inclusive/Social Finance and Community Development, a long-term advocate of CDFIs and financial inclusion who has been recognised by the FT, Euromoney and the London Evening Standard for his impact. The Department for Business and Trade and HM Treasury will join the taskforce as observers.
Blair McDougall MP, Minister for Small Business and Economic Transformation, and Bob Annibale, chair of the UK Community Finance Partnership Taskforce, said:
“This is about harnessing the deep local knowledge and relationships which Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) bring to small business finance.
“CDFIs are fair and flexible lenders which offer support and mentoring, not just money, to talented entrepreneurs and their businesses. It’s the kind of relationship between lender and business that was common in decades past.
“They have enabled thousands of UK businesses to thrive, especially those in underserved communities. 95% of the businesses CDFIs lend to have been unable to get finance elsewhere, yet the vast majority go on to repay their loans and grow their businesses, unlocking entrepreneurial opportunity, job creation, and business growth.”
Already, thousands of businesses take their next step every year with support from CDFIs, which offer flexible finance with clear and fair terms designed around real businesses. But we have long called for more referral and other partnerships, and capital to lend, so more viable businesses can access finance and support to thrive.
Theodora Hadjimichael, CEO of Responsible Finance, said:
“When businesses find a community lender, they often wish they’d discovered it sooner. The taskforce has a clear priority, to make it easier for people running small businesses to get the finance they need.
“Big banks and community lenders are coming together to grow the community finance sector, and we want to see this partnership translate into more referrals from banks to CDFIs, more capital to meet businesses’ needs and more awareness, so CDFIs become local household names.
“The evidence is clear that flexible, affordable funding from CDFIs helps small businesses to thrive, take advantage of opportunities and access bank finance in the future.”
The launch builds on “game-changing” recent initiatives, including investment, referral programmes, and funding, announced by Responsible Finance, the British Business Bank, JPMorganChase, Lloyds Banking Group and NatWest Group. Unity Trust Bank, Charity Bank, Triodos Bank and Shawbrook Bank are also long-term backers of CDFIs, alongside Better Society Capital, Ceniarth, The Impact Investing Institute and City Bridge Foundation.
Read more about the Taskforce and Roadmap:
• in this CITY AM article by Blair McDougall, Small Business Minister and Bob Annibale, chair of the UK Community Finance Partnership Taskforce