Responsible Finance is the trading name of the Community Development Finance Association (CDFA), set up in 2002 to support, strengthen and represent providers of responsible, fair and affordable finance. Here are just a few of the key milestones in the development of the responsible finance industry:
1970s A community development finance institution (CDFI) sector emerges in the US to combat ‘red-lining’ by banks
1973 Establishment of the UK’s first CDFI, Industrial Common Ownership Finance ltd, still trading today as Co-operative & Community Finance
1980s Grameen Bank starts new wave of microfinance
1980s and 1990s A growing number of CDFIs and ‘lenders of last resort’ established in the UK
1998 Growing political recognition of the role of CDFIs in enterprise promotion, regeneration and financial inclusion emerged through the Policy Action Teams established by the Prime Minister’s Office
2000 Social Investment Taskforce publishes its report, including recommendations to establish a UK trade association, a new tax relief channelling private investment to CDFIs and disadvantaged areas, and regeneration-focused funding through the Small Business Service’s Phoenix Fund.
2000s New wave of UK CDFIs start up with help from the Government’s Phoenix Fund & Growth Fund
2002 CDFA launches at HM Treasury under the guidance of Andrew Robinson, with the Rt Hon Paul Boateng MP, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Sir Ronald Cohen, Chair of the Social Investment Task Force, as the new UK trade association for CDFIs
2002 Establishment of Community Investment Tax Relief to stimulate the flow of private finance to support enterprise in the UK’s deprived communities, via CDFIs.
2007 Start of financial crisis, leading to shrinking of available credit from the banking sector
2010 CDFI lending hits £200m
2010s Growth in payday lending and other high-cost credit, and an accompanying rise in consumers struggling with debt problems
2010s Rise of crowdfunders, peer-to-peer lenders and challenger banks bringing greater diversity to the credit market
2012 English Regional Development Agencies, a major source of funding and support for CDFIs, close
2012 Launch of the CDFA’s Regional Growth Fund programme, matching bank and public funding to deliver £60m to CDFIs
2014 Launch of the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards in the UK, celebrating how our members support entrepreneurs and financial inclusion
2014 Launch of the Economic Impact Tool, demonstrating that our members contribute over £0.5bn to the UK’s economy
2015 Financial Conduct Authority introduces a cap on the cost of credit and a crackdown on unscrupulous practices of payday lenders
2015 CDFA marks the start of a new era with a new identity and re-launches as Responsible Finance
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