The Better Banking Campaign has brought together nearly 500 organisations to call for fundamental reform of the banking system.
They are calling for the introduction of three measures which will help ensure financial institutions serve the interests of all people, businesses and third sector organisations equally. These are:
- Transparency from banks about the communities they do and don’t serve
- An incentive structure to encourage banks to fully engage with people and businesses in all communities
- A cap on extortionate lending rates A commitment from banks to re-invest 1% of their profits for social benefit
Over the past two years, billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money has been used to bail-out the banking sector. However, banks should be doing much more to deliver a genuine social return on our investment. Up to 9 million people aren’t able to access banking services in a fair and equal way in the UK, often forcing them to turn to high-cost lenders or loan sharks for help. The recession has also meant that small businesses, charities and social enterprises have struggled to access finance.
London Rebuilding Society is part of the Better Banking Coalition. To find out more visit their site at betterbanking.org.uk