The Treasury Select Committee’s inquiry into the Financial Inclusion Strategy intends to examine whether the Strategy identifies and addresses the key barriers to financial inclusion, and whether its objectives, resources, and delivery plans are likely to achieve meaningful and measurable change.
This response, on behalf of the Fair Banking for All Campaign, argues that while there are some welcome measures in the strategy, we are concerned that they will not make a transformative difference on access to affordable credit – and that the strategy could, and should, go much further.
The response urges government to introduce a Fair Banking Act, modelled on – but not replicating – the US Community Reinvestment Act, which would provide the legislative and regulatory framework needed to address the exclusion from credit that affects millions of individuals and business owners.
