Early in 2005, HM Treasury established a Financial Inclusion Task Fund to support initiatives to tackle financial exclusion. It envisages that a substantial proportion of this funding will be allocated to third sector lenders such as credit unions operating in low-income areas. During the 1980s and early 1990s, public investment in credit unions was misdirected. This resulted in community credit unions remaining small and having only marginal impact within financially excluded communities. Since 1999, significant transformation has taken place in the credit union sector, which has resulted in credit unions developing as market-oriented and commercial social enterprises with a capacity to tackle financial exclusion both imaginatively and effectively at a borough wide, city-wide and sometimes county wide level.
References
1.
ABCUL (2005) The case for change not just cash, ABCUL News, 7(4), Association of British Credit Unions, Manchester.
2.
ArbuckleL. (1994) The Road to Success Another Crossroads. Experiences from the Honduras Cooperative Strengthening Project (Madison: World Council of Credit Unions).
3.
ArbuckleL.AdamsD.W. (2000) Reforming Credit Unions in Honduras, in: WestleyG. D.BranchB. (Eds) Safe Money. Building Effective Credit Unions in Latin America (Washington, DC: John Hopkins University Press).
4.
Barclays (2003) An Introduction to PEARLS in Britain (London: Barclays).
5.
BranchB.CifuentesM. (2001) The Road to Jinotega, Part II Towards Maximising Credit Union Financial Sustainability (Madison: World Council of Credit Unions).
6.
BrownM.ConatyP.MayoE. (2003) Life Saving, Community Development Credit Unions (London: NACUW and the New Economics Foundation).
7.
CollardS.KempsonE. (2005) Affordable Credit: The Way Forward (Bristol: The Policy Press).
8.
ConatyP.BendleS. (2002) Ending Fuel Poverty and Financial Exclusion (London: New Economics Foundation).
9.
Co-operative Commission (2001) The Co-operative Advantage (London: The Co-operative Commission).
10.
Datamonitor (2004) Non-Standard and Sub-Prime Lending (London: Datamonitor).
11.
DonnellyR. (2004) British Credit Unions at the Crossroads, in: HarafolosS.SpearR.StryjanY. (Eds) Local Society and Global Economy, The Role of Co-operatives (Greece: Editions Hellin).
12.
DonnellyR.HaggettA. (1997) Credit Unions in Britain, a Decade of Growth (Woodstock, Oxfordshire: The Plunkett Foundation).
13.
EdwardsS. (2003) In too deep, CAB Clients' Experience of Debt (London: Citizens Advice).
14.
HaytonK.GrayL.StirlingK. (2005) Scottish Credit Unions, Meeting Member Demands and Needs (Edinburgh: GEN Consulting Scottish Executive Social Research).
15.
HM Treasury (1999a) Credit Unions of the Future, Credit Union Task Force Report (London: HM Treasury).
16.
HM Treasury (1999b) Access to Financial Services. Report of Policy Action Team 14 (London: HM Treasury).
HM Treasury (2005a) The Credit Union Interest Rate Cap. Consultation Document (London: HM Treasury).
19.
HM Treasury (2005b) Extending a community investment tax relief scheme, Consultation document (London: HM Treasury).
20.
JonesP.A. (1999) Towards Sustainable Credit Union Development (Manchester: ABCUL).
21.
JonesP.A. (2001) Access to Credit on a Low Income, a Study into how People on Low Incomes in Liverpool Access and Use Consumer Credit (Manchester: The Co-operative Bank).
22.
JonesP.A. (2003) Credit Unions and Loan Guarantee Schemes (London: Barclays).
23.
JonesP.A. (2004a) Growing credit unions in the West Midlands - the case for restructuring, Journal of Co-operative Studies, 37(1), April pp. 5–21.
24.
JonesP.A. (2004b) Changing British Credit Unions: learning lessons from Latin America, in: HarafolasS.SpearR.StryjanY. (Eds) Local Society and Global Economy (Greece: Editions Hellin).
25.
JonesP.A. (2005) Creating Wealth in the West Midlands through Sustainable Credit Unions (Manchester: ABCUL).
26.
JonesP.A.BarnesT. (2005) Would You Credit It - People Telling Stories about Credit (Manchester: The Co-operative Bank).
27.
KempsonE. (1996) Life on a Low Income (York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, York Publishing Services Ltd).
28.
KempsonE. (2002) Over Indebtedness in Britain (London: Department of Trade and Industry).
29.
KempsonE.McKayS.CollardS. (2005) Incentives to Save: Encouraging Saving among Low-income Households (London: HM Treasury).
30.
KempsonE.WhyleyC. (1999) Kept Out or Opted Out? Understanding and Combating Financial Exclusion (Bristol: The Policy Press).
31.
Local Government Association (1999) Sustainable Credit Unions - Guidance Notes for Local Authorities (London: LGA).
32.
Local Government Association (2001) Changing Credit Unions; Paying Dividends in Community Finance (London: LGA).
33.
McKillopD.G.WilsonJ.O.S. (2003), Credit Unions in Britain: a time for change Public Money and Management, April.
34.
National Consumer Council (1994) Saving for Credit, The Future for Credit Unions in Britain (London: The National Consumer Council and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation).
35.
National Consumer Council (2005) Affordable Credit, a Model that Recognises Real Needs (London: The National Consumer Council and Policis).
36.
PalmerH.ConatyP. (2002) Profiting from Poverty (London: New Economics Foundation).
37.
ReganS.PaxtonW. (Eds) (2001) Asset-based Welfare: International Experiences (London: Institute for Public Policy Research).
38.
ReganS.PaxtonW. (2003) Beyond Bank Accounts: Full Financial Inclusion (London: Institute of Public Policy Research and the Citizens Advice Bureau).
39.
RichardsonD.C.LennonB.L. (2001) Teaching Old Dogs New Tricks; The Commercialization of Credit Unions (Bethseda, MD, USA: Microenterprise Best Practices).
40.
RichardsonD.C. (2000a) Unorthodox microfinance: the seven doctrines of success, Microfinance Bulletin, Calmeadow USA, February.
41.
RichardsonD.C. (2000b) Model Credit Unions into the Twenty-First Century, in: WestleyG. D.BranchB. (Eds) Safe Money. Building Effective Credit Unions in Latin America (Washington, DC: John Hopkins University Press).
42.
RichardsonD.C. (2001) Pearls Monitoring System (Madison: World Council of Credit Unions).
43.
RossiterJ.CooperN. (2005) Scaling up for Financial Inclusion (Church Action on Poverty/Debt on our Doorstep).
44.
SherradenM (1991) Assets and the Poor: A New American Welfare Policy (Armon, NY: M.E. Sharpe).
45.
ThomasI.C.BallochS. (1994) Local authorities and the expansion of Credit Unions, Local Economy, 9(2), pp. 166–184.
46.
WhyleyC.BrookerS. (2004) Home Credit: An Investigation into the UK Home Credit Market (London: National Consumer Council).
