Thursday 25 July 2013

Yes Archbishop!


Spot on. The loan sharks are an excrescence. The proposal that the dear old CoE will work with Credit Unions to put them out of business is great.

 I went to see the work of a credit union in Liverpool last month. A great bunch of people doing valuable work in supporting the finance needs of the community in deprived areas. But they could expand if they had more access to capital.

So the Church, which sits on huge endowments, could help expand this area of social finance.

However we also need legislation. It's time the Government acted to stop the excess of these people who have brought real misery to many communities. Their usury is wrong.  And it must be stamped out by new laws. 

And this is another reason why we need to introduce the American Community Reinvestment Act and force banks to expand their lending into poorer communities. The fact that large numbers of people still don't have bank accounts is a standing indictment for our high street banks.

The banks should be joining the Church in expanding the work of credit unions by working with them to expand access to sensible loans for all. 

Well done Justin. More power to your arm.

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